OUR LORD WHOSE PROTOCOLS WE MUST KEEP

1 Samuel 13 verses 2 - 9 tells of the scene when Saul, the king of Israel, provoked the Philistines and the Philistines responded by mustering a huge army of charioteers and soldiers.

The Israelites became afraid when they saw how numerous and organized the Philistines were so they hid in caves and bushes to stay out of sight.

Saul was waiting for Samuel the priest to arrive to enact the sacrifices before the Lord but the time of his arrival passed and in a panic, Saul decided to carry out the burnt offerings himself. The passage reads this way;

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.

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 obnoxious 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 Mikmash, east of Beth Aven.

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. 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.

Saul, under pressure, had needed to hold fast until Samuel arrived but he succumbed to the circumstances he could see happening around him such as when His army began to scatter in fear.

Saul decided to take matters into his own hands and offered up the burnt offerings instead of waiting for Samuel.

By responding to the situation in the flesh, Saul violated a number of rules including the primary rule that only a priest like Samuel could offer sacrifices before the Lord.

In violating these requirements, Saul negated the blessings of the Lord and lost the favour of the Lord over his life.

The item to heed here is that we must operate only on the Lord's cues and never circumvent His procedures and schedules no matter what we see happening around us.

Amen.