In the second year of King Saul’s reign over Israel he took 3,000 soldiers to battle against the Philistines (1 Samuel 13:1-2).  Although Jonathan, Saul’s son, was victorious in leading some soldiers into battle against the Philistines at Geba, the Philistine army regrouped and threatened an attack upon Israel (1 Samuel 13:3-5).  Saul and the entire nation were paralyzed with fear so Saul desperately needed to receive an answer from God concerning His will in going to battle against the Philistines.  Unfortunately, Saul sought an answer from the Lord by taking the priestly duty upon himself (1 Samuel 13:6-12), which was a direct violation of what the prophet, Samuel, commanded him to do (1 Samuel 10:8).  Taking on the role of both king and priest was not in God’s plan for Saul, but his actions demonstrated that he felt capable to handle both roles.  When Samuel discovered Saul’s violation of his commandment, the prophet told him that the kingdom would be taken from him and given to a man whose heart was after God (1 Samuel 13:13-15).  Saul would soon lose his rule over Israel; furthermore, he was still faced with opposition from the Philistines.  Luckily, Jonathan and his armor-bearer courageously brought victory to Israel through an act of bravery and the Lord saved Israel that day (1 Samuel 13:16-14:23).

Following this battle between the Philistines and the Israelites, the people were starving from the energy they had used in battle, but they could not eat because Saul had made a rash vow to the Lord that no one could eat until the evening after the Philistines had been defeated (14:24).  As they were traveling in their famished condition, they came upon some honey in the wilderness but could not eat of it because they were still under Saul’s oath until evening (sunset).  Since Jonathan did not hear his father make the oath, he ate of the honey but the people confronted him regarding his actions (14:25-28).  Jonathan realized that his father had been foolish in making this oath (14:29-30).  When the evening finally came, the people were so hungry that they took the spoils of the Philistines and ate the animals with their blood, which was a direct violation of the law (14:31-32; see also Genesis 9:4, Leviticus 7:26, Leviticus 17:10-14, and Deuteronomy 12:16).  Upon seeing the people violate the law of Moses, Saul was worried about the reaction of the Lord to the actions of the Israelites so he commanded that an altar be built so that the Lord might have mercy upon them (14:33-35).  This is the only record of Saul building an altar to the Lord.  After sacrifices had been offered on the altar, Saul decided to enter into battle against the Philistines; however, Saul sought the advice of the Lord but He did not respond (14:36-37).  The lack of response from God allowed Saul to see that the oath he had made earlier had been violated by someone in his army; therefore, Saul cast lots to see who was guilty of violating the oath and determined to put that person to death.  The lot fell on Saul’s son, Jonathan (14:38-43).  Jonathan admitted to eating honey and Saul was going to kill him, but the people of Israel intervened on Jonathan’s behalf and he was saved that day (14:44-45).  In light of the current circumstances, Saul decided to stop pursuing the retreating Philistines (14:46).  During his reign as king, Saul had numerous military victories over his enemies and extended the borders of Israel in all directions (14:47-48).   Although he had defeated many of Israel’s enemies, Saul experienced continual fighting with the Philistines (14:52).  Saul’s military endeavors were overshadowed by his lack of obedience to God.

Dear God, make me an obedient servant. 

When the prophet, Samuel, was in his later years, the nation of Israel insisted on establishing a human king to rule over them (1 Samuel 8:1-6).  Samuel was displeased with the demands of Israel, but God told him to fulfill their request (1 Samuel 8:7).  Israel’s desire for a king was ultimately a rejection of God as their ruler (1 Samuel 8:7) and even though they were warned about the dangers of a human king (1 Samuel 8:8-22), they begged Samuel to anoint a king.  Saul, a wealthy and powerful man, was chosen as their king and later anointed by Samuel (1 Samuel 9:1-10:27).  After Saul had been commissioned by God (1 Samuel 9:1-10:16), he evidenced his military skill by defeating the Ammonites (1 Samuel 10:17-11:11) and then the nation of Israel crowned him as their king (1 Samuel 11:12-15).  Following Saul’s military victory and the people crowning him as their king, Samuel speaks to Israel and challenges them to serve God with all of their hearts (1 Samuel 12).

