(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
1 Samuel 13:8–14, “And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him. And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering. And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.”
Before this time Saul had only fought battles with Samuel’s help. He arranged with Samuel to come and pray and offer sacrifices before they went to war, as he had done before. Samuel had promised that he would not stop praying for Israel as long as he was alive. Saul was afraid but waited until the time that Samuel had set. At the end of the seven days, when Samuel hadn’t arrived Saul was beginning to panic. He could see the huge army and imagine what they could do to his fast dwindling army. He became impatient and decided to offer the sacrifice to the Lord himself. In Israel kings were meant to be kings and priests were the only people qualified to offer sacrifices. Saul had not be anointed as a priest and he was not trained in the practice of sacrificial offerings. In spite of this, Saul offered the sacrifice to the Lord. This was actually a test for Saul. He was the best qualified man to be a king like the other nations but he wasn’t the Lord’s choice for king. When Saul failed his test and took matters into his own hands, Samuel arrived and asked him what he was doing. Saul tried to blame the people rather than accepting the responsibility for his actions. Samuel told Saul that he was a fool. A fool is simply someone who acts in a self destructive way and Saul had acted against the Lord’s commandments. If the king didn’t know how to obey the Lord then how could he lead the Lord’s people as they needed to obey the Lord’s commandments to maintain tenure of the Promised Land?Saul showed that he wasn’t spiritually qualified to lead the nation so Samuel told Saul that his dynasty would end with his death and his family would not sit on the throne of Israel. Anyone who wanted to be king of Israel had to be a man after the Lord’s own heart rather than someone who went his own way.
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