Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering.
This is the passage in the Bible where Saul goes and makes an offering to the Lord, when he wasn’t supposed to. He was not a Levite. Only Levites were supposed to offer sacrifice. He was supposed to wait for Samuel and Samuel was going to do the sacrifice, I suppose. Samuel was a Levite; but he was a late Levite. And because Samuel tarried, Saul grew nervous and decided to proceed without him.
Now we could speculate about Saul and his heart; that maybe he was getting a little big for his britches to think he could get away with this. But it’s not clear as to that matter. What is clear though is that Saul made a bad choice. And because of this choice, it was determined by God that he would no longer be king. It took a little while for all to come to pass but nonetheless, this is where it started.
Look, we all make bad decisions. Bad decisions can be caused by bad circumstances. Circumstances go bad, so we get hasty and do things that we probably wouldn’t have done if the circumstances were different. If we look at the prior verse we can see some things common to man that cause us to make bad decisions.
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 gathered themselves together at Michmash; (1 Samuel 13:11)
#1 Loss of sovereignty
“The people were scatter from me.” Saul said. Note the two words from me. The people were not looking to him for leadership. They were scattering. Surely this is the fear of any leader; a pastor; employer, father, mother, or any position of leadership. If those under you do not see you as a leader, panic may ensue; depending on what this coupled with. Nevertheless, don’t panic. Don’t make a bad decision just because people don’t listen to you. That’s nothing new. People never listen very well anyhow.
You don’t have to be a leader of people however to lose your sovereignty. Any time we lose control over our circumstances or a situation things can get scary. I know a lot of motivational advice might say to take control of your situation, but that’s what Saul did. That didn’t work so well for him. Sometimes, things are not so simple that only motivation will solve our problems. Sometimes we need some immobilization instead; just wait for God to work things out.
I don’t want to sound like Mr. Spiritual, but here’s something to consider. Maybe we ought to be practicing a loss of sovereignty that way when it becomes a reality in our life, we won’t panic and we’ll make better decisions. If we’re saved, then we shouldn’t be sovereign. God is in command, not us. “Ye are not your own… For ye are bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:19,20) It’s possible that when circumstances come our way that we feel we’ve lost control and we are tempted to make hasty decisions, maybe it is because giving God the steering wheel is more foreign to us that we are willing to admit.
#2 Loss of support
Saul complained because Samuel “camest not within the days appointed.” Things were looking bad and the one person that Saul looked to for advice wasn’t there. In other words, he felt alone. He felt abandoned. Jesus said, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” We have a friend in Jesus that is always there. We ought never feel like we’re alone.
Even Jesus as told the disciples about his hour and about how they would all soon abandon him, he said, “Ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.” (John 16:32) If we ever feel alone or that someone dear to us that we’ve looked to for support has failed us, let us remember the words of Jesus, “Yet I am not alone.”
Also, Saul’s judgement was crippled because Samuel was late. We don’t know what Samuel was doing. I’m not going to condemn him for this nor am I going to make excuses for him. However, Saul let it get to him. Don’t make the same mistake Saul made. And I’m not rebuking Samuel or blaming him, but consider that there are people that cannot deal with you being late. You may think that being late only hurts you, but it may have unintended consequences. Whoever is waiting for you, may not be as spiritual as you are! 🙂
#3 Loss of security
Saul’s third reason was that “the Philistines gathered themselves together”. One can hardly blame Saul for overreacting. The people were scattering, he was losing power and authority. Samuel was late, he hadn’t inquired of the Lord. Above all this, now his enemies were gathering. I mean you just don’t sit there and do nothing when armies are gathering at your border. I don’t know what king wouldn’t.
But knowing and trusting that God will fight your battles will most definitely affect you when the enemy is nigh. In the days of Elisha when the Syrians, their enemy, had come upon them, Elisha’s servant saw the how the city was compassed with horses and chariots of Syria. He asked Elisha, “Alas, my master! how shall we do?”
Elisha didn’t panic for he knew something that his servant didn’t. The Bible says, “And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. (2 Kings 6:16,17)
Oh my! When our enemies compass us and gather themselves together, how we need a heavenly eye opening; or maybe an eye lifting as David said, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD…” (Psalm 121:1,2) You’re gonna make bad decisions if you fail to see that “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” (1 John4:4)
Conclusion
There’s that threefold cord again. Saul lost control of his situation, he had no one to help him, and his enemies had increased about him. He was in a pickle and he went sour. My advice is don’t force yourself in a pickle when you’re not. God the Father is in control, so you’ll never have to worry about losing it. God the Holy Ghost dwells in you, so you’re never alone. And God the Son, the captain of the Lord of hosts and His angels protect you, so your enemies will never outnumber or overcome you. Praise God!