After Saul had reigned two years, he gathered together three thousand men as his first army. Two thousand men were with Saul in Michmash and in the mountains of Bethel, and a thousand with Jonathan in Gibeah (v1,2). This is the first mention of Saul’s son. Jonathan attacked the Philistine garrison in Geba (Gibeah). Needless to say, the Philistines were not happy about this, and they announced their displeasure by issuing a threat to Israel (v3,4).
It is just the same today, those who have no time for Jesus Christ and his followers (Christians) are quite happy for them to be quiet and to be in subjection to their evil ways, but the moment we start to speak out out and stand up for the things of Christ, they turn against us. Jesus said that we would have persecution and be hated because they persecuted and hated Him. If we simply conform and ruffle no feathers, we can be ignored but the moment we try to live for Jesus and walk as He walked, it upsets their plans and we become their enemies. The Bible says that we are in a battle and must wear the whole armour of God. (See Ephesians 6:10-20)
It didn’t stop at their displeasure; the Philistines gathered their army to fight against Israel at Michmash. It was a large army of thirty thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen and a multitude of people as numerous as the sand on the seashore. Israel became distressed at the danger, and they hid in caves, rocks, holes, pits and thickets, wherever they could find to get away from the Philistines, even to crossing east over the Jordan to Gad and Gilead. Saul remained in Gilgal with his terrified army (v5-7). Not long ago they wanted a king, now they have one and they are still terrified. How they needed to trust in God.
Samuel had evidently told Saul to wait seven days for him in Gilgal, but he hadn’t arrived (v8,9). Saul and the people depended on Samuel for their instructions, and when he didn’t arrive, they were panicking and scattered. So, Saul resorted to doing Samuel’s job for him, he offered burnt offerings. He was a king not a priest and it was not his duty to make offerings. He was impatient, perhaps thinking that a quick response to the Philistines would defeat them, even though they were outnumbered. The role of priest and king were separate. Another occasion where a king took on the duty of a priest is recorded in 2 Chronicles 26 (also referred to in Isaiah 6) when Uzziah did the same and was struck with leprosy.
We have a king and priest in The Lord Jesus Christ and, only He is qualified to be both for us.
Samuel arrived as soon as Saul had finished presenting the burnt offering and Saul went out to meet him. He asked Saul what he had done, but Saul told him why he had done it, making excuses rather than confessing that he had done wrong (v10-12). It showed his lack of trust in God. He probably pleased the people, but he didn’t please God. In fact, he blamed Samuel for being late. It is clear that he knew he had done wrong, but he wouldn’t admit it. He went so far as to say that he had no choice but to do wrong because things seemed to be going wrong.
How often do we make excuses when we sin, blame others or our circumstances, when the best way would be to confess it to God. He promises to forgive and to lead us in the future.
We cannot ignore our sin, nor brush it under the carpet, it needs to be dealt with. We must face up to it just as Samuel did. He confronted Saul and told him that he had done wrong (v13,14). He had disobeyed God’s commands, and the consequences were severe. He told Saul that God would have established his kingdom forever, but now Saul’s kingdom would not continue, but rather, God had raised up another to lead the kingdom, one who would do ‘after the heart of God’. God would have established Saul’s kingdom forever and his rule may have been passed to his sons, but his sin was so great that someone else would reign after him. All sin is great, so great that The Son of God had to die to save us from it. Saul was not deposed immediately, in fact, he reigned for a further twenty years. It seems that the time was given for Saul to repent of his sin, but we shall see that, despite often showing some signs of repentance, it didn’t last.
God had not rejected Israel because He would raise up another to rule, ‘a man after His own heart’. Such a man seeks to honour God in all that he does. Saul was more concerned with having his own way. David, who followed him, was not perfect, but he did seek to honour God and repented of his sin when confronted by it. Saul made excuses for his sin and didn’t own up to it by repenting.
Samuel went from Gilgal to Gibeah and Saul numbered his people, around six hundred men (v15-18). Originally, he had 3,000 men but they were scattered (v8) when he disobeyed God by offering the sacrifice when Samuel delayed in arriving. Jonathan and his men were at Gibeah (v1,2). The Philistines were camped at Michmash and sent raiders out in three companies, so large was their army.
The Philistines had commandeered the blacksmiths in Israel so that Israel’s army could not obtain or sharpen their weapons. As a result, there were no swords or spears in the hands of Saul or Jonathan’s army (v19-23). This seems to be an interesting fact. What it indicated was that not only were Israel outnumbered by the Philistine army, but they had to trust in God rather than sharpened weapons. They probably used whatever they could to fight with. Saul and Jonathan were said to have a weapon, but I guess it could be fairly blunt. Their main ‘weapon’ was God.
We must trust in The Lord as we face the enemy. The Psalmist said, (Psalm 20:7-9), “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the name of the Lord our God. They have bowed down and fallen; But we have risen and stand upright. Save, Lord! May the King answer us when we call.”
