1 Samuel 13:1-4 – Be responsible for our assignments

Samuel’s challenge to the people of Israel even as Saul was installed as king was:  “Only fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you.” So in the opening verse of 1 Samuel 13, we see a summary of the reign of Saul. He began to rule at the age of 30 and he reigned over Israel for 42 years. While he was the king, the people were expected to give their ultimate allegiance to God to obey and walk in His ways. Although Saul was depicted as reigning and functioned as a king for 42 years, sadly one year after he was installed as king he was rejected by God. We shall see the reason as we progress. What happened in Saul’s life tells us how important it is to walk aright with God. In whatever position or responsibility we are assigned in life, our ultimate accountability is to God. While we all desire the approval of man, we should never forget that being approved by God is all that really matters. We must seek to please Him alone. When we have that as the driving force in life, nothing can terrify us.

Just a quick recap: In 1 Samuel 8:20, the people of Israel requested for a king like all the nations who would go out in the battle for them. Though Samuel was unhappy at first, at the coaxing of God he relented and made plans to grant them their request. Then in 1 Samuel 9:16 Saul was chosen to be king and was anointed in 1 Samuel 10. Take note that at his anointing he was expected to deal with the garrison of Philistines stationed at Gibeah, but he failed to carry out the task. But we saw in 1 Samuel 11, how he managed to harness a force of 330,00 men from both Israel and Judah and helped the people of Jabesh to defeat Nahash and the Ammonites.

To fully understand what will be unfolded in 1 Samuel 13, we need to return to two instructions Samuel gave to Saul in 1 Samuel 1o. Firstly, he was supposed to deal with the Philistines stationed at Gibeah and secondly, he was to go down to Gilgal and wait for further instructions from Samuel. These instructions were given a year before the event of 1 Samuel 13 took place. As yet, the two events had not taken place. Hence it seems obvious that this chapter should open with a description of the materialization of Saul’s army. Verse 2 tells us that “Saul chose for himself 3,000 men of Israel, of which 2,000 were with Saul in Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, while 1,000 were with Jonathan at Gibeah of Benjamin. But he sent away the rest of the people, each to his tent.”

Verse 2 also introduces us to Jonathan for the first time. It would be revealed later that he was none other than Saul’s son. Here in verse 3, we are told that it was he who dealt with the garrison of Philistines at Geba, probably the same garrison who was at Gibeah. The news of what Jonathan had done reached the other Philistines elsewhere. Here we see the fulfillment of the first instruction of Samuel, though it was Jonathan his son who did it and not Saul. But though it was Jonathan who had secured the victory, the news went out as “Saul had smitten the garrison of the Philistines.” And Israel had become odious to the Philistines. The people were then summoned to gather at Gilgal. As of now, Saul still seemed inactive though he was installed as king. Perhaps, the lesson for us is this: It is important that we carry out whatever we have been ordained to do. When we are assigned a task, we need to actively work at it and fulfil our responsibility. We must seek to be God’s responsible stewards, so let’s be one!