Foolish Sacrifice & Disobedience

Introduction: The Sinkhole Syndrome

If you have your Bibles, we’re going to be in First Samuel chapter 12. If we have not met yet, my name’s Brad, and I’m one of the pastors here. I get the privilege of handling God’s word together with you. If you are a guest with us, it might be good for you to know that we here at The Well are very committed to our Bibles. We love teaching through books of the Bible, and if for some reason you are new to the things of God or your Bible, the table of contents is your friend—or you can just Google it.

We are continuing in a series called Monarchy, where we’re walking through three very unique Old Testament characters: King Saul, King David, and of course, King Solomon. To catch you up to speed, last week we talked about King Saul in chapters nine through 11. We saw that Saul was a king who had no heart for God. He was anointed primarily because he had the right “program stats.” He was a big, strong, tough guy who looked good on the outside. In chapter 10, he is affirmed publicly and set into that role.

1 Samuel 10:17 (NASB)

Thereafter Samuel called the people together to the LORD at Mizpah;

In chapter 11, he goes to work doing exactly what he was anointed to do: fight battles. His first battle is against a guy named Nahash, which means “snake.” Saul rallies the nation, sends out the ancient equivalent of a tweet, 330,000 people reply, and they have a resounding victory. All the people go to Gilgal to offer sacrifices and peace offerings. Saul and all the men of Israel rejoice greatly, and on the outside, everything seems good.

1 Samuel 11:15 (NASB)

So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal. There they also offered sacrifices of peace offerings before the LORD; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

The problem with King Saul is that what was happening on the outside and what was happening on the inside were very, very different. Last week, Mike introduced a concept called the “Sinkhole Syndrome,” from a book by Gordon Macdonald. Macdonald makes the observation that in Florida, during extended droughts, the subterranean aquifers begin to dry out, creating literal caverns underneath the streets. On the surface, you would never notice. But eventually, entire streets, vehicles, and apartment complexes just disappear. If that aquifer is gone underneath, whatever is on the surface is going to collapse.

That is exactly what happens with King Saul. And really, it’s not unique to him. Anytime your responsibilities exceed your character, it’s only a matter of time until a sinkhole takes place in your life. In chapters 12 through 14, we see the sinkholes beginning to show. We see a king who leads in the flesh.

The Warning of Samuel

In chapter 12, Samuel reflects on the decision to appoint a king. He essentially tells the people, “I gave you what you wanted. This wasn’t my fault; it was yours.” He offers them a choice: if you and your king fear God, things could go well. God, in His grace, can be redemptive and use this even though it wasn’t His original command. But if you rebel against His commandments, it’s not going to go well for you.

1 Samuel 12:14-15 (NASB)

’If you will fear the LORD and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the command of the LORD, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God. ’If you will not listen to the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the command of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you, [as it was] against your fathers.

The people realize they’ve asked for something the Lord didn’t want—something they even call “evil” before God—and they beg Samuel to pray for them. Samuel agrees, assuring them that God will not abandon them because of the kind of God He is.

1 Samuel 12:22-23 (NASB)

’For the LORD will not abandon His people on account of His great name, because the LORD has been pleased to make you a people for Himself. ’Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and right way.

Before we move into chapter 13, we have a minor textual issue with verse one. If you look at your Bible, the numbers for Saul’s age and the length of his reign might be in italics or have a footnote. This is because numbers are notoriously difficult to translate from ancient Hebrew. The NASB says Saul was 30 and reigned 42 years; the ESV says he lived for one year, became king, and reigned for two. The good news is that it doesn’t change any theological meaning. Most likely, Saul was about 40 when he began to reign, and he had reigned for about two years when the events of verse two began.

1 Samuel 13:1 (NASB)

Saul was [thirty] years old when he began to reign, and he reigned [forty] two years over Israel.

