“So Saul said, ‘Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.’ And he offered the burnt offering. But as soon as he finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him and to greet him.”
Disobedience is a Foolish Mistake
In this account of 1 Samuel 13, Saul and his army were waiting for the Prophet Samuel to arrive so that he could offer a sacrifice before the army went out to war. Samuel had not yet arrived, and the soldiers were preparing to run rather than fight the Philistines. Saul decided to take the matter into his own hands. (Read 1 Samuel 13:11-12) Verse 12 (NKJV) says, “Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.”
In 1 Samuel 13:13 the prophet Samuel said, “You have done a foolish thing. You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you.” Why was Saul’s offering considered foolish? Because Saul had disobeyed a direct command from the prophet Samuel given in 1 Samuel 10:8: “Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do.” (emphasis mine)
These seven days were probably to teach Saul patience and dependence upon God. He waited seven days, but barely. As soon as the week was up, he offered the sacrifice on his own, refusing to wait any longer for Samuel. In this bold act of getting ahead of God, Saul showed a variety of weaknesses that made him unfit to be king. Two of them were impatience and disobedience. Rather than choose to surrender to God and His command, Saul chose to rely on himself to get things done. Isn’t that just like some believers? They will surrender to God up to a point. That point being when it looks like God isn’t moving fast enough. That’s when they snatch it back believing they can handle it from here. Besides, what harm would it do, right? Disobedience can cost you your destiny.
Saul’s offering showed that he let the pressure of his army scattering cause him to make a wrong decision. He was more concerned about what the people thought than obeying God (1 Samuel 13:7-8). As king he was to follow the Lord’s commands, not get ahead of Him. Even if Samuel was late, it does not excuse Saul’s actions, which were a foolish mistake.
Stepping into Something Greater
Every time you resist the Holy Spirit and you don’t obey His leading, you delay what God wants to do in your life. Resistance is not simply saying no to God, sometimes it’s simply saying not yet. Resistance leads to spiritual stagnation. It also brings unnecessary struggles and pain, look at Saul and how things turned out for him. You must choose to walk in God’s will; it is not automatic.
Dependence on the Holy Spirit is not an event; it is a lifestyle with daily conversations with our Heavenly Father. You were created for more than just surviving, more than being average, more than just getting by. We are to trust His voice above our emotions. God will never force us to live a surrendered life. He waits for us to choose it. It is not just about letting go and trusting Him in the unseen. It’s about stepping into something greater, surrendering fully. Surrender is not inactivity; it is an act of FAITH!
Faith Sees
2 Corinthians 5:7 (New Life Version) – “Our life is lived by faith. We do not live by what we see in front of us.”
Faith sees and understands with the heart, as stated in Matthew 13:15, “Lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart.”
Faith is responding positively to God’s promises. God has given us a book of promises. These promises in His word must be seen, heard, understood, and believed in the heart. So that it may be acted upon and bear fruit. There are many scriptures that support this (Matthew 13:23, Romans 10:8 and James 2:17-18).
Lessons from King Saul
King Saul has taught us some valuable lessons here in this account of 1 Samuel 13. First, God desires our obedience. It is still our choice to obey or not to obey. Second, it takes patience to obey God’s word fully. Especially when we think He isn’t moving fast enough. Lastly or third and this is important. There is a cost for getting ahead of God, with disobedience and impatience. God’s way may not seem easy or convenient for us at the time, but obeying His Word is the best choice for our lives.
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