Written by: Luis Palau

1 Samuel 13 v 13-15
Samuel said, “You acted foolishly! You haven’t obeyed the command of the LORD your God. If you had obeyed him, the LORD would have made your kingdom continue in Israel always, but now your kingdom will not continue. The LORD has looked for the kind of man he wants. He has appointed him to rule his people, because you haven’t obeyed his command.”
Then Samuel left Gilgal and went to Gibeah in Benjamin. Saul counted the men who were still with him, and there were about six hundred.

Notes 
The old prophet Samuel delivered this devastating verbal blow, wheeled around and walked out of camp. King Saul was left standing open-mouthed before the smoldering altar.

You and I might say that what Saul did wasn’t so bad. The only “foolish” thing he did was offer a burnt sacrifice (1 Samuel 13:11-12). Sure, God had said that was Samuel’s job, but he wasn’t there! This was just a simple matter of rushing ahead of the Lord a little, right? Saul simply took matters into his own hands and kindled the sacrifice on his own.

What was so foolish about this that God would now dethrone Saul and find a different king?

Impatience. How many of us have ruined rare and unusual opportunities to serve Christ because of impatience? It doesn’t seem like such a big thing and yet—do you know what impatience represents? It is a sign of distrust in the sovereign control of God. We demonstrate by our hasty actions that we really don’t believe our God is in loving control of every event entering our lives. Impatience, then, is another word for unbelief. Somehow we become convinced that our God has lost control of the circumstances in our lives. Or that He really doesn’t care.

Refusing to wait for God’s green light, King Saul leaped straight into disaster. Impatience is no joke. Unbelief is a grief to the heart of God. Apart from the empowering presence of the indwelling Christ, this sin of impatience could be my downfall. Or yours. 

Don’t let it be. Wait on the Lord. Follow His commands. And then, God says, He’ll “make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun” (Psalm 37:6).

1 Samuel 13 v 16-18
Saul and his son Jonathan and the soldiers with him stayed in Gibeah in the land of Benjamin. The Philistines made their camp at Micmash. Three groups went out from the Philistine camp to make raids. One group went on the Ophrah road in the land of Shual. The second group went on the Beth Horon road. The third group went on the border road that overlooks the Valley of Zeboim toward the desert.

Notes
King Saul is determined to go ahead with his plans. It doesn’t matter that God’s prophet, Samuel, has told him God will find a new king (1 Samuel 13:13-14). Saul has his soldiers and his son Jonathan. He figures that’s enough. He knows where the Philistines are camped. And he intends to defeat them.

The fall of Saul cannot be traced to one awful, dramatic, disastrous, instantaneous failure. Few people ever fail that way. With Saul, a series of wrong turns brought his life and his kingdom to ruin. Wrong choice after wrong choice. Wrong response after wrong response. Missing the right turn at one crucial intersection, Saul would panic and take one wrong turn after another. Instead of going back to the place where he first lost his direction, he kept getting in deeper.

Have you taken a wrong turn? Maybe two or three? You can’t always go back to that first intersection where you messed up and try a different route. But you can stop where you are. Take time to get out your map again and consult with the God who loves you and wants to help you find a good path. If you ask, He’ll help you. “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5).

Learn now to wait on and listen to the Lord. With Him on the journey, you can take every step of life with confidence. 

1 Samuel 13 v 19-22
The whole land of Israel had no blacksmith because the Philistines had said, “The Hebrews might make swords and spears.” So all the Israelites had to go down to the Philistines to have their plows, hoes, axes, and sickles sharpened. The Philistine blacksmiths charged about one-fourth of an ounce of silver for sharpening plows and hoes. And they charged one-eighth of an ounce of silver for sharpening picks, axes, and the sticks used to guide oxen.
So when the battle came, the soldiers with Saul and Jonathan had no swords or spears. Only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.

Notes
Have you ever wondered how in the world you would get out of a mess? No doubt the Israelites were wondering the same thing. They wanted nothing more than to defeat the Philistines. But the Philistines were running the show—they controlled the people who made the weapons! So while the Philistines had all the armor they needed, the Israelites were left with only two armed men: King Saul and his son Jonathan. And the king wasn’t exactly in favour with God, because he had disobeyed God (1 Samuel 13:13-14).

Sometimes we find ourselves in situations not of our making. We don’t have what we need, and the leadership could be much better. Perhaps Jonathan or some of the Israelite soldiers felt that way. What should we do?