Pragmatism vs. Patience

Logistically and financially, keeping an army of 330,000 troops isn’t realistic. So, Saul chooses 3,000 men as a primary fighting force. Two thousand stay with Saul, and a thousand go with his son, Jonathan. Now, as we journey through this, Jonathan should be on your list of heroes. This guy is crazy. He goes and picks a fight with a Philistine garrison at Geba. He pokes the bear, and the Philistines hear about it.

Saul blows the trumpet, summoning the people to war again. But this time, they have a problem. They don’t have the 330,000 anymore. Meanwhile, the Philistines show up with 30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen. Now, I graduated from Fresno State with a health degree, so math isn’t my strong suit, but I’m pretty sure 3,000 versus 36,000 is bad math. They are outnumbered and outgunned.

1 Samuel 13:5 (NASB)

Now the Philistines assembled to fight with Israel, 30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen, and people like the sand which is on the seashore in abundance; and they came up and camped in Michmash, east of Beth-aven.

The Israelite soldiers start doing the math, too. They see they are in a “straight”—meaning they’re in big trouble. They start hiding in caves, thickets, cliffs, and pits. Some even flee the country. Saul is left in Gilgal with people who are “following him trembling.” Saul has a leadership crisis. He’s losing momentum, and as a pragmatic leader, he knows he needs to move fast.

The problem with momentum-driven leaders is they think it’s all about them. They don’t acknowledge the mystery of what God is doing. They forget the wisdom of the Psalms.

Psalms 127:1-2 (NASB)

A Song of Ascents, of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early, To retire late, To eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved [even in his] sleep.

Samuel, the spiritual anchor, told Saul to wait. Samuel’s name means “God hears” or “the name of God.” He represents God’s presence. He told Saul, “Wait for me. We don’t go to war without God. Don’t get pragmatic on me.” But Saul can’t wait. He sees the people scattering, he sees the Philistines assembling, and he panics. He says, “I forced myself,” and he offers the burnt offering himself.

1 Samuel 13:11-12 (NASB)

But Samuel said, ‘What have you done?’ And Saul said, ’Because I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the appointed days, and that the Philistines were assembling at Michmash, therefore I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not asked the favor of the LORD.’ So I forced myself and offered the burnt offering.’

And isn’t that just like the Lord? As soon as Saul finishes the sacrifice he wasn’t supposed to perform, Samuel shows up. It’s like when I was a kid and my brother came after me with a wiffle ball bat. When he saw my mom’s car coming down the driveway, he suddenly became the world’s best greeter: “Hey Mom! What are you doing home early?” Saul tries to greet Samuel the same way, but it screams “guilty.”

Saul refuses to take responsibility. He blames the people, he blames the timing, and he basically blames Samuel for being late. But this rash decision has dire consequences. Sin always takes you farther than you want to go and costs you more than you want to pay. Samuel tells him, “You have acted foolishly.”

1 Samuel 13:13-14 (NASB)

Samuel said to Saul, ’You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, for now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. ‘But now your kingdom shall not endure. The LORD has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.’

Because Saul couldn’t submit to the King of Kings, his kingdom will not endure. God is already looking for a man after His own heart.

Rash Vows and Honeycombs

The battle continues into chapter 14. Saul’s army is so poorly armed they basically have farm equipment—hula hoes and shovels—while only Saul and Jonathan have swords. Jonathan, being the wild man he is, decides to climb a hill with his armor bearer and take on 20 Philistines by himself. It works. Confusion breaks out in the Philistine camp.

Saul sees the commotion from across the way and realizes someone is missing. It’s Jonathan again. Saul gets nervous and asks the priest to bring the Ark of God. He’s treating the Ark like a lucky charm or a rabbit’s foot. But even then, he doesn’t have the patience to finish the inquiry. He sees the commotion increasing and tells the priest, “Withdraw your hand.” He just wants to get into the fight.