In the second year of Saul’s kingship over Israel he chose 3,000 men to go with him into battle against the Philistines, a powerful enemy of Israel (13:1-2).  Jonathan, Saul’s son, took one thousand of those men and defeated the Philistines at Geba (13:3).  News spread quickly among the Philistines about Israel’s victory and their enemy hated them even more (13:4).  The Philistines responded to Israel’s victory at Geba by gathering together to fight against Israel; however, when Israel saw that they were in danger, they began to hide from the Philistines (13:5-6).  Saul had remained in Gilgal, but many of his people were extremely fearful of a Philistine retaliation (13:7).  Saul was awaiting Samuel in Gilgal (1 Samuel 10:8) as he had commanded, but Samuel had not shown up yet (13:8) so Saul decided to offer sacrifices on his own (13:9), which would have been a direct violation since priests could only offer sacrifices.  Samuel’s delay seems to be a test of Saul’s character, whether he would wait to offer sacrifices as Samuel had commanded (1 Samuel 10:8) or perform the duties himself.  After Saul had finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel showed up and confronted Saul for his failure to wait (13:10-11a).  Saul responded to Samuel saying, “The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord. Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering” (13:11b-12).  Samuel rebuked Saul for his disobedience and revealed that his kingship would not continue, but that the Lord was seeking “…a man after His own heart” (13:13-14).  Although Saul was mighty and powerful, God sought after a king who would obey Him and walk in His ways.  Saul obviously was prone to do things his own way.  Many wrongly assume that God is looking for people who are the most qualified, but God is really looking for those who have a heart for Him.  Samuel departs from Gilgal and journeys to Gibeah while Saul is left to number those who have not deserted him, which left him with 600 men (13:15).

While Saul and his men were encamped at Gilgal, the Philistines moved into position to attack them (13:16-18).  Israel was at a great disadvantage because, with the exception of Saul and Jonathan, none of them had swords or spears.  The Philistines were very advanced in iron weaponry and had withheld the Israelites from constructing any weapons that could be used against them (13:19-22).  The outlook for Israel looked bleak, but 1 Samuel 14 provides a glimpse into the courage of Saul’s son, Jonathan, and his armor-bearer.  Without his father knowing, Jonathan took his armor-bearer and they courageously crossed over into the camp of the Philistines (14:1-10).  When they showed themselves to the army of the Philistines, the Philistine soldiers arrogantly told them to come up to them so they could teach them something (14:11-12).  When Jonathan and his armor-bearer reached the Philistines they killed about 20 men (14:13-14).  After the slaughter of these 20 men, the Philistines became fearful and then the earth trembled, which caused widespread panic throughout the Philistine camp (14:15).  The earthquake was divine intervention on behalf of the Israelites.  Saul’s watchmen observed the Philistines fleeing and he demanded that the roll be called so that they knew who was missing (14:16-17a).  They soon discovered that Jonathan and his armor-bearer were not there (14:17b).  Saul then commanded that the Ark of the Covenant be brought before him so that the priests could determine whether they should go to battle against the Philistines (14:18).  While Saul was speaking to the priests, the noise level increased in the camp of the Philistines and Saul decided to go to battle against the Philistines (14:19-20). Other Israelites were also empowered by what was happening and they also joined themselves with Saul to fight against the Philistines (14:21-22).  ”So the Lord saved Israel that day…(14:23).  Even though King Saul had been disobedient, God honored the courage of Jonathan and delivered Israel from the Philistines that day.

Dear God, help me remember that You lift up the man whose heart is open to You.

The nation of Israel rejected the Lord as their king and desired to have a human king just like the nations surrounding them (1 Samuel 8:4-5).  Rather than refusing to grant their request, God told His prophet, Samuel, to anoint Saul as the first king over Israel.  From all outward appearances, Saul was the perfect choice to be king since he was the most handsome and tallest man in all of Israel (1 Samuel 9:2).  The people would definitely respect a man who stood out among everyone else.  Samuel gathered the nation together at Mizpah and presented Saul as their king and they responded with rejoicing and shouted, “Long live the king!” (1 Samuel 10:24).  After Saul was anointed king over Israel, he went to Gibeah with some valiant men whose hearts were touched by God to be loyal to him (1 Samuel 10:26); however, not everyone is Israel was happy about Saul becoming their king (1 Samuel 10:27).

