Thursday, March 18, 2004
1 Samuel 14-15 - Saul's Rejection
Chapter 14 is proceeded by the events at Gilgal which result in Samuel warning Saul that his kingdom will be stripped from him (13:13-14), and followed by the war against the Amalekites which result in Samuel saying, "Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king." (15:23)
This surrounding material presents the divine rejection for Saul's rule, grounds that may appear picayune. In Chapter 13, we saw Samuel condemn Saul for failing to wait the prescribed time for Samuel to arrive with instructions, but, from Saul's point of view, he had waited the seven days and Samuel was the one who was late. In Chapter 15, God will reject Samuel as king for failing to carry out a command to slaughter everyone and everything in his campaign against the Amalekites. But, we hear from Samuel that he intended to carry out the slaughter only reserving the king and best animals so that they could be slaughtered later at a sacrifice before God. As Saul and Samuel argue over what happened, though, Saul finally confessed:
1 Samuel 15:24 "I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.
As at Gilgal, Saul is swayed by political considerations. He observes what the people are doing follows the course of policy rather than the course of obedience to God. Samuel evokes that confession when he clarifies that the real issue is not whether or not the animals and king were sacrificed. Rather the issue is obedience to the living word of God:
1 Samuel 15:22 And Samuel said, "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is no less a sin than divination, and stubbornness is like iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king."
In Chapter 14 we see, in the contrast between Saul and Jonathan, Saul's inability to live out the fluid life of the Spirit. At Gibeah, Saul's troups now number 600 (14:2), down from the 3,000 that he and Jonathan had assembled at Gilgal (13:2). On the model of Gideon, this is a more likely number for God to be able (and willing) to work with. The key verse is:
1 Samuel 14:6 Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, "Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the LORD will act for us; for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few."
Jonathan attacks the thousands in the Philistine's camp accompanied only by his one servant. As the attack unfolds, the narrator reveals God's hand:
1 Samuel 14:15 There was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison and even the raiders trembled; the earth quaked; and it became a very great panic.
Saul had not foreseen God’s willingness to act. But, as the battle continued, Saul wants to join in, but still doesn’t know if it is “okay.” He asks the priests for God’s word, but stops them from inquiring of God (14:19) when he observes that the battle is going well. He orders his troops to join, and the previous deserters return so that, by the end, "the troops with Saul numbered altogether about ten thousand men." (14:23)
It is then that that Saul takes his rash oath requiring his troops not to eat until victory is won on pain of death. The oath again reveals Saul’s incapacity to trust God; he appears to hope that this oath will bribe God to act. But God is already acting, and the oath is unnecessary and rash. Not realizing that Saul had made this oath, Jonathan tastes some honey, and is later condemned for that violation. Despite Saul's intention to carry out the death sentence, the story concludes when the people "ransom" Jonathan from death. (See discussion Judges 11, where this vow is compared with that of Jephthah .) There could hardly be a clearer distinction drawn between characters of father and son, nor between wise and foolish leadership.
Saul's incapacity to be king is rooted in his inability to hear God's word and act on it. He substitutes human calculation for divine leading. Jonathan could see the moment to attack with few against many; Saul could not. Saul didn't have the inward knowledge of what to do, and wanted the priests to tell him, but couldn't wait for them. He joined in battle, but in his lack of confidence, he tried to bribe God's good will by his foolish oath.
Saul always seems befuddled. He is not a bad man, but a man who, in the end, fails to live out of the "other heart" that he was given by God (10:9). Thus, Samuel, though angry with Saul for his failures, ultimately grieves for him:
1 Samuel 15:35 Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the LORD was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel.
It is a tragic story, and a fitting introduction to the history of the kings which ultimately was a history of their failure to hear and obey the word of God.
This surrounding material presents the divine rejection for Saul's rule, grounds that may appear picayune. In Chapter 13, we saw Samuel condemn Saul for failing to wait the prescribed time for Samuel to arrive with instructions, but, from Saul's point of view, he had waited the seven days and Samuel was the one who was late. In Chapter 15, God will reject Samuel as king for failing to carry out a command to slaughter everyone and everything in his campaign against the Amalekites. But, we hear from Samuel that he intended to carry out the slaughter only reserving the king and best animals so that they could be slaughtered later at a sacrifice before God. As Saul and Samuel argue over what happened, though, Saul finally confessed:
1 Samuel 15:24 "I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.
As at Gilgal, Saul is swayed by political considerations. He observes what the people are doing follows the course of policy rather than the course of obedience to God. Samuel evokes that confession when he clarifies that the real issue is not whether or not the animals and king were sacrificed. Rather the issue is obedience to the living word of God:
1 Samuel 15:22 And Samuel said, "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is no less a sin than divination, and stubbornness is like iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king."
In Chapter 14 we see, in the contrast between Saul and Jonathan, Saul's inability to live out the fluid life of the Spirit. At Gibeah, Saul's troups now number 600 (14:2), down from the 3,000 that he and Jonathan had assembled at Gilgal (13:2). On the model of Gideon, this is a more likely number for God to be able (and willing) to work with. The key verse is:
1 Samuel 14:6 Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, "Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the LORD will act for us; for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few."
Jonathan attacks the thousands in the Philistine's camp accompanied only by his one servant. As the attack unfolds, the narrator reveals God's hand:
1 Samuel 14:15 There was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison and even the raiders trembled; the earth quaked; and it became a very great panic.
Saul had not foreseen God’s willingness to act. But, as the battle continued, Saul wants to join in, but still doesn’t know if it is “okay.” He asks the priests for God’s word, but stops them from inquiring of God (14:19) when he observes that the battle is going well. He orders his troops to join, and the previous deserters return so that, by the end, "the troops with Saul numbered altogether about ten thousand men." (14:23)
It is then that that Saul takes his rash oath requiring his troops not to eat until victory is won on pain of death. The oath again reveals Saul’s incapacity to trust God; he appears to hope that this oath will bribe God to act. But God is already acting, and the oath is unnecessary and rash. Not realizing that Saul had made this oath, Jonathan tastes some honey, and is later condemned for that violation. Despite Saul's intention to carry out the death sentence, the story concludes when the people "ransom" Jonathan from death. (See discussion Judges 11, where this vow is compared with that of Jephthah .) There could hardly be a clearer distinction drawn between characters of father and son, nor between wise and foolish leadership.
Saul's incapacity to be king is rooted in his inability to hear God's word and act on it. He substitutes human calculation for divine leading. Jonathan could see the moment to attack with few against many; Saul could not. Saul didn't have the inward knowledge of what to do, and wanted the priests to tell him, but couldn't wait for them. He joined in battle, but in his lack of confidence, he tried to bribe God's good will by his foolish oath.
Saul always seems befuddled. He is not a bad man, but a man who, in the end, fails to live out of the "other heart" that he was given by God (10:9). Thus, Samuel, though angry with Saul for his failures, ultimately grieves for him:
1 Samuel 15:35 Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the LORD was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel.
It is a tragic story, and a fitting introduction to the history of the kings which ultimately was a history of their failure to hear and obey the word of God.
