Defying God's Commands - 1 Samuel 13
I’m certainly no cook, but there are a few kitchen gadgets that I find really interesting. Two of my favorite kitchen gadgets at the moment are air fryers and pressure cookers.
I had to do some research to better understand pressure cookers, but in case you didn’t know pressure cookers trap steam in a sealed environment, which raises the temperature and ultimately cooks whatever is inside.
As I was reflecting on our passage earlier in the week, I realized that trials and difficult circumstances are a lot like pressure cookers. Just as a pressure cooker traps steam to build pressure, life's trials often trap us in challenging situations that feel overwhelming and pressurized. And it’s in the midst of those pressurized situations that your heart is exposed. What truly matters to you becomes crystal clear when pressure is applied.
Which is precisely what happened in our passage. In 1 Samuel 13, Saul finds himself in a pressure cooker situation. The Philistine army has gathered in massive numbers—chariots, horsemen, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore to prepare for war. Saul’s own men are trembling with fear, and many of them are running away. And as his men are fleeing in droves, and the Philistine army is looking more and more ominous, Saul is forced to wait for days on end for Samuel to offer the sacrifices to the Lord.
And of course, we know what happened: as the pressure continued to build Saul decided the best course of action was to defy the word of God and offer the sacrifices himself, and in doing so, he exposed his heart. And we learn several things from this passage: first, we learn that Saul did not wholly trust the Word of God, second, we see that Saul believed it was his own efforts that would protect him, which of course exposed Saul’s weakness as king.
Failure to Trust God’s Word
One year into Saul’s reign as king, and a serious problem had arisen: his son Jonathan had “defeated the garrison of the Philistines that was at Geba.”
In the first 13 chapters of 1 Samuel the people of Israel have already had several run-ins with their neighboring enemies, the Philistines.
And so at first glance, you’d read what first glance you’d think, well that’s wonderful news! Jonathan had defeated their enemies! That’s worth celebrating, right? Well, the answer in Israel seemed to be no. Jonathan’s successful attack (which the mainstream media in Israel gave Saul credit for) meant that the Philistines would respond in kind. Saul knew that Jonathan’s attack would provoke war with the Philistines.
And previously in 1 Samuel 10, the prophet/priest Samuel gave Saul specific instructions for this situation: all of Israel was supposed to gather in Gilgal and wait for Samuel to arrive. Samuel specifically told Saul in chapter 10:8, “I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.”
So Saul went to Gilgal to gather his army and wait for Samuel. But of course, as the Israelites were waiting on Samuel, the Philistines were making preparations for war.
And the Philistines raised a massive army. We’re told in verse 5 that, “...the Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude.”
The people of Israel were so afraid of the Philistine army that they hid in “caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns…” Some didn’t even bother hiding and instead fled for their lives! They crossed the Jordan river to find refuge in the land of Gad and Gilead.
Even the people who remained with Saul were trembling.
In other words, Israel was in utter chaos as they were forced to patiently wait on Samuel.
Earlier this week, I ran over a nail in my car and the saddest part is that my tires are brand new. So, I went to a tire store yesterday so they could plug and patch my tire. And I got there and the place was packed! I waited probably like 20 minutes, without anyone even acknowledging me. So I thought to myself, I’ll wait 5 more minutes and then I’ll just leave and go somewhere else.
And of course, as I was contemplating leaving, a guy came and helped me. Apparently, they were super busy because everyone is making preparations for the blizzard this afternoon! But my point in sharing that story with you is that I was getting impatient after like 15-20 minutes.
Now just imagine how Saul must have felt!
In 1 Samuel 10 verse 8 Samuel told him that he’d have to wait for him. He said, “Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.” Saul had to sit there a week and wait on Samuel!
Israel is in chaos, people are hiding, people are fleeing, he needs to be making preparations for war, and getting these people under control, but instead he’s stuck there waiting on Samuel.
You can almost feel Saul’s anxiety building in this passage. He’s in a pressure cooker situation and what was he going to do? Would he obey the Word of God that Samuel had delivered to him or would he take matters into his own hands?
Of course, we know that he took matters into his own hands and offered the burnt offering. He didn’t wholly trust the Word of the Lord did he? It was halfway obedience which is disobedience. How many of you parents tell your children, “good job,” when they almost obey you?
