In this episode, we delve into the story of 1 Samuel Chapter 13, exploring the consequences of King Saul’s impatience and disobedience. Alan J. Huth draws from his personal Bible reading journals to reflect on how Saul’s decision to take matters into his own hands led to a devastating loss—the kingdom itself. Reflect on the importance of obedience and waiting on God even in trying times, as Samuel arrives right after Saul’s misguided sacrifice. We also discuss a fascinating study by Barna Group on American Scripture reading habits. Alan highlights the critical gap between what Christians believe about the
welcome to add bible an audio daily devotion from the ezra project we join alan j huth as he shares bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal bible reading journals today we are in first samuel chapter 13. and first samuel chapter 13 will be read by faith comes by hearing so let’s listen in to the 23 verses of first samuel chapter 13.
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1 Samuel 13 Saul was years old when he began to reign, and he reigned and two years over Israel. Saul chose three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent home, every man to his tent. Jonathan defeated the garrison of the Philistines that was at Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear. And all Israel heard it said that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become a stench to the Philistines. And the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal. And the Philistines mustered to fight with Israel thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude. They came up and encamped in Michmash to the east of Beth-Avon. When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble, for the people were hard pressed, the people hid themselves in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns. And some Hebrews crossed the fords of the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. So Saul said, And he offered the burnt offering. As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came, and Saul went out to meet him and greet him. Samuel said, What have you done?
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And 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, 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. And Samuel said to Saul,
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You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.
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And Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal. The rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the army. They went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin, and Saul numbered the people who were present with him, about six hundred men. And Saul and Jonathan his son, and the people who were present with them, stayed in Gibeah of Benjamin, but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. And raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned toward Aphra, to the land of Sheol. Another company turned toward Beth Horon. And another company turned toward the border that looks down on the valley of Zeboam, toward the wilderness. Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears. But every one of the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, or his sickle. And the charge was two-thirds of a shekel for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and a third of a shekel for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads. So on the day of the battle, there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan. But Saul and Jonathan his son had them. And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.
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Today I will refer to all three journal entries from 1983, 2002, and 2007 concerning 1 Samuel 13. Beginning in 1983 when I wrote, Impatience for Samuel caused him to offer sacrifice to God without a priest. And then I quoted verse 13, You have acted foolishly. In 2002, I wrote about this chapter, Patience when it appears God is late. Samuel was late, so Saul conducted a burnt offering. What he did was godly, offer sacrifices before a battle, but he violated God’s law because only priests can offer sacrifices. We need to be patient and wait on God rather than taking matters into our own hands. And in 2007, I wrote, Saul took matters into his own hands, under pressure. Samuel doesn’t show up. The Philistines are stirring. His people are scared, so he offers the sacrifice to God. The duty reserved for a priest may be well intended. His actions are not biblical. And again, I quote verse 13. You have acted foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God. God removes the kingdom from Saul. Obedience may be hard, but disobedience has a higher price. Have you ever done that? Have you run out of patience with God and taken matters into your own hands? If you have, how did it turn out for you? It didn’t turn out very well for Saul, did it? Going back to the passage, verse 8. And down to verse 13 again. And Samuel said to Saul, You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel. But, and sometimes these buts in the scripture are pretty rough. