(The previous post covered Saul becoming king, God giving Saul a new heart, Saul leading Israel in victory over the Ammonites, God's warning through Samuel to the Israelites to continue to look to God, and the Israelites confession that they sinned when they asked for a king.)
1 Samuel 13
1 Saul was forty years old when he began to reign; and when he had reigned two years over Israel,
2 Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel, whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the mount of Beth-el, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent.
(Saul had 3,000 men, of which 1,000 were with his son Jonathan.)
3 And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba: and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear.
4 And all Israel heard say that Saul had smitten the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel was had in abomination with the Philistines. And the people were gathered together after Saul to Gilgal.
(Jonathan appeared to be a great military leader. It seems that Saul took the credit for this great victory.)
5 And the Philistines assembled themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea-shore in multitude: and they came up, and encamped in Michmash, eastward of Beth-aven.
(The Philistines prepared to retaliate with a huge army.)
6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait (for the people were distressed), then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in coverts, and in pits.
7 Now some of the Hebrews had gone over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead; but as for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.
8 And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.
(Saul waited seven days for Samuel: the appointed time. Samuel was late and the people scattered.)
9 And Saul said, Bring hither the burnt-offering to me, and the peace-offerings. And he offered the burnt-offering.
10 And it came to pass that, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt-offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him.
(Saul did the offering without Samuel. This was wrong in two ways:
1) Saul did not follow Samuel's instructions
2) Saul was a king, not a priest, and only priests were meant to offer these sacrifices.
As soon as Saul finished the offering, Samuel showed up.)
11 And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines assembled themselves together at Michmash;
12 therefore said I, Now will the Philistines come down upon me to Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of Jehovah: I forced myself therefore, and offered the burnt-offering.
(Saul confessed that he did the offering because the people were scattered. Saul did this offering for himself. He was afraid of the Philistines since his people were scattered. Saul had a wrong why. Saul acted in his own strength and doing the man of God's (Samuel's) job, which was a wrong how. Saul focused on an effect and he was destructive/unprofitable.)
13 And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly; thou hast not kept the commandment of Jehovah thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would Jehovah have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.
14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: Jehovah hath sought him a man after his own heart, and Jehovah hath appointed him to be prince over his people, because thou hast not kept that which Jehovah commanded thee.
(Samuel told Saul that he disobeyed God. Saul was going to lose his kingdom and God was going to give it to a man after His own Heart. Again, notice Saul's heart was not right, but that was Saul's fault based on the choices he made from the time God gave Saul a new heart. God's solution was to find a king according to His Heart. This was another example of God facilitating Israel's purpose and progress.
From this point forward, it is helpful to remember that Saul was told that he would lose his kingdom. Will this cause Saul to make the most of the time he has left or will he be paranoid and threatened by anyone who opposes his reign?)
15 And Samuel arose, and gat him up from Gilgal unto Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that were present with him, about six hundred men.
16 And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were present with them, abode in Geba of Benjamin: but the Philistines encamped in Michmash.
17 And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned unto the way that leadeth to Ophrah, unto the land of Shual;
18 and another company turned the way to Beth-horon; and another company turned the way of the border that looketh down upon the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.
(The Philistines began raiding the Israelites.)
19 Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel; for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears:
20 but all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock;
21 yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to set the goads.
22 So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found.
(The Philistines had not allowed the Israelites to have swords or spears. Only Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear. The Philistines had a major technological advantage against what was essentially an army of farmers.)
23 And the garrison of the Philistines went out unto the pass of Michmash.
1 Samuel 14
1 Now it fell upon a day, that Jonathan the son of Saul said unto the young man that bare his armor, Come, and let us go over to the Philistines' garrison, that is on yonder side. But he told not his father.
2 And Saul abode in the uttermost part of Gibeah under the pomegranate-tree which is in Migron: and the people that were with him were about six hundred men;
3 and Ahijah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the priest of Jehovah in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone.
(Jonathan and his armorbearer went over to the Philistines’ garrison (station; standing-place) without telling anyone else.)