It’s always interesting to go back and read the explanation Saul gave for taking matters into his own hands and offering the sacrifice verses 11 and 12.
Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, 12 I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.”
Things were chaotic, Samuel still hadn’t arrived, the Philistine army was huge, and someone needed to knock these sacrifices out, so Saul forced himself to offer the burnt offering.
After all, he needed the Lord to bless Israel’s efforts in their war, Samuel was nowhere to be found, so he went ahead and took care of the sacrifices himself in direct violation of God’s clear commands.
But Saul acted as if he had no choice!
He was willing to go to Gilgal, he was even willing to wait on Samuel - up and to a point. It’s easy to obey the Word of God when it doesn’t conflict with our plans. When the Word of God lines up with what we were going to do anyway, obedience is easy.
But obedience to God’s Word is much more difficult when it contradicts what we want. Which is of course the case with Saul. He was willing to obey the Word of God until it started to become inconvenient. Once God’s Word became really inconvenient, he began to reevaluate his options and look for a shortcut.
The famous preacher Charles Spurgeon once said, “obedience is the highest practical courage.”
Isn’t that so true? It requires courage to trust God’s Word even in the midst of those pressure cooker situations.
Because there’s a real temptation to take matters into your own hands or compromise the word of God completely when obedience to the Lord might cost you something.
Isn’t that the case with Saul? God had instructed him to wait on Samuel, but the longer he waited on Samuel the more exposed he’d be to the Philistines! Saul thought that if he obeyed the Word of God the kingdom of Israel would be destroyed.
The same is still true for us today. We’re sometimes led to believe that faithfulness to the Word of God will lead to our destruction. And the solution becomes if we compromise just a little right here then we won’t seem as weird to the world, we’ll become more relatable, and it might even lead to opportunities to connect with new people – all we have to do is disregard the clear commands of the Word of God.
The lie that is so appealing to our flesh is that compromising the Word of God will be in our best interest. But the reality is, when we shortcut or compromise the Word of God it exposes what is really valuable to us. And more often than not, it shows that we care more about protecting ourselves and our relationship with the world than pleasing God.
Which is of course, why Saul’s blatant disregard for the word of the Lord is so offensive: it reveals that in his heart self-preservation, retaining his kingship, and protecting the kingdom of Israel is more important than honoring God.
You cannot serve two masters. You either serve God or something else. And if you truly love God then you will love his Word. There is no distinction between the two. A love for God is a love for his Word and a love of His Word is a love for God.
It’s what Jesus said: “if you love me you will keep my commandments.” The question is never in the clarity of God’s Word - the question is whether you and I love Him enough to obey Him even in the midst of pressure cooker situations.
Saul believed his efforts would protect him
The truth is, the metal of your faith isn’t tested when life is going according to plan. The metal of your faith is tested in the refiner's fire. Your faith is tested in the pressure cooker. It’s tested through trials.
Will you lean on God or trust in your own understanding? A dependence on God’s Word in the midst of trials will reveal your faith. To the contrary, if you abandon God’s Word in the midst of trials, that casts doubt on your faith doesn’t it?
Which is exactly what happened in our passage. Saul was becoming more anxious. He needed to be making preparations for war, he had a big long checklist he needed to knock out, but instead he was forced to sit on his hands and wait on Samuel!
Eventually Saul couldn’t take it anymore and said, ““Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering.”
And to a certain extent, can’t we all sympathize with Saul? The situation was dire. His stress levels were through the roof and in a moment of weakness took on something that was outside of his purview.
Only lawfully ordained priests were supposed to offer the sacrifices. Offering the sacrifices were reserved for Samuel. Saul can really relate to that Alabama song, he’s in a hurry to get things done.
We might even wonder, why did they need to offer sacrifices to begin with? Why worship God right before going to war? That seems more like a post-war sort of thing, right?
But the truth is, it actually makes perfect sense. Because if Israel was going to be victorious in war, they absolutely needed the blessing of the Lord. Which is why it’s quite ironic that Saul violated God’s Word but still expected a blessing from him! Doesn’t that still happen today?
Isn’t it so arrogant to blatantly violate God’s Word and then expect a blessing from Him. But it reveals what’s really important to us doesn’t it? And in those situations God tends to take a back seat to whatever we think is more important.