Saul’s first opposition came not long after he had been appointed king.  Nahash, king of the Ammonites, brought his army against the town of Jabesh Gilead, but the men of Jabesh asked for a peaceful treaty and promised that they would serve the Ammonites (11:1).  Nahash agreed to their treaty, but on the condition that he could put out their right eyes in order to disgrace the name of Israel (11:2).  Surprised by the conditional promise, the elders of Jabesh asked that they be given seven days to consider the demands of the Ammonites and maybe find someone to deliver them (11:3).  When the messengers from Jabesh came to Gibeah, Saul heard about the threats of the Ammonites and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him so that he called on all Israel to fight against the Ammonites (11:4-7).  The people heeded the voice of Saul and 330,000 soldiers gathered themselves to Bezek to fight against the Ammonites (11:8-10).  Saul showed military skill by dividing the army into three companies and they swiftly defeated the Ammonites (11:11).  This victory resulted in the nation of Israel hailing Saul as a hero and they even asked for Samuel to put to death the men who were against Saul (see 1 Samuel 10:27), but Saul intervened and commanded that no one in Israel be killed that day (11:13).  This decision by Saul evidenced his recognition that it was ultimately God who had given them the victory.  After their defeat of the Ammonites, Samuel called all the people together once again for a reaffirmation of Saul’s kingship over Israel and they greatly rejoiced in God’s appointed leader (11:14-15).

In 1 Samuel 12 the prophet, Samuel, addresses the people of Israel at what appears to be a farewell address, although he still is being used by God to provide spiritual guidance to the nation.  It appears that Samuel is simply recognizing the kingship of Saul while still challenging the people to serve the Lord with all of their hearts.  This chapter highlights the following elements: the integrity of Samuel’s life (12:1-5), the faithfulness of the Lord to Israel (12:6-12), and the importance of Israel’s obedience in the future (12:13-15).  In response to Samuel’s words, Israel acknowledged their sin of choosing a human king, but Samuel assured them that the Lord had forgiven them and would bless them if they served him with all of their hearts (12:16-22).  The address of Samuel not only strikes fear in the hearts of Israel, but also reminds them of God’s love for them.  Listen to the words of Samuel to Israel, “For the Lord will not forsake His people, for His great names sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you His people” (12:22).  Although the Lord demanded obedience to His commandments, He also loved His people and wanted them to be blessed through walking in His ways.  Samuel committed to help lead them in the right way so that they could experience God’s very best for them (12:23-25).

Dear God, thank You for not forsaking Your people. 

Israel demanded that God give them a king just like the other nations surrounding them had been given a king to lead them and fight for them (1 Samuel 8:4-5).  Israel rejected God as their king (1 Samuel 8:6-7) and sought after a human king, even though the prophet, Samuel, warned them that a human king would draft their sons and daughters to work for him (8:11-13), tax their fields and flocks (8:14-15, 17a), and take their best servants and animals (8:16).  Instead of rejecting Israel’s request for a king, God granted their request and told Samuel to anoint a king over them (8:19-22).  The story immediately shifts from Israel demanding a king to focus on the man who would eventually reign over them.  This man was of the tribe of Benjamin and the son of Kish, who is described as a man of wealth and power (9:1).  His name was Saul and he was recognized as the most handsome and tallest man in all of Israel (9:2).  Saul’s wealthy father, Kish, lost his donkeys so he sent Saul along with one of his servants to look for the donkeys (9:3).  After searching for the donkeys for several days, Saul decided to return home for fear that his father would be worried about him (9:5); however, the servant told Saul about a man of God (Samuel) who could help them locate the lost donkeys (9:6).  As Saul and his servant went up into the city, Samuel met them on his way to the high place where he would soon be offering a sacrifice for the people (9:7-14).  The meeting of Samuel and Saul was no coincidence because God had already told Samuel that he would be sending a man from the land of Benjamin, whom Samuel would anoint as the commander over Israel (9:15-16).  So when Samuel met Saul, the Lord spoke to Samuel and revealed that Saul would be the one to reign over the people of Israel (9:17).  Even though Saul only thought that he was visiting the man of God so he could find his father’s donkeys, God had orchestrated the meeting in order to bring about His plan to anoint Saul as the king of Israel (9:18-20).  Upon hearing the news that he would be Israel’s king, Saul was overwhelmed that God would chose someone from such a small tribe in Israel (9:21), but Samuel assured Saul of his position by giving him a place of honor at the meal following the sacrifice (9:22-24).