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. And the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you. This is one of those big red warning flags in our lives, isn’t it? To not run out of patience with God. Don’t take matters into our own hands. Wait on the Lord. You notice in the passage, right after Saul ran out of his patience, Samuel showed up. So often, that’s the same with us. When we get ahead of God, we move too fast. Right afterwards, he’s right there. He does show up on his timing, not ours. Now, I’m not saying that it’s easy to be patient with God sometimes. But look at the lesson learned in this chapter. It may seem like a small thing that all Saul did was offer a burnt offering to the Lord before he went into the battle, but it was disobedience to the commandments of God, and it cost him the kingdom. From this moment on, Saul begins to decrease. As the Lord seeks another, a man after his own heart, and of course, that becomes David. you’re in a circumstance today that you’re running out of patience with god the red flag is up caution wait a little longer god is right around the corner in my journal in 2002 on this day i wrote mom died this morning at 9 0 5 a.m her liver couldn’t recover and kidneys failed. I can’t believe it. This was not supposed to happen. She went into heart surgery September 25th and never came out. Dad, my brothers, sisters, and me watched her die. I’m sad and sick about it. It was really hard to watch Dad say his goodbyes. Memorial service is Wednesday. According to a recent Barna research study entitled Bible Reading, A New Year’s Resolution, most Americans are not satisfied with their current level of Scripture reading. A majority express a desire to read the Bible more than they currently do. Born-again and practicing Christians are the most likely to desire more Bible reading in their day-to-day lives. It should not come as a surprise that the majority of Americans wish they read Scripture more than they do, says Roxanne Stone, editor-in-chief of Barna Group. After all, two-thirds of Americans agree that the Bible contains everything you need to know to live a meaningful life. Why wouldn’t you want to read such a book more often? The study continues. However, like other New Year’s resolutions, such as exercising more and eating healthier, Scripture reading is often an aspirational goal. It’s the goal that for most people probably doesn’t feel necessary to survive and so can easily get swamped by the day-to-day demands of a busy life. Scripture reading takes time and focus, two things that feel like scarcities in today’s fast-paced and on-demand culture. Like exercise, like dieting, regular Bible reading does not offer instant payoff. It’s a discipline whose rewards are reaped over the long haul. And the study continues, when people go from feeling they should read the Bible more to needing to read the Bible more, they find the time. Access to the Bible is not the issue in the USA, is it? We all have Bibles. According to another study done a few years ago, 88% of Americans own a Bible. We have 3.5 Bibles in our homes. And this is amazing. 59% of people who have no faith or are atheists even own a Bible, probably just in case. So if you have a smartphone, you have access to the Word of God. My Gideon Bible app has over 2,100 languages. Access to the Bible is not the issue. The issue is changing our beliefs about the Bible to behavior with the Bible. So where are Christians with the Bible today? Christians are well-intentioned when it comes to the Bible. We believe that the Bible is the Word of God. We believe, we just don’t behave. Our belief in the Bible and our behavior with the Bible are inconsistent. The middle ground related to the Bible seems to be disappearing. The decrease of Bible-neutral and Bible-friendly people and the increase of Bible antagonists suggests that more people are picking a side. Which side are you on? Are you a Bible antagonist questioning the Bible? Are you Bible-neutral? I just don’t know. Or are you Bible-friendly? I love the Bible. Wherever you are, pick a side. Because of our neglect of God’s Word, we are becoming biblically illiterate. For example, in a private religious elementary school, kids were asked about the Old and New Testaments. Here are some funny things that they had to say. The first commandment was when Eve told Adam to eat that apple. Lot’s wife was a pillar of salt by day but a ball of fire by night. What kind of man was Boaz before he married? Ruthless. The epistles were the wives of the apostles. Christians have only one spouse. That’s called monotony. So, if we think about Bible literacy or illiteracy, we think about it this way. If God decided to come down from his throne in heaven, become an author here on earth, you’d think his book would be on the bestseller list. And the fact is, the Bible is the number one bestselling book of all time. 2.5 to 5 billion, according to research. It’s also the most read book of all time. Praise the Lord, that alone might be evidence that the Bible, not any other so-called writing, is God’s Word. According to a weekly World News report, here are a few other Bible facts. About 50 Bibles are sold every minute. The Bible is the world’s best-selling book. It’s also the world’s most shoplifted book. That’s interesting. And that doesn’t even count all the Gideon Bibles stolen out of those hotels. So I encourage you to enjoy a portion of God’s Word every day. Make it a daily spiritual habit. And so until next time, I’m Alan J. Huth, and this program is sponsored by The Ezra Project, with support from listeners like you. Visit EzraProject.net to keep AdBible, connecting God’s people to God’s Word, on the air.