Which was the case with Saul! He believed that maintaining his army, making diligent preparations, and reflecting on military strategy would win him the war. But it’s not your efforts that win wars but rather God’s sovereign hand, which again, is why it was so important for the people of Israel to take a moment in worship to the Lord to acknowledge their dependence on Him.
Because if they were going to win this war with the Philistines, God was going to have to fight for them! God was going to have to deliver them out of the hands of the Philistines! God was going to have to save them! And if God’s hand was in it, it wouldn’t matter how big and intimidating the Philistine army was, if the Lord fights for you, you only have to be still.
Here’s something that is so important for us to remember: You cannot claim to trust God and reject what his Word says, because trusting in God’s Word is trusting in God himself.
Saul had fallen for the lie that in order to protect himself and Israel, he needed to abandon the Word of God. Which is exactly the lie that many professing Christians fall for today! If you shortcut God’s Word here, and compromise there, that will ultimately save our reputation, ministry, and church.
But the opposite happens. Abandoning God’s Word will lead to our own destruction and God removing his presence from us.
That’s exactly what happens in our passage. After Saul disregards the Word of God and offers the sacrifice, Samuel shows up, right on time by the way, and tells him that he has acted foolishly!
What does Samuel respond to Saul’s unlawful sacrifice? He tells him what the consequence for his action will be and then walks away. Samuel, the mouthpiece of the living God, abandons Saul. You have a symbolic image of the word of God abandoning Saul.
In many ways, Saul got exactly what he wanted. He wanted to take matters into his own hands, he wanted to do things his way, and so he was on his own.
The pressure cooker of life reveals whether you will “trust in the Lord” or “lean on your own understanding.”
Revealed his weaknesses as a king
A passage that begins with such optimism ends on an incredibly depressive note. Jonathan defeats the Philistine garrison, Saul rallies Israel to Gilgal, and then everything falls apart there doesn’t it?
Saul unlawfully offers the burnt offering, Samuel tells him that the crown will not sit on his family’s head and then abruptly leaves, additionally, Saul’s army had dwindled down to a pathetic six-hundred men. And then to add insult to injury we learn in verses 17-18 the Philistines sent out multiple raiding parties to capture Israelite villages and restrict the flow of resources to Gilgal.
Which would explain the weapon shortage described in verses 19-23. Things were looking absolutely bleak for the people of Israel.
And everything that Saul touches seems to break doesn’t it? The whole thing really makes you long for a better king.
It really makes you long for the King that Samuel described to Saul at the end of verse 14: “The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart…”
If you’ve grown up in or around the church you probably know that that passage applies to King David. It is often said of David that he is a man after God’s own heart.
And of course that’s true, but the “man after God’s own heart” finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ. This passage cries out for a sinless King! A King who will perfectly obey the Word of the Lord even in the midst of the pressure cooker.
Is that not what happened at the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus asked the Lord to take the cup away from him? He was asking the Lord to find a way outside of the cross to redeem his people, but how did he end that particular prayer?
“My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” And then he obediently went to the cross to save his people from their sins.
In many ways, I think it’s difficult not to be sympathetic to Saul in this passage. For you and me, when we’re in the pressure cooker of life, odds are we too will fall into sin. We too, may try to take matters into our own hands. We too, will turn from the Word of God to chase the things of this world.
Saul certainly fell into sin in this particular passage, but it’s not like his sin was unpardonable! It’s not like this was the unforgivable sin that Saul could never come back from.
What made it so grievous was that he didn’t repent. He never turned from his sin. Instead when he was caught red-handed blatantly dismissing the Word of God, he offered a list of excuses a mile long!
He said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, 12 I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.”
He never repented and trusted in the Savior.
Which is why David is often described as a man after God’s own heart. He wasn’t called that because he was sinless - far from it! But when David sinned he repented and trusted in the Savior.
It was David who after being confronted with his sin said, “Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.”
You see what makes you a man or woman after God’s own heart isn’t sinless perfection, but repenting from your sin and trusting once again in the sinless perfect king. And in the moments where you fail to remain faithful to God’s Word, you repent once again and trust in Jesus Christ. That’s the proper response to sin.
And you know what? When you’re trusting in Christ he will protect you and keep you even through the pressure cooker situations in life. Amen. Let’s pray together.
