War with the Philistines
1Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-two years. 2He chose for himself three thousand men of Israel: Two thousand were with Saul at Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. And the rest of the troops he sent away, each to his own home.
- 1SA 13:1[TEXT]SAUL'S AGE. The Hebrew text is damaged here. It says Saul was a year old when he became king, and he reigned two years. Numbers were lost in copying. This Bible says thirty, from a few Greek copies. Forty two years is a best guess that adds forty to the two. Acts 13:21 says Saul reigned forty years.
3Then Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. So Saul blew the ram’s horn throughout the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!”
4And all Israel heard the news: “Saul has attacked an outpost of the Philistines, and now Israel has become a stench to the Philistines!” Then the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.
5Now the Philistines assembled to fight against Israel with three thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and troops as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Michmash, east of Beth-aven.
6Seeing that they were in danger because their troops were hard-pressed, the men of Israel hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in cellars and cisterns. 7Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan into the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul, however, remained at Gilgal, and all his troops were quaking in fear.
Saul’s Unlawful Sacrifice
8And Saul waited seven days for the time appointed by Samuel, but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the troops began to desert Saul. 9So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings.” And he offered up the burnt offering.
- 1SA 13:9[NOTE]Saul was not a priest, and Samuel had told him to wait seven days, 10:8. See the Big Question pages Saul's Lost Kingdom.
10Just as he finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.
11“What have you done?” Samuel asked.
And Saul replied, “When I saw that the troops were deserting me, and that you did not come at the appointed time and the Philistines were gathering at Michmash, 12I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will descend upon me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of Yahweh.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”
13“You have acted foolishly,” Samuel declared. “You have not kept the command that Yahweh your God gave you; if you had, Yahweh would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. 14But now your kingdom will not endure; Yahweh has sought a man after His own heart and appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept the command of Yahweh.”
- 1SA 13:14[PROPHECY]Saul's kingdom would not last and God would choose a man after His own heart → 1SA 16:13; ACTS 13:22
- 1SA 13:14[HEART]God looked for a man after His own heart.
- 1SA 13:14[QUOTED]Quoted in the New Testament → ACTS 13:22
15Then Samuel set out from Gilgal and went up to Gibeah in Benjamin. And Saul numbered the troops who were with him, about six hundred men.
Israel without Weapons
16Now Saul and Jonathan his son and the troops with them were staying in Geba of Benjamin, while the Philistines camped at Michmash. 17And raiders went out of the Philistine camp in three divisions. One headed toward Ophrah in the land of Shual, 18another toward Beth-horon, and the third down the border road overlooking the Valley of Zeboim facing the wilderness.
19And no blacksmith could be found in all the land of Israel, because the Philistines had said, “The Hebrews must not be allowed to make swords or spears.” 20Instead, all the Israelites would go down to the Philistines to sharpen their plowshares, mattocks, axes, and sickles. 21The charge was a pim, about a quarter ounce of silver, for sharpening a plowshare or mattock, an eighth of an ounce for sharpening a pitchfork or an axe, and an eighth of an ounce for repointing an oxgoad.
- 1SA 13:19[NOTE]NO BLACKSMITHS. The Philistines kept iron working to themselves so Israel could not make weapons. Israel had to pay the Philistines even to sharpen a plow.
- 1SA 13:21[FIELD NOTES]Nobody knew what a pim was until stone weights marked pim were dug up. See The Pim Weight Field Notes page.
22So on the day of battle not a sword or spear could be found in the hands of the troops with Saul and Jonathan; only Saul and his son Jonathan had weapons.
23And a garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass at Michmash.