Verses 15-18
Events Subsequent To Saul’s Disobedience (1 Samuel 13:15-18 ).
We should note that God in His mercy did not desert Israel. He would at this time still give them the means of driving out the Philistines for the time being, but in the event it would only be to a limited extent because of the failures of Saul. Here we have described for us the initial movements towards that end.
‘ And Samuel arose, and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that were present with him, about six hundred men.’
The impression we have is that Samuel has now left Saul on his own. He has left Gilgal and made for Gibeah of Benjamin, and is no more heard of in 1 Samuel 13-14. However, his being in Gibeah does indicate that he is still available as a last resort, for Gibeah is Saul’s home town, not Samuel’s. It is in clear contrast with 1 Samuel 15:34 where Samuel returns to Ramah and sees Saul’s face no more. So while Saul is now left to see to his own affairs there is still a chink of light for him. He is not totally deserted. (If only he had known how to repent like David did all might have been made well. But that was foreign to Saul, and he chose rather to trust in ‘the Priest’ - 1 Samuel 14:3).
Meanwhile Saul has counted up what was left of his army and it has come to six hundred men. This may indicate that even many of his standing army (1 Samuel 13:2) had deserted him and were hiding in the hills, or it may simply mean that the three ‘units’ of 1 Samuel 13:2 are to be seen as consisting of two hundred men per unit.
‘ And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people who were present with them, abode in Geba of Benjamin, but the Philistines encamped in Michmash.’
With his six hundred men Saul, along with Jonathan, made camp in Geba because the Philistines were in Michmash. This meant that the position in 1 Samuel 13:2-3 was now reversed. The two sites were separated by a deep ravine and each was observable by the other, although neither could easily reach the other. Saul had to be constantly on the move in this way because his army was not strong enough to meet the Philistines face to face.
‘ And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned to the way that leads to Ophrah, to the land of Shual; and another company turned to the way to Beth-horon; and another company turned to the way of the border which looks down on the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.’
Meanwhile the Philistines went out looking for spoil, but Saul’s force was not strong enough to be able to do anything about it, and thus all he and his men could do was watch while time and again spoilers came out of their camp and went in three directions seeking booty. One marauding party would regularly take the road that led to Ophrah and the land of Shual. One would take the road to Beth-horon. And the third would take the route to the border road between Judah and Benjamin which looked down on Zeboim. Israel were thus being despoiled. The Philistines’ hope was presumably that by doing this they would draw Saul out of his strong position on Geba. But he knew that such a move would have been folly. While his men were in their strong position at Geba the Philistines could not touch them. Let them be seen to leave their position and they would be lucky if any survived. He had little trust in his ‘host’ hidden in the hills.
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