We have two choices:
a) Trust God.
b) Trust ourselves or other people.

In Jeremiah 17:5-8, the Lord compares the two options, “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord,” he says. “But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.”

People will let us down. We’ll let down ourselves with our poor choices. We’ll find ourselves in spots that seem impossible to get out of. But the Lord is completely trustworthy. We can count on him to find creative, amazing solutions for those whose hearts are set on following him. If we’re trusting God, we can be confident—no matter what the outcome.

1 Samuel 13 v 23 – 14 v 3
A group from the Philistine army had gone out to the pass at Micmash.
One day Jonathan, Saul’s son, said to the officer who carried his armor, “Come, let’s go over to the Philistine camp on the other side.” But Jonathan did not tell his father.
Saul was sitting under a pomegranate tree at the threshing floor near Gibeah. He had about six hundred men with him. One man was Ahijah who was wearing the holy vest. (Ahijah was a son of Ichabod’s brother Ahitub. Ichabod was the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD’s priest in Shiloh.) No one knew Jonathan had left.

Notes
What was Saul doing sitting beneath that pomegranate tree? It doesn’t look like he’s admitted he was wrong to offer the sacrifice the prophet Samuel was supposed to burn (1 Samuel 13:12). He hasn’t asked for forgiveness. And he doesn’t appear to be seeking wisdom from God yet.

In the meantime, Saul’s son Jonathan was slipping away on a reconnaissance mission. Jonathan was wondering how God might win this war.

Ask yourself: “Am I a Saul or a Jonathan?”

Our problem often is this: Instead of presenting ourselves as those “alive from the dead,” we waste time with our television sets, computer games, and trite jokes. We don’t get the big picture. We mouth the words and say we’re available to be used of God—but how could He get through to us if He actually wanted to use us?

David Wilkerson is a man with a worldwide mission: World Challenge, Inc. But he was once a pastor in a small church. That changed when he sensed God’s call to minister to the hardened gang members in the alleys of New York City.

The gang ministry came about after he decided to sell his television set and use the hours he normally watched TV as a special nightly prayer time before God. One night while he was on his knees in the former TV room, the Lord challenged him with this great ministry opportunity.

Am I saying we need to throw out our television sets and computer games? That’s not the point. The point is, we have a decision to make. Will we humble ourselves before God, seek Him, and then be ready to follow directions? Or will we do our own thing, and sit beneath a tree when there’s a battle to win? 

1 Samuel 14 v 4-10
There was a steep slope on each side of the pass that Jonathan planned to go through to reach the Philistine camp. The cliff on one side was named Bozez, and the cliff on the other side was named Seneh. One cliff faced north toward Micmash. The other faced south toward Geba.
Jonathan said to his officer who carried his armor, “Come. Let’s go to the camp of those men who are not circumcised. Maybe the LORD will help us. The LORD can give us victory if we have many people, or just a few.”
The officer who carried Jonathan’s armor said to him, “Do whatever you think is best. Go ahead. I’m with you.”
Jonathan said, “Then come. We will cross over to the Philistines and let them see us. If they say to us, ‘Stay there until we come to you,’ we will stay where we are. We won’t go up to them. But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ we will climb up, and the LORD will let us defeat them. This will be the sign for us.”

Notes
Looking for a good story? The everyday man who becomes a hero and then, like a true hero, fades again into the pages of history? Look no further.

Jonathan is a prince, yet there’s nothing flashy about him. Nothing arrogant. But while his father—the king, and commander of the army—sits beneath a tree (1 Samuel 14:2), Jonathan takes off to find the enemy who wants to wipe out the nation of Israel.

Upon finding their enemy, the Philistines, Jonathan says to his armor-bearer, “Maybe the Lord will help us. The Lord can give us victory if we have many people, or just a few.” 

Two men against an army. Two men plus God against an army.

That day, Jonathan did what Romans 6:13 urges of all of us: “Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.” 

Another way to translate “instruments” is “weapons.” Jonathan became a weapon of righteousness.

Isn’t that powerful? That means I can actually pick myself up and present myself to God by saying, “Lord, I present my members to You, to be weapons of righteousness for You.” To think that my eyes, my hands, my mouth, my mind, my emotions, my will—all can be weapons for God!

What about you? Are you a weapon of righteousness or unrighteousness? There is no middle ground. How our Lord longs to hear us pray, “Dear God, here am I. Here are my members. Lord, I present them to You. Make them weapons of righteousness.” There’s no telling what He will do with a life so yielded to His purposes.

