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1st Samuel Chapter Thirteen

1. King Saul’s second test of leadership was a series of wars against the Philistines.
   1. King Saul divided the standing army of Israel into two divisions.
      1. Saul commanded the 2,000 man division.
      2. His firstborn son, Jonathan, commanded the 1,000 man division.
   2. Jonathan wins a victory over the Philistines at Geba, but Saul took the credit (1st Sam. 13:3,4).
2. The Philistines fielded an army 12x larger than the total Hebrew force, which caused Israel to hide themselves in fear (1st Sam. 13:5-7).
3. Saul was supposed to wait for seven days, for Samuel to appear at Gilgal (1st Sam. 10:8), but Saul grew impatient of waiting, and offered the sacrifices himself (1st Sam. 13:8,9).
   1. The moment he finished the sacrifices, Samuel arrives on the scene (1st Sam. 13:10).
   2. Saul made pitiful excuses for his disobedience (1st Sam. 13:11,12).
      1. The disobedience was in not waiting for Samuel as instructed.
      2. The disobedience was not the offering of sacrifices per se.
         1. As an anointed King and Judge of Israel, Saul had sacrificial privileges.
         2. In the next administration, David will be observed to offer sacrifices as the Anointed King of Israel (2nd Sam. 6:17,18; 24:25).
   3. Samuel rebuked Saul for his disobedience (1st Sam. 13:13,14).
      1. In the permissive will of God, there was a potential for the house of Saul to have a perpetual leadership function within Israel.
      2. However, due to the disobedience of Saul, that particular permissive will potential will not be realized.
      3. God promises to select a King “after His own heart.”
   4. Samuel departed from Saul, and Saul was left with a meager force of 600 men (1st Sam. 13:15).
4. The oppression of the Philistines continued, with King Saul helpless to do anything about it (1st Sam. 13:16-23).

1st Samuel Chapter Fourteen

1. Jonathan grew tired of his father’s hide-in-the-caves solution to the Philistine occupation of Israel.
2. Jonathan and his armor bearer left the Hebrew forces to scout out the Philistine positions (1st Sam. 14:1-10).
   1. He understood that two men against 36,000 Philistines was just as good as 600 men against 36,000 Philistines, as far as the Lord was concerned (1st Sam. 14:6).
   2. His walk of faith with the Lord was an example, and encouragement, for his armor bearer (1st Sam. 14:7).
   3. Jonathan looks to the Lord to arrange for the circumstances, and leaves it in the Lord’s hands to reveal His will (1st Sam. 14:8-12).
   4. Jonathan and his armor bearer killed about 20 Philistines in the initial encounter.
   5. The Lord started the earth quaking, and the Philistines quaking in their heart.
3. Saul observed the panicking Philistines, and came to some assumptions.
   1. Some of his forces were behind it.  This assumption was confirmed as the accountability report confirmed the absence of Jonathan and his armor bearer.
   2. The Ark of the Covenant would help them in battle against the Philistines.  This assumption is not confirmed, as the Ark had previously been captured by the Philistines.
   3. The priestly descendant of Eli would help Saul determine the will of God.  This assumption is also not confirmed, as God has previously pronounced judgment upon the house of Eli.
4. In the pursuit of the Philistines, the previously scattered Israelites joined in the battle (1st Sam. 14:20-23).
5. Saul issues a stupid, selfish command: no eating until the day’s fighting is over (1st Sam. 14:24-26).
   1. Joshua, in observing a fleeing foe, commanded the sun to stand still so the Lord could be glorified all the more (Josh. 10:12).
   2. Saul, in observing a fleeing foe, commanded his soldiers to not eat so Saul could be glorified all the more.
   3. Jonathan had not received the message concerning food deprivation, and so he ate freely while in the field (1st Sam. 14:27-30).
   4. The people who failed to eat during the day were so starved, they ate the oxen and the calves raw (1st Sam. 14:31-34).
6. Saul builds an altar, and inquires of the Lord, but gets no answer (1st Sam. 14:35-37).
   1. This will become characteristic of the rest of Saul’s life (1st Sam. 28:6).
   2. Saul assumes that his lack of answer is because of somebody else’s failure (1st Sam. 14:38-40).
      1. The Lord uses the lot to identify Jonathan as the guilty party (in Saul’s eyes) (1st Sam. 14:41,42).
      2. Jonathan speaks the truth in love, and the Lord delivers him from his father’s hand (1st Sam. 14:43-46).
7. The chapter concludes with a summary description of Saul’s reign (1st Sam. 14:47-52).

1st Chronicles Chapter Nine

(Outline for chapter 9 is quite disjointed. Vv.1-34 are not presented until Day 271)

3. At the time of their Z-E-N Returnings to the land, Ezra (the Chronicler) begins to review their spiritual heritage & history—beginning with the genealogy of Saul (1st Chr. 9:35-44), and introducing the history of Saul (1st Chr. 10).

(Chapter Nine continues on Day 113)