4 And between the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines' garrison, there was a rocky crag on the one side, and a rocky crag on the other side: and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh.
(Bozez meant "surpassing white: glistening." Seneh meant "thorny." This was a strategic position for Jonathan being that it was a narrow path that if multitudes came to fight against him, it would funnel them and limit their ability to fight against just a few men.)
5 The one crag rose up on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south in front of Geba.
6 And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armor, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that Jehovah will work for us; for there is no restraint to Jehovah to save by many or by few.
7 And his armorbearer said unto him, Do all that is in thy heart: turn thee, behold, I am with thee according to thy heart.
(Jonathan had great faith. He believed God could save the Israelites by many or by few, even if it was just him and his armorbearer. The armorbearer referenced Jonathan's heart.)
8 Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over unto the men, and we will disclose ourselves unto them.
9 If they say thus unto us, Tarry until we come to you; then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up unto them.
10 But if they say thus, Come up unto us; then we will go up; for Jehovah hath delivered them into our hand: and this shall be the sign unto us.
(Jonathan put out a "fleece" (like Gideon in Judges 6). If the Philistines told them to stay, they would not go towards them. If the Philistines told them to come, they would go with the belief that God would deliver the Philistines into their hands.)
11 And both of them disclosed themselves unto the garrison of the Philistines: and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves.
12 And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armorbearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will show you a thing. And Jonathan said unto his armorbearer, Come up after me; for Jehovah hath delivered them into the hand of Israel.
(The Philistines responded in the way that Jonathan knew that God had delivered them into his hand.)
13 And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armorbearer after him: and they fell before Jonathan; and his armorbearer slew them after him.
14 And that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armorbearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were half a furrow's length in an acre of land.
(Jonathan and his armorbearer killed about twenty men.)
15 And there was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled; and the earth quaked: so there was an exceeding great trembling.
(In addition to Jonathan's great slaughter, God brought an earthquake that brought great fear among the people.)
16 And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and, behold, the multitude melted away, and they went hither and thither.
(The multitude was melting (dissolving) away because the Philistines "went hither and thither." In this verse, "hither and thither" meant they were beating one another.)
17 Then said Saul unto the people that were with him, Number now, and see who is gone from us. And when they had numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armorbearer were not there.
(They noticed Jonathan and his armorbearer were gone.)
18 And Saul said unto Ahijah, Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark of God was there at that time with the children of Israel.
(Saul called for the Ark to be brought to him.)
19 And it came to pass, while Saul talked unto the priest, that the tumult that was in the camp of the Philistines went on and increased: and Saul said unto the priest, Withdraw thy hand.
20 And Saul and all the people that were with him were gathered together, and came to the battle: and, behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture.
21 Now the Hebrews that were with the Philistines as beforetime, and that went up with them into the camp, from the country round about, even they also turned to be with the Israelites that were with Saul and Jonathan.
22 Likewise all the men of Israel that had hid themselves in the hill-country of Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard after them in the battle.
(Jonathan’s action of faith, which caused the Philistines to flee, gave faith to the rest of the Israelites in the battle.)
23 So Jehovah saved Israel that day: and the battle passed over by Beth-aven.
24 And the men of Israel were distressed that day; for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until it be evening, and I be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted food.
25 And all the people came into the forest; and there was honey upon the ground.
26 And when the people were come unto the forest, behold, the honey dropped: but no man put his hand to his mouth; for the people feared the oath.
(No man ate because of an oath made by Saul that required fasting until evening.)
27 But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath: wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were enlightened.
(Jonathan ate of the honey because he did not hear his father’s oath.)
28 Then answered one of the people, and said, Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth food this day. And the people were faint.
29 Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey.
(Jonathan stated his father inflicted pain on the nation, which implied that Saul pronounced this oath of his own accord and not by God's direction. Saul was acting as a boss. Leaders bear pain. Bosses inflict pain.)
