Bible Commentaries

Saul's Early Efforts

1 Samuel 13:5); it was not likely, therefore, that a people so vast and so accustomed to war under their kings and princes should be immediately struck by panic. The picture presented by Israel is remarkable for its light and shade. Look at King Saul in the first flush of royal pride and ambition, responding to what he believed to be a divine vocation, and aboundingly confident of immediate and complete success; he was a man who regarded his own progress as the rush of a mighty wind, and looked upon his sword as the very lightning of God. But his people were unaccustomed to his leadership; many a stout battle had Israel fought, and not a few victories had Israel won, but in this case a new element enters into the calculation. It is true that Saul had overwhelmed Nahash; but compared with the Philistines gathered in their full strength Nahash was indeed a contemptible foe. On the other side, therefore, we have a misgiving people, faint-hearted, filled with the distracting fear which weakens all whom it agitates, and trembling with apprehension. If the case had to be argued from the condition of the people, no special sagacity would be required to predict the result. Is it not so also in the great moral conflict of the world? Judging by what is seen in the spirit and action of nominal Christians, who could justly regard them as men of intrepidity and invincible resoluteness? What trembling, what hesitation, what nightmare fancies, what ghostly noises in the night, what nameless spectres have combined to make the Church afraid! What a genius the Church has for creating fears! How afraid the Church is of sensationalism, offending the weak, annoying the sensitive, disturbing the slumbering! What wonder if amid all this unworthy hesitation the war should be going against the divine standard! But we must not look at the people: our eyes must be upon the Captain of our salvation. In his heart there is no misgiving; he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet; he never turns back from the war; his sword is always highest in the air, pointing the road to danger and to victory.

It is no injustice to say that today the Church is trembling in face of the scepticism, the selfishness, the cupidity, and the unspiritual philosophy, which signalise the times. Blessed are we, even in the midst of all this faint-heartedness, if we can get one glimpse of Christ as he himself presses on to the point where the fight is deadliest, and grows in strength as the battle grows in fierceness.

We now come upon one of the mistakes of Saul's first campaign. He had been ordered to go down to Gilgal before Samuel ( 1 Samuel 10:8): "And behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings." Saul was to wait in Gilgal seven days for the coming of the prophet. A remarkable point should be noted here, namely, that Samuel even after his valedictory address did not wholly abandon his supremacy in Israel. Saul waited as he supposed the seven days, and then in his impatience he commanded to have brought to him a burnt offering and peace offerings, and he then by his own hand, or by the hand of the priest who was with him, offered the burnt offering. Alas for Saul! No sooner had an end been made of offering the burnt offering than behold Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him that he might salute him. But Samuel was an earnest 1 Samuel 14:24). Jonathan was unaware of the order, so in going through a wood where there was honey upon the ground, Jonathan put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand and dipped it in an honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes were enlightened. On being informed of the order of the king, Jonathan denounced the action of Saul, and in very deed it was irrational and intolerable. Afterwards when a lot was drawn between Saul and Jonathan, Jonathan was taken, and on being interrogated he confessed saying, "I did but taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in mine hand, and lo, I must die." But the people would not have it so. The king was taught that day his first lesson as to the power of the democracy. Even kings must under some circumstances be the subjects of their people Israel was at that juncture a people to be found ready. Their appeal was nobly conceived and nobly expressed. "And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid: as the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day" ( 1 Samuel 14:45). Trust the people. There are occasions on which the proverb is true: Vox populi, vox Dei. The instincts of a great people are never to be lightly treated. Saul might on this occasion indeed be secretly inclined to concur with the popular verdict, but whether he was or not, the popular verdict, in so far as it is right, must always overrule the arbitrary and oppressive decrees of kings.

We have reserved for a concluding paragraph a memorable incident recorded in the fourteenth chapter. Dealing as we now are with the early efforts of Saul, we must point out with especial vividness that in connection with this war Saul built his first altar: "And Saul built an altar unto the Lord: the same was the first altar that he built unto the Lord" ( 1 Samuel 14:35). Some have regarded this as an act kindred to the service which Samuel condemned. Whether that may be so or not in a technical sense, the fact of the altar being the "first altar" is full of beautiful significance. We read in the Gospel of John of the first miracle that Jesus did. In Genesis we have read of Abraham returning to the altar which he built at the first. What a noble vision is opened up by the very words—first altar, first miracle, first war, first victory. Some of us have not yet begun to build an altar. Some of us have not sat down for the first time at the table of the Lord. Some of us have yet to make a real beginning in life! Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

"There is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few"— 1 Samuel 14:6.

