Day 1064: What have you done? - 1 Samuel 13 vs 1 - 11

1 Saul was (30) years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for (40) and two years over Israel. 2 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. 3-4 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.

5 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-aven. 6-7 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.

8-10 He waited for seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” 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. 11 Samuel said, “What have you done?” 1 Samuel 13:1-11 English Standard Version

The reason for brackets in vs 1 is that the actual number was missing in some important manuscripts on which our English translation is based. We are very blessed in that such 'missing' parts are few, and none of them cover a vital doctrine of the faith. We can trust the good translations of the Bible's we read. But that doesn't mean there are not some difficult verses we have to think through and work out..

One such difficulty is in vs 8-10 of this chapter where Saul was waiting for Samuel. Back in Chapter 10 vs 8, Samuel had given Saul an instruction to wait seven days for Samuel to join him at Gilgal, so that he, Samuel, could offer the holy sacrifice. But that instruction seems to have been given some years earlier than the events of Chapter 13. It’s suggested that Samuel had sent Saul a similar instruction when the nation was now facing the crisis of an attack by a huge Philistine army. That would make sense, as the Israelites would have wanted God's blessing and help, and it was the work of a priest to offer the sacrifice.

We can understand Saul's anxiety. Israel didn't have a large well equipped army at that time, and as the Philistines mustered their thousands of chariots and horsemen, many Israelites fled and hid wherever they could. Saul saw how the people were scattering from him. So when Samuel hadn’t arrived by the seventh day, Saul had the animals needed for the sacrifice brought to him, and offered the sacrifice himself. And then Samuel arrived, and put to Saul the question which God had put to Cain after he had murdered his brother Abel - “What have you done?” (Genesis 4:10)

Some would say that Saul was hardly to blame. And he had not just committed murder or adultery, or some other 'big sin'. But, as Samuel would tell him later, “refusing to obey is as bad as the sin of sorcery, and being stubborn and doing what you want is like the sin of worshipping idols.” (1 Samuel 15:23) To not listen to what God tells us in His word and go our own way, is as wicked in His sight as things like sorcery and idolatry. And all our moments of disobedience will have consequences. Well might we look back at some choices we've made, and ask ourselves “oh what have I done?”

How important then the words of Jesus are, that we must “abide (remain) in Him”. (John 15:4) If we drift from Jesus and from His words then, like Saul, we may do something that leaves us with deep regret, and even our own conscience will say to us “what have you done?”