What do you see in the mirror?

1 Samuel 13:1-22

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

² Saul chose three thousand men from Israel; two thousand were with him at Mikmash 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.

³ 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!” ⁴ So all Israel heard the news: “Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost, and now Israel has become obnoxious to the Philistines.” And the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.

⁵ 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 Mikmash, east of Beth Aven. ⁶ When the Israelites 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. ⁷ 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. ⁸ He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. ⁹ So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” And Saul offered up the burnt offering. ¹⁰ Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.

¹¹ “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 Mikmash, ¹² 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.”

¹³ “You have done a foolish thing,” 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. ¹⁴ But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”

¹⁵ 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.

¹⁶ Saul and his son Jonathan and the men with them were staying in Gibeah in Benjamin, while the Philistines camped at Mikmash.¹⁷ Raiding parties went out from the Philistine camp in three detachments. One turned toward Ophrah in the vicinity of Shual,¹⁸ another toward Beth Horon, and the third toward the borderland overlooking the Valley of Zeboyim facing the wilderness.

¹⁹ Not a blacksmith could be found in the whole land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, “Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears!” ²⁰ So all Israel went down to the Philistines to have their plow points, mattocks, axes and sickles sharpened. ²¹ The price was two-thirds of a shekel for sharpening plow points and mattocks, and a third of a shekel for sharpening forks and axes and for repointing goads.

²² So on the day of the battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or spear in his hand; only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.

Saul thought he was obeying God by doing a familiar Hebrew ritual given by God (the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings), to seek God’s favour, but he did not consider the context (the actual command of God, spoken to him by Samuel in 1 Samuel 10:7, 8, to subdue the Philistines at Gibeah and then wait for Samuel at Gilgal for further instructions) or the consequence of his action – rejection by God. He already had God’s favour, but did not obey either command; he did not trust God.

This passage calls for us the look into the mirror and reflect on how we disobey God, failing to trust Him. Saul mirrors our sin, with his failure to obey, and he was rejected by God. Too often we fail to do what is right in the eyes of God and obey Him, because we don’t want to look foolish to the world when it appears that God is not honouring His commitment to rescue us, to our satisfaction.

How often have you done something that you knew in your heart was not in obedience to God, but you cleverly justified it by misusing a bible quote or thinking that your action could be considered righteous because you did it with the ‘right’ intent. I know I have. Too often this is because I don’t trust waiting on God and hope to nudge Him in the right direction. I forget that I am a living sacrifice as spelled out in Romans 12.

Head: Remember that trusting God it is neither straightforward nor simple, if we try to weigh circumstances from our own perspective. Trusting God is obeying Him.

Heart: Take courage that though we sometimes disobey and do not trust God, He will still be true to His promise to rescue us from our sin, if we believe that Jesus, the true King, died and rose again to save us.

Hands: Reflect on Romans 12, or ask someone you trust, where in your life you are prone to disobey God by foolish justification of your actions and repent before God.

Prayer: Gracious God, thank you that in your mercy, though we often take matters into our own foolish hands when we fail to trust and obey You, You still love us and Your plan of salvation will not be stopped. Thank you for Jesus, the true King who obeys God, and brings people from all nations into obedience. Amen

A song to listen to: Our Saviour and Our King

Sandra Hinrichsen- Creek Road Presbyterian Church- Carina