30 How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely to-day of the spoil of their enemies which they found? for now hath there been no great slaughter among the Philistines.
31 And they smote of the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. And the people were very faint;
32 and the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slew them on the ground; and the people did eat them with the blood.
(The people ate meat with the blood. This was against the Law according to Leviticus 19:26.)
33 Then they told Saul, saying, Behold, the people sin against Jehovah, in that they eat with the blood. And he said, ye have dealt treacherously: roll a great stone unto me this day.
34 And Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and say unto them, Bring me hither every man his ox, and every man his sheep, and slay them here, and eat; and sin not against Jehovah in eating with the blood. And all the people brought every man his ox with him that night, and slew them there.
35 And Saul built an altar unto Jehovah: the same was the first altar that he built unto Jehovah.
(Saul still felt the responsibility for the people even though God said He would take the kingdom away. Saul built an altar to God in response to his men eating blood. Saul knew eating blood was forbidden and Saul knew he was the reason the men ate the blood in the first place.)
36 And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and take spoil among them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatsoever seemeth good unto thee. Then said the priest, Let us draw near hither unto God.
37 And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel? But he answered him not that day.
(Saul asked counsel of God but God did not answer that day.)
38 And Saul said, Draw nigh hither, all ye chiefs of the people; and know and see wherein this sin hath been this day.
39 For, as Jehovah liveth, who saveth Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die. But there was not a man among all the people that answered him.
(Saul knew the reason God did not answer was because there was still unconfessed sin in the camp.)
40 Then said he unto all Israel, Be ye on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side. And the people said unto Saul, Do what seemeth good unto thee.
41 Therefore Saul said unto Jehovah, the God of Israel, Show the right. And Jonathan and Saul were taken by lot; but the people escaped.
42 And Saul said, Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken.
43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast done. And Jonathan told him, and said, I did certainly taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in my hand; and, lo, I must die.
(Saul and Jonathan were taken because Saul made the oath and Jonathan broke it. Jonathan was aware that he broke an oath and he recognized he must die.)
44 And Saul said, God do so and more also; for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan.
45 And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? Far from it: as Jehovah liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not.
(The people vowed that Jonathan would not die. The people rescued Jonathan.)
46 Then Saul went up from following the Philistines; and the Philistines went to their own place.
47 Now when Saul had taken the kingdom over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines: and whithersoever he turned himself, he put them to the worse.
48 And he did valiantly, and smote the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the hands of them that despoiled them.
(Ammon and Moab were from Lot. Edom and the Amalekites were from Esau. Remember, the Amalekites were supposed to be wiped out completely: Deuteronomy 25:19.)
49 Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishvi, and Malchishua; and the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the first-born Merab, and the name of the younger Michal:
50 and the name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the captain of his host was Abner the son of Ner, Saul's uncle.
51 And Kish was the father of Saul; and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.
52 And there was sore war against the Philistines all the days of Saul: and when Saul saw any mighty man, or any valiant man, he took him unto him.
(Saul took any strong or valiant man to himself, just as God said a king would do in 1 Samuel 8:11-12.)
1 Samuel 15
1 And Samuel said unto Saul, Jehovah sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of Jehovah.
2 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, I have marked that which Amalek did to Israel, how he set himself against him in the way, when he came up out of Egypt.
3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
(Samuel sent Saul to destroy the Amalekites (man, woman, child, beast, etc.). Nothing was to be spared. This was the same as Deuteronomy 25:17 which documented God reminding Israel what the Amalekites did to them when they came out of Egypt and that God wanted them wiped out completely.)
4 And Saul summoned the people, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah.
5 And Saul came to the city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley.
6 And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them; for ye showed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites.
(Saul spared the Kenites because of how they treated Israel when they came out of Egypt.)
7 And Saul smote the Amalekites, from Havilah as thou goest to Shur, that is before Egypt.
8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
(Saul did not obey the words of God through Samuel. Saul and the people smote the Amalekites but they kept Agag the king and all of the best spoil. In the Book of Esther, Haman (the adversary of the Jews) was a descendant of Agag.)