Saul and his servant then spent the night at Samuel’s house and departed into the city the following morning (9:25-26).  As they journeyed together into the city, Samuel sent Saul’s servant ahead of them but he requested that Samuel stay there so that he could hear the announcement of the Lord (9:27).  Samuel then took a flask of oil and anointed Saul as the king of Israel according to the word of the Lord (10:1).  As he sent Saul away to his home, Samuel assured him that the donkeys he was searching for had been found, but that his father was now worried about him (10:2).  On his journey home, Saul would also encounter a group of prophets and the Spirit of the Lord would come upon him and he would prophesy with them (10:3-6).  The Spirit’s presence in Saul indicated that God was going to use him for His special purposes among the nation of Israel and change him into a new man (10:7-9).  All that Samuel declared to Saul that day came to pass (10:10-16).  The Lord’s choosing of Saul as king was made public to Israel at Mizpah when Samuel gathered the people together and scolded them for rejecting the Lord as their king, but then revealed the identity of their human king, Saul (10:17-24).  The people of Israel rejoiced in their king and shouted, “Long live the king!” (10:24b).  Samuel then explained the appropriate behavior of a king and wrote these words in a book (10:25).  These principles governing kings are recorded in Deuteronomy 17:14-20.  After these things, Samuel sent the people away and Saul returned to his home in Gibeah with a group of men “whose hearts God had touched” (10:26); however, there were some men who did not respect Saul as their new king (10:27).

Dear God, I trust the plans You have for me, even when I don’t understand. 

Israel’s pride and disobedience to God had caused many trials for the nation during the time of the judges.  God’s judgment would often be administered when He would allow an enemy nation to defeat them and many lives would be lost.  The Philistine army had defeated Israel twice, which resulted in massive loss of life as well as the ark of the covenant being secured by their enemies (1 Samuel 4:1-22).  Taking possession of the ark of the covenant brought the wrath of God upon the Philistines until they finally returned it to Israel, who rejoiced that the ark was once again in their possession (1 Samuel 5:1-7:1).  The ark of the covenant was taken to the city of Kirjath Jearim, where it was then taken to the house of Abinadab and Eleazar was consecrated priest over the ark (1 Samuel 7:1).  After the ark had remained in Kirjath Jearim for 20 years (7:2), Samuel challenged Israel to return to the Lord and stop worshiping false gods (7:3a).  If Israel would worship and obey God only, Samuel promised that the Lord would deliver them from the oppression of the Philistines (7:3b).  Israel heeded the voice of Samuel and repented of their sin before God (7:4-6), but the Philistines gathered themselves against Israel to battle, which sent fear throughout the nation (7:7-8).  The children of Israel cried out to Samuel and he, in turn, cried to the Lord for help and victory against the Philistines (7:9).  God heard the prayer of Samuel and as the Philistines gathered against Israel, the Lord “thundered with a loud thunder” and their enemies were defeated that day (7:10-11).  In order to commemorate God’s help in defeating the Philistines, Samuel set up a stone between Mizpah and Shen and called it Ebenezer, which means stone of help (7:12).  This stone would become a visible reminder that God is the Helper of Israel.  God continued to bless the nation of Israel, especially during the time of Samuel who judged Israel all the days of his life (7:13-17).

