First, chapters 13 and 14 form one unit so when you read chapter 14, bear chapter 13 in mind. Chapter 13 introduces Saul’s reign as king and chapter 14 ends with a summary of his deeds.

Secondly, although we are looking only at v.1-15 today, the whole of chapter 13 has a chiastic structure, a popular literary device that uses a mirror technique to compare, contrast, and intensify the themes being addressed and highlight the main theme at the centre of the chiasm:

A (v.1-4) The army of Israel.

B (v.5-7) The Philistines invade.

C (v.8-9) Saul’s sin.

D (v.10-12) Saul’s defence of his actions. [This is the main theme]

C’ (v.13-14) Saul’s sin rebuked.

B’ (15-18) The Philistines invade.

A’ (19-23) The army of Israel.

It is clear, then, that the chapter pivots around Saul’s defence of his actions so let’s zoom in on why Saul’s actions were sinful in the eyes of God and why the focus of the chapter is on his defence of his (sinful) actions, rather than the actions themselves.

To set the background for chapter 13, remember what we have read so far in 1 Samuel. In 1 Samuel 2, Hannah (the mother of Samuel) sings a beautiful hymn of praise to the LORD where God is described as one who lifts up the humble and shatter the proud so “for not by might shall a man prevail” (1 Sam 2:9) and, therefore, not by might will any king prevail, either.

In 1 Samuel 10, Saul is commanded by God (through His prophet, Samuel) to go to Gibeah, where there is a garrison of Philistines. Saul will be filled with the Holy Spirit (1 Sam 10:6) and he is to “do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you”, meaning that he is to be led in the power of the Spirit and attack the Philistines. Saul is commanded by God to then go to Gilgal and wait seven days for Samuel, who will come to make offerings to God and give Saul further instructions as to what to do next (1 Sam 10:8).

In 1 Samuel 12, Israel confesses their sin in rejecting God as king and wanting a human king, like other nations around them. However, God accedes to their wishes out of His lavish love for His people but makes it clear that all will be well with them as long as they and their king serve and obey Him (1 Sam 12:14-15, 24). Why? Because Israel, as God’s chosen people, was to model to all the nations the worship of the one true God, the one true king.

Armed with the right context, we now turn to chapter 13 and see that Saul sends Jonathan to Gibeah and he defeats the Philistine garrison at Geba. Scholars debate if the author of Samuel used Geba interchangeably with Gibeah because was there was a small town named Geba just 6km from Gibeah. For our purposes of understanding, we will accept Geba as an alternative name for Gibeah. Jonathan’s attack precipitates a Philistine invasion and Saul issues a call to arms to Israel at Gilgal. So far, so good, Saul has done what God has told him to do.

However, the size of the Philistine invasion strikes fear into the Israelites and Israel’s small army begins to desert (1 Sam 13:6-7). Those who remained were fearful. Saul waits seven days for Samuel as he was instructed in 1 Sam 10:8 but Samuel still had not arrived. So, Saul orders the burnt offerings and peace offerings to brought to him. He decides he cannot wait any longer for Samuel to make the offerings to God because he is afraid that more of his army will have deserted and the Philistines will have attacked by the time Samuel arrives. So, Saul takes it upon himself to make the offerings to God.

As soon as Saul has completed the burnt offerings to God, Samuel arrives and rebukes Saul very harshly for not keeping God’s commands. We are not told if Saul waited a full seven days and if Samuel arrived only on the eighth day. The way the text is phrased, it might be that Samuel arrived late on the seventh day and Saul had acted prematurely. But is Saul acting prematurely his sin? Samuel makes the point that Saul “[had] not kept the command of the LORD, [his] God, with which He commanded [him]” (1 Sam 13:13).

If you are reading the ESV, the sub-heading for this section is “Saul’s Unlawful Sacrifice”. Many scholars contend that Saul’s role was to lead as a king. His sin was unlawfully usurping Samuel’s role as priest and prophet by making the offerings to God. However, I would respectfully disagree. Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings to God (1 Kings 3:4) and God was not displeased with him. Instead, the text is clear that it was not what Saul did but rather what he did not do that so displeased God.

In the simplest sense, what Saul did not do was to serve and obey as God had instructed him. Instead of waiting for Samuel as directed, he acted out of his own fear and agenda. This may appear very trivial to us – surely, God cannot be so legalistic and so petty! His punishment of Saul (by taking away the kingdom from him) was much too harsh! But we need to understand that in doing things how he wanted rather than how God wanted, Saul was the very definition of pride and disobedience.

But there was worse to come.

When asked why he had done what he had done, Saul’s defence of his actions reveals the depths of his disobedience. He tells Samuel that he had not sought the favour of the LORD so he forced himself to make the offering to God (1 Sam 13:12). The Hebrew verb used here for “forced myself” is אֶתְאַפַּ֔ק (et-ap-paq) and strongly conveys the sense that what Saul was saying is, “I knew it was wrong but I had no choice and I consciously coerced/made myself” to disobey God.

In other words, Saul consciously knew it was wrong and that it would displease God but went ahead and did it, anyway. The reason this is worse than just simple pride and disobedience is that knowing it would displease God and, thus, have no meaning, he went ahead with the offering for show only! This is a mere appearance of faith without any authentic faith! Saul performed (in EVERY sense of the word!) the ritual offering in front of all his men, an empty gesture of pretended godliness.

At best, this was giving his men hope when there was, in fact, none. At worst, this was an act of witchcraft, since if Saul knew he was disobeying God, to whom or what idol was he sacrificing his burnt offering??!!

Finally, do not miss the significance of Samuel’s response as God’s anointed prophet after he pronounces God’s judgement on Saul: Samuel leaves. There is no blessing, no presence of God, no promise of victory against the Philistines.

Reflection :

My friends, account of the beginning of Saul’s perdition is at its heart a question for us, in our daily lives: Are we building God’s kingdom in our lives or are we building our kingdom?

When we preach as pastors, do we build God’s kingdom in seeking to change lives or do we build our kingdom in seeking applause and accolades from our congregation?

When we lead in song as worship leaders, do we build God’s kingdom in seeking to enjoin God’s people to praise or do we build our kingdom in seeking to show off our vocals?

When we facilitate in Bible study, do we build God’s kingdom in seeking to point to God’s will or do we build our kingdom in seeking to boast of our knowledge?

We can apply this to every facet of our lives – as husbands, wives, parents, children, friends, colleagues. Do we offer only the mere appearance of faith in every area of our lives or do we offer God authentic faith? Will we make a commitment to authentic faith today and then consistently seek to build God’s kingdom, rather than our own.

Prayer :

Abba Lord, We come before You, mindful of the lessons from 1 Samuel 13:1-15 and Your Word that guides us today. We acknowledge Saul's actions as a warning, emphasizing obedience, humility, and authentic faith.

Forgive us for the times when we have acted out of fear or self-interest, neglecting Your commands. Help us examine our motives in all aspects of our lives and seek to build Your kingdom, not our own.

Grant us patience to wait upon You, resisting the urge to take matters into our own hands. We pray for authentic faith, a heartfelt devotion to You, and actions aligned with Your will.

Guide us, O Lord, to continually strive to build Your kingdom in our lives and in the lives of those around us, bringing glory to Your name. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.