10 Then came the word of Jehovah unto Samuel, saying,
11 It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king; for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And Samuel was wroth; and he cried unto Jehovah all night.
(God told Samuel that it repenteth Him that He set Saul as king. Samuel cried to the Lord all night.)
12 And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning; and it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a monument, and turned, and passed on, and went down to Gilgal.
13 And Samuel came to Saul; and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of Jehovah: I have performed the commandment of Jehovah.
(Did Saul really believe that he accomplished God’s command? Was he lying or was his heart hardened?)
14 And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?
15 And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto Jehovah thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
(Samuel heard the sheep and oxen that Saul kept. Saul responded by blaming the people for bringing the sheep and oxen. Saul was not acting like a leader. He was facilitating his own purpose and progress at the expense of the people. Were Samuel's questions, like Moses' interactions with Pharaoh, hardening Saul's heart?)
16 Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what Jehovah hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.
17 And Samuel said, Though thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel? And Jehovah anointed thee king over Israel;
(Samuel reminded Saul that he was humble when he was anointed king.)
18 and Jehovah sent thee on a journey, and said, Go, and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed.
19 Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of Jehovah, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah?
(Samuel confronted Saul: Why did you disobey God?)
20 And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of Jehovah, and have gone the way which Jehovah sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the devoted things, to sacrifice unto Jehovah thy God in Gilgal.
(Again, Saul blamed the people for keeping the spoil and rationalized keeping Agag alive. This was Saul's second chance at the same question. Saul became more entrenched in his explanation. His heart was hardening.)
22 And Samuel said, Hath Jehovah as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Jehovah? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
("To obey is better than sacrifice."
-Obeying God was a right how, in an action.
-Sacrificing, as seen in this case, may not have been for a right why or how. Sacrifice meant "to kill flesh."
Samuel stated it was better to do what God was telling you to do, then to focus on trying not to do what you wanted to do. It was a work to try and stop doing something by not doing it. In Romans 7:13, Paul stated focusing on what not to do only caused us to want to do it.)
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
(The KJV stated that "stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry."
-Stubbornness was "the unwillingness to see another perspective." The root of this was pride (unwilling to consider you are wrong). Stubbornness was not only not a good quality, it was equated with idolatry.
-Witchcraft was "attempting to state a will over something that has a will." Samuel stated to Saul that Saul's statement of his own will and intentionally doing the thing he was not supposed to do was rebellion, witchcraft, stubbornness, and idolatry.
Saul ought to have obeyed God and done what God told him to do. Was there any doubt that Saul's heart was hardened? How was Saul different from Pharaoh?)
24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of Jehovah, and thy words, because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
25 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship Jehovah.
(Pharaoh also confessed his sin and asked Moses to pray to God for him. Pharaoh's first confession occurred in Exodus 9:27 after the Plague of Hail.)
26 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee; for thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, and Jehovah hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.
27 And as Samuel turned about to go away, Saul laid hold upon the skirt of his robe, and it rent.
28 And Samuel said unto him, Jehovah hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbor of thine, that is better than thou.
29 And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent; for he is not a man, that he should repent.
(Saul continued to be rebellious after judgment was pronounced. Saul still tried to exert his will over Samuel's will and God's Will. Samuel told Saul that God had torn the kingdom from him and given it to someone better than him. Notice, this statement was in response to Saul's rebellion after judgment was pronounced.)
30 Then he said, I have sinned: yet honor me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship Jehovah thy God.
(Saul's focus was the people. Saul asked Samuel to affirm him in front of the people.)
31 So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped Jehovah.
(Saul worshipped God.)
32 Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him cheerfully. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past.
33 And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before Jehovah in Gilgal.
(Samuel killed Agag.)
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul.
35 And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death; for Samuel mourned for Saul: and Jehovah repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.
(Samuel did not see Saul again until his death.)
(This post covered Saul's rebellion against God and Samuel's last encounter with Saul.)
Day 83
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