Is God pernickety? (1 Sam 13:8-14)

The passage about Saul’s downfall is a disconcerting one. What exactly went wrong? When Saul was anointed, he was told to wait for seven days until Samuel came to offer sacrifices and showed him what to do (1 Sam 10:8). However, so much has happened in the meantime that it comes as a surprise that this event is still ahead. We also feel for Saul in his predicament. The king has called the troops for battle, the enemy is gathering nearby and yet the days pass without Samuel making an appearance. The people are fearful and begin to scatter (1 Sam 13:11). No wonder Saul is anxious to get on with the battle.

In the face of such an impossible situation, Samuel’s words seem extremely harsh (1 Sam 13:13). Is the problem that Saul did not wait for seven days? But the passage explicitly states that he did, and it was Samuel who arrived late (1 Sam 13:8). Is it not unfair to condemn him when the time difference is so slight anyway (he barely finished the offering when the prophet turns up – 1 Sam 13:10)? Is God so pernickety just watching for us to fail and condemning us out of hand at the first mistake? This is all very troubling. Alternatively, is the problem not so much the timing but that kings should not offer a sacrifice? This is also unsatisfactory because both David and Solomon did so (e.g. 2 Sam 24:25; 1 Kings 8:63), and Saul himself builds an altar later without being condemned (1 Sam 14:35).

In order to find the answer, we need to step back and take in the big picture. In the previous chapter, kingship is established on the basis that the people and their king should submit to the ultimate King, God Himself. It is particularly important for the human king to demonstrate an attitude of faith and dependence on God because he has increased responsibility as leader of his people and his power exposes him to temptations that could lead all of God’s people astray. So, much is at stake for all involved. Moreover, Saul has already been given lots of affirmation: the anointing by God, various signs to confirm His will, God’s Spirit and a changed heart, the people’s recognition of him as their king and his first victory in battle (1 Samuel 10-11). Now, the sincerity of his attitude is tested in a situation when God seems absent. It is easy to be carried on a sense of triumph when we feel God’s presence and things are going our way, but it is times of worry and threat when we need to learn the response of faith, looking not at what is seen, but to the unseen God who promised to be there for us.

Saul’s response reveals this deeper issue of his relationship with God and Chapman, who suggests this possibility is worth quoting at length.

Rather than the seven-day waiting period being an indication that Samuel was hardly fair, perhaps it discloses how Saul was only barely religious. Although the Philistines were quickly assembling and his people were steadily drifting away, Saul was willing to wait the seven days he had been instructed to wait – but not one second more.

[…] it would be praiseworthy – for a character in such military straits to say, in effect, “I do not care if the enemy is at our door, we must place ourselves in the hands of God; let God do as God will.” Yet at no time in the description of Saul’s sacrifice or in his comments to Samuel about it does Saul mention God at all. Strikingly absent in his words and deeds is the heartfelt devotion to God…[1]

Reading Saul’s ‘diagnosis’ challenges our attitudes. Is our Bible reading, prayers for guidance, for God’s will, a mere formality, a nod towards God, something to tick off before getting on with the ‘real business’ of life? When the pressures mount, we might feel that there is simply no time to take it slowly, to listen to God and wait for Him. Yet these are precisely our opportunities to grow our trust and deepen our relationship with Him.

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[1] Stephen B. Chapman, 1 Samuel as Christian Scripture (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2016), 127.

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