1 Samuel 14 v 11-17
When both Jonathan and his officer let the Philistines see them, the Philistines said, “Look! The Hebrews are crawling out of the holes they were hiding in!” The Philistines in the camp shouted to Jonathan and his officer, “Come up to us. We’ll teach you a lesson!”
Jonathan said to his officer, “Climb up behind me, because the LORD has given the Philistines to Israel!” So Jonathan climbed up, using his hands and feet, and his officer climbed just behind him. Jonathan struck down the Philistines as he went, and his officer killed them as he followed behind him. In that first fight Jonathan and his officer killed about twenty Philistines over a half acre of ground.
All the Philistine soldiers panicked—those in the camp and those in the raiding party. The ground itself shook! God had caused the panic.
Saul’s guards were at Gibeah in the land of Benjamin when they saw the Philistine soldiers running in every direction. Saul said to his army, “Check to see who has left our camp.” When they checked, they learned that Jonathan and his officer were gone.

Notes
Did you know you can be part of a miracle? Jonathan was. Not because he had it all together or was more talented than the next guy. But because he trusted that God could work that miracle, and was willing to be used.

Jonathan wanted to be used by God to defeat the Philistines. He was just one man—with one faithful servant behind him—but he had a heart for God, a heart for people, and a passion to see God win.

Let me ask you: What passion has God put in your heart? Are you trusting God to fulfill it? Are you willing to charge up the hill when He asks you to go? 

If not, what can you do about it? Pray. 

You can pray with the songwriter in Psalm 51:10-13, “Oh, Lord, cleanse me, forgive me, give me a willing spirit. Then I’ll teach transgressors Your way and sinners will be converted to You.” The Lord can use anybody who has that kind of heart. The Lord can do mighty things through anyone who is available—man or woman, young or old.

I remember when I first visited the United States. I went to a missions conference in Michigan and met a missionary from Pakistan. I got a burden to pray for Pakistan even though my mission and evangelistic work were all in Latin America. As I prayed, I figured that some day the Lord would take me to Pakistan and to India to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ.

About fifteen years later, I started receiving invitations to go on preaching campaigns to several big cities in India. And then, to go to Pakistan.

The Lord can do miraculous things with our lives. We must allow Him room to work.

1 Samuel 14 v 18-23
So Saul said to Ahijah the priest, “Bring the Ark of God.” (At that time it was with the Israelites.) While Saul was talking to the priest, the confusion in the Philistine camp was growing. Then Saul said to Ahijah, “Put your hand down!”
Then Saul gathered his army and entered the battle. They found the Philistines confused, striking each other with their swords! Earlier, there were Hebrews who had served the Philistines and had stayed in their camp, but now they joined the Israelites with Saul and Jonathan. When all the Israelites hidden in the mountains of Ephraim heard that the Philistine soldiers were running away, they also joined the battle and chased the Philistines. So the LORD saved the Israelites that day, and the battle moved on past Beth Aven.

Notes
“So the Lord saved the Israelites that day,” we read in 1 Samuel 14:23. From my 60-plus years of life, I can tell you there’s nothing more beautiful than seeing and recognizing the hand of God at work. 

I was born and grew up in Argentina. The son of a poor widow, I had no connections. There was no chance, from a human standpoint, that my dreams of becoming an evangelist to masses would be fulfilled.

But one day the Lord sent two Americans, Dr. Dick Hillis and Dr. Ray Stedman, to our city. I was 22. Because I’d been to British boarding schools and knew English, I went to hear them, and then spoke with them afterward. 

Because of that simple encounter that lasted only 36 hours, the Lord opened vast doors to His glory. He soon moved me out of Argentina and took me to Multnomah Biblical Seminary in Portland, Oregon. More and more things began to happen.

I couldn’t foresee any of that. I didn’t twist God’s arm or people’s arms. I just waited for His timing. 

You can do that, too. Maybe you’re waiting for the big break. And the big break never seems to come. But the outworking of God’s purpose doesn’t necessarily happen overnight.

God wants you to be surrendered and available to Him, wherever He’s placed you. Let Him make you into a powerful weapon of righteousness. If God decides to leave you in His quiver for a while instead of launching you at some great target—that’s all right. He knows His business. You just concentrate on being His sharp and ready arrow—available for His timing, His glory. “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord (Psalm 27:14).


word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes