WAIT ON THE LORD

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-two years.

Saul chose three thousand men from Israel; two thousand were with him at Micmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. The rest of the men he sent back to their homes.

Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul had the trumpet blown throughout the land and said, "Let the Hebrews hear!" So all Israel heard the news: "Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost, and now Israel has become a stench to the Philistines." And the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.

The Philistines assembled to fight Israel, with three thousand chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Micmash, east of Beth Aven. When the men of Israel saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns. Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead.

Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear. He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul's men began to scatter. So he said, "Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings." And Saul offered up the burnt offering. Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.

"What have you done?" asked Samuel.

Saul replied, "When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Micmash, I thought, 'Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord's favor.' So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering."

"You acted foolishly," Samuel said. "You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord's command."

Then Samuel left Gilgal and went up to Gibeah in Benjamin, and Saul counted the men who were with him. They numbered about six hundred.

1 Samuel 13:1-15

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Up to this point in 1st Samuel, all has seemed well with Saul, the king selected by God to lead Israel. But we can’t forget the warnings that God gave His people as they asked for a king…warnings that would indicate that Saul wouldn’t turn out as well as first indicated. In chapter 13, we see this begin to come to fruition.

For as Saul is encamped at Micmash and near the hill country of Bethel with two thousand men from Israel, his son, Jonathan, attacks a Philistine outpost at Geba…an act that angers the Philistines who “assembled to fight Israel, with three thousand chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore”. So while Saul sends word to the Israelites that a battle is soon to happen with the Philistines, all Israelites were “summoned to join Saul at Gilgal”. Ironically, the Philistines assembled at Micmash, where Saul had just left.

So the battle lines were drawn and the sheer number of Philistine troops resulted in panic among the Israelite troops. Scripture tells us that some men “hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns” while others “crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead”. Meanwhile, “Saul remained at Gilgal” and “all the troops with him were quaking with fear”. The situation wasn’t looking good for Israel but note one important thing. No one, including the king, was turning to the Lord for guidance or help. Instead, we see a flaw in Saul revealed as he decides to follow his own judgment before God’s…and in doing so, refuses to wait on the Lord.

How often do we do this as well? When situations in life tend to get difficult, we tend to turn from trusting that God will help us get through our challenges and instead try and take control of our situations ourselves. And the Lord will allow us to do this, just to show us how much we can mess up things when we try to take control. He teaches us that we are far better ahead with Him than we are without Him.

There are several scriptures that speak to us about the matter of waiting on the Lord. Allow me to use them in breaking down Saul’s actions at the end of this passage and in doing so, teaching us to not repeat the mistakes he made.

Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

As the Philistines assembled and prepared for their assault on Israel, Saul waited at Gilgal for Samuel. You’ll recall that Samuel told Saul to go there and wait seven days for him, at which time Samuel would tell Saul what to do. (1 Samuel 10:8)

Now given that Samuel was a prophet, we know that when he spoke he was speaking messages from God Himself. And so when Samuel told Saul to wait for him to come and tell him what to do, Samuel was essentially telling Saul to wait to receive word from God as to what he should do. And so Saul “waited seven days…but Samuel did not come to Gilgal”. Meanwhile, “Saul's men began to scatter”. Saul’s situation was starting to unravel as he faced a growing enemy force while his own was fleeing. He decided he could no longer wait and so he demanded that the “burnt offering and the fellowship offerings” be brought to him and instead of waiting for Samuel, Saul “offered up the burnt offering” himself.

Saul’s actions showed he wasn’t very strong nor willing to take heart and wait for the Lord. He felt he could act and bring the victory himself. After all, he was the king. As we will see, his actions would be the start of his downfall. And we will find as well that we will fail and fall as well, every time we decide to not wait for the Lord in our circumstances.

Psalm 130:5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits and in His word, I put my hope.

Scripture tells is that “just as (Saul) finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him”. Sensing that something was amiss, Samuel asks Saul, “What have you done?"

Saul tries to justify his actions to Samuel saying, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Micmash, I thought, 'Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord's favor.' So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering." His reasoning did not set well with Samuel who told Saul that he had acted foolishly because he had not “kept the command the Lord gave (him)”.

As we saw before, Saul had grown impatient to the point where he decided to not wait on the Lord. As we continue to study this passage, we see where he made a second error as well…for he failed to place his hope in the word of the Lord. If he had, then he would have waited for Samuel to come and tell him what he should do…or in other words, what God wanted him to do.

Friends, we need to remember Saul’s error and never fail to place our hope in God’s word. For in His word, we find the strength, power and faith to persevere and carry on through whatever difficulties we go through. His word instructs us, guides us, comforts us and strengthens us through life’s circumstances…and helps us to wait on the Lord…to wait for His will and way to be revealed to us.

Isaiah 30:18b …For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him.

So Saul had chosen to not trust in the Lord…to not place his hope in God’s word. Going back to our passage from 1st Samuel, we see where Saul will now face the consequences for his actions…for the Lord is a God of justice. Samuel passes the sentence to Saul from God.

First, Samuel tells Saul what could have been. For had Saul trusted in God and waited for His word to come, then the Lord would have “established (Saul’s) kingdom over Israel for all time”. But Saul failed to wait and his error would not cost him just a little…but his entire kingdom. For Samuel tells Saul that his “kingdom will not endure” because “the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of His people, because you have not kept the Lord's command." The Lord will not tolerate someone who decides to lead His people separate from Him and so since Saul had decided to turn from God, God would now turn from Saul and to a man after His heart…a man we know as David.

So this passage leaves us with a stern warning. We should never forget that we serve a God of justice…a God who will discipline us as a father might discipline his child when they error. He is after all our Heavenly Father. Saul lost his kingdom because he failed to wait on the Lord and place his hope in His word. We can expect consequence as well if we do likewise.

My prayer is that we all will choose to never stop waiting for the Lord to do mighty works in our lives…to reveal His power and goodness to us as we trust Him to help us through whatever might trouble us. For His word assures us that “Blessed are all who wait for Him”.

Let us all ever stay blessed. We will if we simply wait…wait on the Lord. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/

Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com