Jonathan here takes a right view of the situation.—This is the view which all Christian workers and warriors must take, or they will certainly fail in the fight of life.—Beautiful is the picture that God enthroned in heaven is watching the battles which are being fought in his name, and is from hour to hour communicating strength, stimulus, inspiration to the hearts of those who go forth to war under his holy banner.—Whilst men look upon their swords as their weapons, God looks upon men as his instruments of war.—Soldiers light with steel, God fights with living men: where the living men are full of the Spirit of God one counts for a thousand; numbers indeed are no longer calculated, it is courage, quality, strength of purpose, that is set down among the statistics of God's resources. God does not say, How many men have I on my side?—but, What is their quality?—Are Are they men full of faith and love?—they surcharged with the very Spirit of God?—Have they given up their minds to conquer or die in this tremendous conflict?—Some men are to be numbered, others should be weighed.—Now it is a question of arithmetical strength, and now it is a question of moral and spiritual force.—The Lord could save without any helpers; it is his condescension that accepts co-operation, not his necessity: we are honoured by being called upon to fight in God's cause: to wear his epaulettes, to wield his sword, to bear his shield,—this is the supreme honour of mortal man.—We cannot too frequently remind ourselves that life is not a luxury, but a battle; not a dream, but a fierce conflict, needing continual watchfulness and continual equipment.—"Take unto you the whole armour of God."—When you count up the statistics of the Church, and speak of thousands and tens of thousands of men, always remember that every number is small in relation to him who is infinite, and that however stupend us may be the resources placed at his disposal they are but so many ciphers until he stands at their head and transforms them into positive value. This is the hope and confidence of the Church. Statistics are all against us. Confucius has more followers than Jesus Christ. The Son of God is almost, indeed, the lowest on the poll of competitive saviours and teachers of the world. But our strength is not in ourselves; we believe in the living God, and that he will bring all things to pass which he has written in his book or uttered on his oath.—The promise is that the heathen shall be Christ's inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth his possession; and it is in the darkest hour, when the whole day is filled with storm, that faith is enabled to say, "There is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few."—It is always well to place victory on the side of right, 1 Samuel 14:37.

We are to think of silent days in providence.—Saul had taken counsel of God, saying, "Shall I go down after the Philistines? Wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel?"—The question was very simple and direct, and yet it pleased God to regard the inquiry with apparent neglect.—This would be thought to be severe on the part of God in relation to Saul, if we ourselves had not passed through the same experience.—There are some days when we cannot pray; we are silent; we have no thoughts, no words, no feelings; for the time being we seem to be all but obliterated: at other times we can ask a hundred questions at heaven's door, and yet the door never opens,—yea, we can thunder our prayers, for we are in great enthusiasm of heart, and seem as if we could take the kingdom of heaven by violence; and yet heaven regards us with apparent indifference,—no gleam attests the attention of God, no opening in the clouds shows how near he 1 Samuel 14:44.

It is king Saul who speaks.—Saul, like most men, could be intensely conscientious at times.—Something had been done which had offended the king, and he proceeded to examine the people that he might know wherein the sin had been done, "For," said 1 Samuel 14:52.

This should be the rule of the Church.—Does not the Church too often look out for feeble, quiet, timid, inoffensive men?—Is not negativeness of character a recommendation to the pulpit?—We hear of ministers being so inoffensive, harmless, quiet, as really not to excite any painful attention; and this is supposed to be a compliment to the ministers in question.—No such record is found in the New Testament.—Wherever Jesus Christ went a storm was created.—Of the apostles it was said, "These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also."—"Inoffensive" is the last epithet that would have been applied to an apostle.—It does not follow that strong men or valiant men are to be noisy, demonstrative, or ostentatious; but it does mean that they are to be firm and clear in their testimony, resonant in their denunciation of wrong, and ever eloquent in their defence of that which is helpless and poor.—Strong men and valiant men should be pre-eminently in the Church.—The Church itself has become a controversial term because every one of its positions has been assailed, whether the position is doctrinal, ecclesiastical, or semi-political.—Under such stress of assault we need strong and valiant men to repulse the enemy, and keep in full repair the bulwarks of the Church.—There is no greater mistake than to suppose that a weak man may make a refuge of the pulpit.—Congregations know when a man is weak, and they soon leave him in full possession of his undesirable reputation.—A timid man in the Church not only does no good, he often does very serious harm.—He seems to be insincere, and there he may do himself unconscious injustice, for sincerity and tempestuousness of manner do not necessarily go together.—A man, however, must not only be sincere, he must appear to be sincere to those who are observing him; that is to say, he must be just to himself, and so give the full weight of his character and ability to the side which he has espoused.—There is a common saying that the fool of the family is reserved for service in the Church; when Saul's maxim is worked upon that policy will soon be discovered to be not only an error in morals but a mistake in economical calculation.