Entrust Your Life • 1 Samuel 13
Notes
Almost as soon as Israel gets a new king, God fires him. His kingdom won’t last because he can’t obey God. He can’t obey God because he doesn’t believe God. Saul is afraid that God is going to let him die.
In order to believe God you have to trust Him with your life.
I’m reading in 1 Samuel 13 (vv. 1-9).
1. Chapter 13 begins with the length of Saul’s reign. The problem is that the numbers have dropped out.
A. Different translations have various ways of dealing with these verses.
B. Here’s what we know for sure about Saul’s reign.
1. Acts 13:21 Paul says that Saul ruled for forty years.
2. Even at the beginning of his reign he has a son old enough to command 1000 soldiers.
C. It doesn’t affect what the writer wants to communicate to us, the readers, so we’ll leave it at that.
2. The main issue is that Jonathan and Saul start a war with the Philistines.
A. Jonathan and his men attack the Philistine garrison in Geba of Benjamin.
B. Saul blows the trumpet—he lets it be known to the Hebrews.
1. Israel rarely called themselves Hebrews and historically it wasn’t until the Greco-Roman times that the name applied to Jews only.
2. It seemed to be a derogatory name, used of people without power or prestige.
3. Some people think Saul is saying to those Israelites serving the Philistines without power or prestige, “Hey, we’re fighting for you, we’re throwing off the Philistine yoke.”
C. The Philistines think Israel stinks and they make preparations for war.
D. The people are summoned to Saul at Gilgal.
1. This refers to Samuel’s specific command to Saul when he anointed Saul king over Israel. 1 Samuel 10:7-8 And let it be, when these signs come to you, that you do as the occasion demands; for God is with you. You shall go down before me to Gilgal; and surely I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and make sacrifices of peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, till I come to you and show you what you should do.”
2. There was a general command: do as the occasion demands, for God is with you.
3. There was a specific command: Go down before me to Gilgal. He’s supposed to get there before Samuel. Surely I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and make sacrifices of peace offerings. Samuel will come and make offerings to the Lord. Samuel is officially consecrated to be priest, the only one who can offer acceptable sacrifices. Seven days you shall wait till I come and show you what you should do. These instructions are to be obeyed. You are not to do as the occasion demands. This is a specific set of instructions from God for Saul.
4. This is the time for these commandments to be carried out.
3. The Philistines show up for war and they are truly fearsome.
A. 30,000 chariots that’s like tanks. 6,000 horsemen. Speed and mobility and height advantage, because you bring your arm down, gravity is with you. If you’re on the ground you are striking up. More difficult. This is overwhelming superior numbers and weapons.
B. The men of Israel see that they are in real distress. They begin deserting the army and hiding where they can. Some go as far as over the Jordan River to the east and northeast.
4. Saul is having a hard time waiting in Gilgal, vv. 6-10.
A. The people staying with him are trembling for fear.
B. He waits till the seventh day. The Jewish day begins at sunset. No Samuel. All through the night, nothing. Morning would be a great time, but nothing. Afternoon. Late afternoon.
C. Still the people are scattering. Fewer and fewer all the time.
D. Saul stops waiting. He says, “Give me the sacrifices,” and he offers them.
5. And then Samuel shows up and says, what have you done? vv. 11-12.
A. And Saul justifies himself. That means he demonstrates that what he did was just and reasonable.
1. Saul saw that the people were scattering. We have no unity, I can’t fight without men, right?
2. You didn’t come at the appointed time. You were late and I was on my own.
3. The Philistines assembled at Michmash and I kept saying over and over, “They are going to come down on me like a wave of death. I’m dead, I’m going to die.”
4. And I have not appeased the Lord. I haven’t put God in a peaceful mood so that He will take notice of me and help me. I don’t know that God is for me. He might be angry with me, in fact, everything points to it. Why else would He let me get in this danger of men scattering, Philistines outnumbering me, you not here?
B. Therefore, there was no other way. I had to do this.
6. Samuel has a completely different assessment of the situation. It’s God’s point of view, so it’s true, vv. 13-15.
A. “You have acted foolishly.” That doesn’t sound that serious. But it could be translated, “That was stupid.” Or., “You fool!” You didn’t have to do this. It was completely unnecessary.
B. Here’s how we know. Samuel is right on time to the minute, seven days. If Saul had waited the time it takes to make a burnt offering, Samuel would have shown up. He lost patience with minutes to go.
C. In fact, the Lord would have established your kingdom forever, but this is not going to last. In order for your kingdom to endure you must do what God says. You can’t do that. So your kingdom is temporary. Your heirs will not receive the kingdom.
D. The Lord has already found a man after His own heart to be ruler. Like-minded, they think in the same way. They agree. This man will obey the Lord because he believes the Lord.
E. Samuel leaves!
7. Israel is in a desperate situation indeed, vv. 16-23.
A. Saul has 600 men to fight an innumerable amount of Philistines.
B. Already three bands of shock troops have gone out to raid and destabilise the land. You can’t fight back if you’re scared and demoralised.
C. The Philistines have been careful to not let Israel have their own blacksmiths. No one has weapons except Saul and Jonathan.
D. We leave it here. It looks like complete disaster for Israel.
8. So what?
A. The principle here is: in order to obey God you have to believe Him. Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
1. You have to believe that God is. He’s always been there, always will be. He has all power, He created everything, He holds all things together by the word of His power.
2. You have to believe that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. He is good, the eternally blessed God.
B. Here’s how you believe Him: you entrust your life to Him. Then your life is His and He can do anything He wants with you, and that is okay with you.
1. If God wants He can save you miraculously.
2. But if He calls you to suffer for His sake and be faithful unto death, that’s okay too.
3. In Hebrews 11 some of God’s people experience miracles and deliverance and resurrection. Others get sawn in half, wear animal skins, and live in caves and holes in the ground. Both kinds of lives are valid.
4. The point is God is going to take care of you. You know where you’re going when you die. When you die you won’t be losing anything, you gain everything forever.
C. We know this because Jesus lived what He preached. John 12:24-25 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Jesus died doing the will of God, and the Father raised Jesus from the dead.
D. You wait for God so that God will show Himself faithful and does wonders. You learn by experience that you can trust God in any situation. You get to know God as He saves you over and over.
1. Abraham waited for God for 25 years until his body was as good as dead. Then God gave him new life and gave him Isaac, the child of promise. Do you see this baby? This means all of My promises will come true.
2. Joseph waited for God as a slave, he waited for God as a prisoner until he was as good as dead. At the right time God took him out of prison and made him the number two ruler in all Egypt.
3. Esther said if I go in to the king and he doesn’t hold out his golden scepter to me, I’m dead. He hasn’t called for me in thirty days. And yet, when she went in, the king held out to her his scepter. God did a miracle.
4. This is the rule: when you wait for God with your whole life, then you experience God’s salvation.
E. But when you don’t entrust your life to God, it’s really up to you to protect yourself and look out for yourself. And it always looks like if you wait for God and obey Him you will lose your life. This comes from the devil, did you know that? Hebrews 2:14-15 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. If you don’t know where you’re going when you die, you are in slavery to the devil. You can’t obey God. You need to receive Jesus and be free of the devil.
F. Paul was in prison. He knew he was not going to come out. He was going to lose his life for Jesus. But he knew where he was going. 2 Timothy 1:12 For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. So Paul could be faithful unto death and not be ashamed of dying for Jesus. He knew whom he believed. You need to know Jesus better and better.
G. Matthew 16:24-25 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
H. Have you entrusted your life to Jesus? Have you committed your soul to Your Saviour? Trust Him and give your life to Him. Let’s pray.