1 & 2 Samuel – Page 19

1 Samuel 14:16-23 – What Were You Thinking?

Can you imagine what Saul must have been thinking when he realized his son, Jonathan was missing? In our last reading, we were probably scratching our heads thinking that Jonathan had lost his marbles. Either that or he was just bored and out for a little excitement. But now Saul was the one wondering what in the world his son had done!

It does us good to remember the time and culture where these events took place. We have gotten spoiled with many comforts and conveniences. We need to remember that the army didn’t have weapons because of the Philistine’s ban on blacksmiths. Looking at these events through an almost primitive lens can help us to understand better what was happening.

1 Samuel 14:1-15 – Think Outside the Box

Read 1 Samuel 14:1-15

I’m always impressed by someone that takes initiative. Having worked in an office setting for most of my career as a paralegal, I saw lots of people who just took up space. They showed up for work, did the bare minimum, and then went home. I could never do that. I was too highly driven to be the best I could be.

In our passage we see Jonathan, Saul’s son, taking some serious initiative. His father and the Israelite army had been reduced in size and were in hiding from the Philistines. How long were they going to play that “game?” Jonathan decides “one day” that he had had enough. He was going to do something different. He was clearly thinking outside the box of what was expected and how he was being led.

1 Samuel 13:15-23 – A Serious Disadvantage

Read 1 Samuel 13:15-23

Do you feel a bit sorry for Saul about now? We see in this passage how Saul’s army is at such a disadvantage. His troops have dwindled down to 600 men. And those men don’t even have swords! I’m not a warfare expert, but it would seem the Philistines have the edge.

The feud with the Philistines isn’t new. We can see from their control of the blacksmith trade one example of how the Philistines are manipulating the Israelites. Saul is going to need to be creative if he is going to win any battles at this point.

1 Samuel 13:8-14 – You Blew It!

Read 1 Samuel 13:8-14

Saul stayed at Gilgal we were told in our last reading. He was apparently waiting for Samuel to come and perform a sacrifice. Samuel was late, and Saul was watching the morale of his men decline. This army was a volunteer army, not one that had been commissioned to Saul.

At first read, it seemed like Samuel’s condemnation of Saul was harsh and perhaps even overkill. Granted, Saul was not a priest, didn’t he know that sacrifices were for priests only? His actions of performing his own sacrifice due to Samuel’s absence, was not part of Saul’s “job description.”

1 Samuel 13:1-7 – 42 Years!

Read 1 Samuel 13:1-7

Fun fact: It may be 42 years, it may be 20 years, it may be something entirely different! In the original Hebrew, there were no years given for his reign or his age. In the American Standard Version, Saul was 40 years old, and two years into his reign is when today’s passage happens.

Because I was a little confused by the numbers, trying to figure out when Saul’s son would have been old enough to do these things, I uncovered (thanks to my Bible scholar husband) these disparities. Putting this aside, we see Saul is now selecting his army. As king, that would be one of the things on his agenda. No matter what the length of time actually is, Saul was the first king, given by God in answer to the Israelites request.