When Samuel became old, his sons judged Israel but they were consumed with riches and took bribes (8:1-3), which was not permissible for the judges (see Deuteronomy 16:19).   The actions of Samuel’s sons caused the elders of Israel to ask Samuel to give them a king to rule over them like other nations (8:4-5); however, the request of the elders displeased Samuel so he prayed to the Lord concerning the circumstance (8:6).  The Lord responded to Samuel saying, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them” (8:7).  Throughout Israel’s history they had often forsaken God and chased after other gods and their request for a king was ultimately a rejection of Him as the One who would rule over them (8:8).  God told Samuel to grant them their request for a king but to also warn them concerning the behavior of a human king (8:9).  Samuel communicated to Israel that their future king would draft their sons and daughters to work for him (8:11-13), tax their fields and flocks (8:14-15, 17a), and take their best servants and animals (8:16).  Even though Israel was forewarned about the dangers of taking a king for themselves, they refused to heed Samuel’s warning and begged him to give them a king to rule over them so that they could be like other nations whose kings judged them and fought on their behalf (8:19-20).  Samuel reported to the Lord the response of Israel, so God told Samuel to anoint a king for them (8:21-22).  Israel’s desire for a human king meant that they were not satisfied with God ruling over them and fighting on their behalf.  Rather than allowing an infallible, divine King to rule over them, they chose a fallible, human king who would not bring them the freedom they were seeking.

Dear God, may I choose You to rule and reign over my life for only You can provide the freedom I desire. 

Eli, the High-Priest in Shiloh (1 Samuel 1:3), died along with his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, who had disgraced the priesthood by living wicked lives (1 Samuel 2:12-17).  The priesthood was now removed from the house of Eli as God had said (1 Samuel 2:22-36) but now He was raising up the prophet, Samuel, who would turn Israel’s attention back to God (1 Samuel 3:19-4:1).  Unfortunately, Israel had forgotten God and was defeated twice by the vast army of the Philistines (1 Samuel 4:1-11); furthermore, the Philistines had also captured the ark of the covenant, which had been recognized as a symbol of God’s presence for many years.  The ark of the covenant was first established as part of the furnishings of the tabernacle when God was giving His law to Moses (see Exodus 25:10-22).  Throughout Israel’s history, the ark was a representation of the Lord’s presence, but during this time they were more enamored with the object more than God.  After suffering their first loss to the Philistines (1 Samuel 4:1-2), Israel decided to take the ark with them for “good luck,” but instead of bringing them victory in battle, the Philistines defeated them once again and took possession of the ark, which sent great fear throughout everyone in Israel (1 Samuel 4:3-22).

Having captured the ark of the covenant, the Philistines placed it in the temple of Dagon (the god of grain or vegetation), which would have showed them the power of Dagon over the God of Israel (5:1-2).  When the Philistines entered the temple of Dagon the next morning, Dagon had fallen on his face before the ark of the covenant (5:3).  The Philistines set Dagon back up in his place, but the next day Dagon had fallen once again before the ark of the covenant and the fall had caused him to break into pieces (5:4-5).  God’s judgment fell upon the people of Ashdod (location of the temple of Dagon) and He struck the Philistines with a plague (5:6).  The men of Ashdod immediately knew that their possession of the ark was bringing God’s anger upon them so they sent the ark to the town of Gath (5:7-8); however, that city also experienced God’s judgment (5:9).  The ark was then taken to Ekron, but it brought the same results in that city (5:10-12).  After the ark of the covenant had been with the Philistines for seven months (6:1), they sent it back to Israel on a cart that was hitched to two cows who would hopefully take the ark back to Israel (6:2-12).  The leaders of the Philistines believed that if the untrained cows pulled the cart with the ark back to Israel, this judgment had come directly from the God of Israel (6:9).

By the supernatural hand of God, the cart was pulled to the Israelite town of Beth Shemesh, a city of the Levites, and the people of Israel rejoiced at the sight of it (6:13).   The ark was handled by the Levites and then a sacrifice was made of the wood and cows which had carried the sacred ark of the covenant (6:14-16).  Alongside the ark of the covenant the Philistines had included gifts in order to appease the wrath of God (6:17-18); however, a group of men from Beth Shemesh were struck dead because they looked inside the ark, which was strictly forbidden according to Numbers 4:20 (6:19).  The ark of the covenant was very sacred and to be handled according to the prescribed laws of God.  The judgment of God upon those who looked into the ark sent great fear upon the Israelites so they called for messengers fro Kirjath Jearim, who took the ark to the house of Abinadab and consecrated Eleazar to keep the ark of the Lord (6:20-7:1).  The ark of the covenant remained in the house of Abinadab until David had it brought to Jerusalem (see 2 Samuel 6:1-19).

Dear God, help me to maintain a healthy respect and reverence for You.