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Advent Productions

Benjamin Ng

Saul’s Presumptuous Act

Our Father in heaven, we thank you again for the opportunity to come and study your Word.

We're asking for your Holy Spirit to please be with us, and to guide us and to lead us, and help us, O Lord, to understand and give us the wisdom to know how to apply these words to our lives today.

Thank you Lord for we pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

Well greetings friends, good to see all of you joining us again this evening.

And today as we are going to start our Care Group study, we are continuing our series on the kings.

And today we're going to look at Saul's presumptuous act.

That's the title of our story and we're just going to jump straight into our first text this evening and it is found in 1 Samuel 13 verses 1 and 2.

The Bible says, Saul reigned 1 year, and when he had reigned 2 years over Israel, Saul chose him 3000 men of Israel, whereof 2000 were with Saul in Michmash and in Mount Bethel, and 1, 000 were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin, and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent." So Saul, he only retained a small portion of his army, just 3, 000.

2, 000 were with him and 1, 000 were with Jonathan, his son.

What had happened just before this, you remember as we studied, the men of Jabesh Gilead, do you remember that?

They were being attacked by the Ammonites and they called for help and Saul, when he heard this, he made a call out to the children of Israel and he managed to gather 330, 000 men.

We read in 1 Samuel 11 verse 8 that when He numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were 300, 000 and the men of Judah 30, 000.

And so when they went out and they fought against the Ammonites, God gave them the victory.

And this was the army that he was able to gather, to amass together, to come and fight beside him and for him against God's enemies.

But then we read in 1 Samuel 11, verse 11, And it was so on the morrow that Saul put the people in 3 companies, and they came into the midst of the host in the morning watch, and slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day, and it came to pass that they which remained were scattered so that 2 of them were not left together." God gave Saul the victory and had he gone on fighting, God would have given him even greater victories over his enemies since they were all full of hope and courage after this first battle.

But after he was officially crowned as king, he decided to disband the army that he had gathered and he just kept a small portion.

2, 000 were with him and 1, 000 were with Jonathan.

However, Saul's son Jonathan, he was still pushing forward.

He was still seeing that God was opening up the ways and he was testing, you know.

Of course, he wasn't ultra sure, but he would continue to test to see if God was still guiding and to give them victory over their enemies, the Philistines.

And so we read in 1 Samuel chapter 13, verses 3 through 4, And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it.

And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear, and all the Israel heard, say that Jonathan had smitten a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel also was had an abomination with the Philistines and the people were caught together, get together after Saul to Gilgal.

So Jonathan would continue to press forward.

He would continue to fight God's battles.

He would continue to fight against the Philistines and God would give him the victory.

He takes credit for the victory for himself instead of giving that victory and crediting it to the Son.

And the news goes far and wide throughout Israel that Saul has been fighting and God has been giving them victory over these enemies, the Philistines.

And ultimately, word gets back also to the Philistines.

And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, 30, 000 chariots and 6, 000 horsemen and people as the sand which is on the seashore in Multitude and they came up and pitched in mcmash eastward from Beth Haven They come to fight against Israel with an immense army.

I don't know if you noticed there, but 30, 000 chariots.

They have more chariots than they do horsemen.

Usually the chariots are much less, but here they have 30, 000 chariots, 6, 000 horsemen, and the foot soldiers, they just couldn't even be bothered counting them anymore.

And so they come and pitch their tent against Saul and the host of Israel and his armies.

And how does Israel react when they see the Philistines sitting at their doorstep?

When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, for the people were distressed, then the people did hide themselves in caves, and thickets, in rocks, in high places, and in pits.

And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead.

As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him, trembling.

Some went and hid themselves in caves and some in the cracks or on the rocks or in a pit on the ground.

Others they crossed over Jordan and they ran from the Philistines as far as they could.

And those that remained, the Bible says, they were trembling.

They obviously had looked at Saul and he must have been afraid as well.

He was certainly not inspiring faith into his soldiers, otherwise they would not have been following him tremblingly.

They would not have left and fled or gone and hide, right?

Such a vast host was coming out against them, And Saul, he was afraid.

And he tarried 7 days, speaking of Saul, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed.

But Samuel came not to Gilgal, and the people were scattered from him.

The Bible says that Saul waited for 7 days for Samuel to appear, the prophet.

What was the reason that Saul was waiting?

You see, why was it so important for him to wait for Samuel?

We read in 1 Samuel 10 and verse 8, thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal, and behold, I will come unto thee to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings.

7 days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and show thee what thou shalt do.

You see, friends, when Saul was first anointed as king, he was given the instruction from Samuel to go to Gilgal and to wait there for 7 days.

And then After that, he would come and he would show Saul what he would have to do.

And 7 days must have felt like an eternity, a really long time, with such a vast army right in front of you at your doorstep.

But nonetheless, Saul was there at Gilgal and he was waiting.

He was waiting for 7 days but no sign of Samuel appearing.

And meanwhile, the situation was getting worse.

He was seeing his army dissipate and disappear.

People were hiding, they were running, right?

His position and fitness as the king of Israel was being tested.

And could he be trusted in this position?

He's waiting, he's waiting, and the seventh day arrives and Samuel still has not appeared.

And in 1 Samuel 13 and verse 9, The Bible says, And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings.

So he decides to go ahead with offering the sacrifice of the burnt offering himself.

Now, there's something really important to note here.

Look, only the priests, only the priests were the ones that were allowed to offer these sacrifices to God.

It wasn't open for anyone and everyone to just come and perform this offering of this sacrifice.

It was the Levites that had been set aside to do this work.

And Samuel, although he was a prophet, he also was a priest.

And it also seemed to indicate at that young age when he was called and he was left there really by his mother and dedicated to the work, He was working in the temple helping Eli.

Look at this in 1st Samuel chapter 2 and verse 18.

The Bible says, but Samuel ministered before the Lord being a child girded with a linen ephod.

And moreover, you know, when Eli the high priest, he passed away, it would be Samuel that would come and stand in his place to lead the nation of Israel.

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Saul’s Presumptuous Act

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