Verses 7-14
Saul Offends YHWH (1 Samuel 13:7-14 ).
It would appear from what follows that the offering of sacrifices at Gilgal for seven days, followed by a special offerings made by Samuel on the seventh day, was seen as necessary whenever the tribal muster came together, in order that they might receive instructions from YHWH as their Divine War-Leader. This was in accordance with the practise laid down by Samuel in 1 Samuel 10:8. Thus it was necessary to wait at Gilgal, with the host partly in hiding, until Samuel arrived to perform the necessary sacrifices. This would suggest that there was still no official High Priest to do the honours, and that ordinary priests were simply not seen as sufficient. 1 Samuel 13:8 must not be seen as simply a fulfilment of 1 Samuel 10:8. It is far too disconnected from it for that, (a gathering at Michmash, a time spent by Saul on his farm, a foray against the Ammonites, and a time at Gilgal), especially as there had been visits to Gilgal in between.
‘ Now (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.’
This reference to the dispersal of ‘the Hebrews’ would fit in with the idea that it has in mind Habiru mercenaries who had retreated to safety across the Jordan to Gad and Gilead, leaving the people in general with Saul, while they on their part awaited the call to return. On the other hand ‘all the people’ may simply indicate ‘all those who were still with him’, and the definite article on ‘the Hebrews’ may be intended to be redundant so that we read simply as ‘Hebrews’ (the definite article in Hebrew often simply means ‘the ones we are talking about’ and nothing more). Thus it may simply be indicating that some of the Transjordanian tribes slipped back home, while the remainder remained at Gilgal in a sad state of funk (hidden among the rocks). The main importance of the statement, however, is that Saul and his levy had remained in Gilgal with the bravest of the people, even though many of them were in a blue funk.
‘ And he waited seven days, according to the set time that Samuel expected, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattered from him.’
Comparison with 10:8 suggests that whenever Saul came to Gilgal in order to prepare ritually for what YHWH might want him to do, seven days of sacrifices offered by ordinary priests were seen as essential preparation before the final burnt offering and peace offerings that Samuel would offer as substitute High Priest which would enable him then to show Saul what YHWH wanted him to do. (It is not likely that Saul and the people would be expected to wait at the Sanctuary for seven days and not offer sacrifices. They would be an expression of confidence in YHWH). However, when the seventh day came Samuel had not arrived at the time when Saul was expecting him, and meanwhile many of the people were slipping away, or were scattering in the hills in hiding. This was causing Saul to panic.
“The set time that Samuel expected/had fixed as a regular practise .” In the Hebrew there is no verb and we thus have to read in what we consider that the writer is trying to say.
‘ And Saul said, “Bring here the burnt-offering to me, and the peace-offerings.” And he offered the burnt-offering.’
So when Samuel did not arrive at what he saw as the expected time the impatient Saul felt that he could wait no longer, and ordered that the burnt offering and peace offerings should be brought. ‘And he offered the burnt offering.’ This may mean that he called on the ordinary priests to offer it, and that his sin was in not waiting on YHWH’s timing. Alternately, many consider that it indicates that he himself offered it in the guise of a king-priest. Most local kings were king-priests, and the idea then is that he went beyond his station because he saw himself as ‘a king like all the nations’. Either way he was committing a gross sin, for the whole point of Israel’s unique relationship with YHWH was that they took their orders from Him.
‘ And it came about that, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt-offering, behold, Samuel came, and Saul went out to meet him, so that he might salute him.’
But the impatient Saul had acted too soon, for as soon as the offering of the burnt-offering had been finalised, Samuel arrived in time to fulfil his duty. And Saul went out to greet him so as to welcome him. It appears that he did not feel that what he had done was really so bad after all, which demonstrated how much he was spiritually lacking. He saw what he had done as a military necessity, not as disobedience to his Commander-in-Chief, simply because his trust was in the big battalions rather than in YHWH. What he should have recognised of course was that YHWH could save by many or by few, so that what was important was keeping YHWH on side.
‘ And Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the fixed amount of days, and that the Philistines assembled themselves together at Michmash, therefore I said, “Now will the Philistines come down on me to Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favour of YHWH’ I forced myself therefore, and offered the burnt-offering.” ’
But Samuel was aghast. To him what Saul had done indicated a total lack of faith in YHWH. It was rebellion of the highest order. ‘What have you done?’ he cried. This may have been because he saw Saul as having broken the levitical law concerning the limiting of the offering of sacrifices to the Aaronic priesthood, or because he saw him as not having waited for YHWH’s instructions, and thus as having interfered in the process laid down by YHWH by which Samuel received his guidance and direction from God and ensured YHWH’s blessing. Either way it was disobedience and sacrilege.
Saul replied that he had done what he did because:
1). He had seen the people slipping away (or scattering in the mountains in order to hide).
2). Samuel had not arrived at the time when he had expected him.
3) The Philistines were assembled at Michmash and were possibly waiting to come down on them.
4). He had not yet been able to seek the favour of YHWH.
Thus he had forced himself to offer the burnt offering. What he had failed to see was that it was more important to obey YHWH than to offer a burnt offering in disobedience. Doing the latter was not the way to obtain the favour of YHWH.
‘ And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of YHWH your God, which he commanded you. For now would YHWH have established your kingship on Israel for ever.” ’
Samuel now told him that he had behaved very foolishly, because he had not kept the word that YHWH his God had commanded him. If only he had done so, and had demonstrated his faith in YHWH and had continued to be faithful, YHWH would have established his dynasty for ever. His descendants after him would have been kings over Israel.
Note that Samuel speaks of ‘YHWH your God’. He wants Saul to recognise his own direct responsibility to YHWH.
(If we consider this to be a little unfair we should note that in fact Saul’s dynasty did partly continue, but failed because it was no match for David. That is why Judah initially chose David as their king. It is probable that Ishbosheth’s (Abner’s) aim was to force Judah to rejoin Israel, but even with a larger ‘host’ it did not prove strong enough to cope with David’s military ability. The writer knew why. It was because David was possessed by the Spirit of YHWH).
“ But now your kingship will not continue. YHWH has sought for himself a man after his own heart, and YHWH has appointed him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what YHWH commanded you.”
But now he learned that because he had not been obedient, while his kingship would continue, it would not continue beyond his own lifetime. For the fact was that YHWH has now looked elsewhere and found a man after His own heart, a man who would have waited, a man who would seek to do only His will, and He has already in His own mind appointed him to be the future war-leader of Israel. And all this because Saul had not fulfilled what YHWH had commanded him.
We should note that at this point Saul was not totally rejected by YHWH as a result of what he had done in not obeying Him. It was simply that the blessings that he would receive would be limited, and he would receive no directions from YHWH for this particular situation. But he would still continue as king. His final rejection would come later. We note here that he suffers the same judgment as Eli who was also not himself rejected, but whose dynasty was to be replaced by one more fitting to YHWH.
So one result of his failure was that Samuel now had no instruction for him from YHWH, and he was thus left to manage things on his own. YHWH, however, had not totally deserted His people for He would in the event enable him, along with his son Jonathan, eventually to defeat the Philistines and drive them back. But this would not be because of Saul, but because of Jonathan’s faith in Him. This was a tragedy for Saul because if Samuel had been guiding him perhaps he would not have committed the folly of making a rash vow, and the victory would have been all the greater (1 Samuel 14:24; 1 Samuel 14:30; 1 Samuel 14:46).
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