1 Samuel 14:18-19 (NASB)

Then Saul said to Ahijah, ‘Bring the ark of God here.’ For the ark of God was at that time with the sons of Israel. While Saul talked to the priest, the commotion in the camp of the Philistines continued and increased; so Saul said to the priest, ‘Withdraw your hand.’

When they get to the battle, they find the Philistines killing each other in total confusion. God didn’t need Saul’s rescue; God had things well in hand.

1 Samuel 14:23 (NASB)

So the LORD delivered Israel that day, and the battle spread beyond Beth-aven.

Sensing momentum, Saul makes a really strange, rash vow. He tells the men, “Cursed be any man who eats food before evening, until I have avenged myself on my enemies.” This makes zero sense. It’s like when I played high school football in the Fresno summer heat and the coaches wouldn’t give us water until we “got the play right.” I couldn’t even spell my name; I just needed a drink! Saul’s men are exhausted, but he won’t let them stop for a “Chipotle run” because he’s afraid of losing momentum.

God, in His grace, provides a snack. They enter a forest where there is honey on the ground. It’s like a divine Goo Pack. But the men are too afraid to touch it because of Saul’s vow. Jonathan, however, hadn’t heard the vow. He dips his staff in the honey, takes a bite, and his eyes brighten.

1 Samuel 14:27 (NASB)

But Jonathan had not heard when his father put the people under oath; therefore, he put out the end of the staff that [was] in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes brightened.

When the soldiers tell him about the vow, Jonathan points out how silly it was. The victory would have been greater if the men had been nourished. Instead, the exhausted men eventually get so hungry they start slaughtering livestock and eating meat with the blood still in it, breaking God’s law. One foolish decision by a leader led to a cascade of sin for everyone else.

Saul tries to fix it by building an altar. But notice: this is the first time he has ever built an altar to the Lord. It’s performative. He’s trying to play the part of a godly man because he stepped on a rake and wants to look better. When he asks God for direction, God is silent.

1 Samuel 14:37 (NASB)

Saul inquired of God, ‘Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You give them into the hand of Israel?’ But He did not answer him on that day.

Instead of looking inward, Saul assumes someone else must have sinned. He swears that whoever broke the vow must die, even if it’s his own son. They cast lots, and it falls on Jonathan. Jonathan admits he ate a little honey and says, “I guess I should die.” Saul is ready to kill his own son to protect his prideful vow, but thankfully, the people intervene and stop him.

The Mirror of Saul

Saul had no heart for God. If we look closely, we shouldn’t be surprised. In chapter nine, he didn’t even know who Samuel was. In chapter 10, when he prophesied, his friends were shocked because it was so out of character for him. In chapter 14, he builds his very first altar.

There are three indicators that Saul lacked a heart for God. First, you never see him pray. He asks God to bless his battle plans, but that’s not prayer—that’s asking for permission. Prayer is being with God, communicating your heart, and receiving His truth. Second, he has no association with the Bible. God commanded kings to write out their own copy of the Law and read it daily so they would learn to submit. Saul never quotes it, never refers to it, and never reads it. Finally, Saul leads in the flesh.

Leading in the flesh doesn’t necessarily mean being immoral; it means leading in autonomy. It means leading by instinct, gut, metrics, and pragmatism. Saul is driven by what he can see and control. But we are called to something different.

Proverbs 3:5-7 (NASB)

Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

Why is this story here? Let me ask you: Do you know anyone who lives very pragmatically but has no prayer life? Someone who might go a day, a week, or a month without ever thinking about God? Someone whose Bible is rarely opened, and even more rarely allowed to “read” them?

Is it possible that King Saul is a mirror for us? Is it possible that God put King Saul in the Bible to help kill the “King Saul” that lives in you? These stories are here for our instruction so we don’t have to pay the same “dumb tax” they did.

We have a natural bent toward autonomy. It comes easily to us. But the beauty of the gospel is that Christ has redeemed us from autonomy and reconciled us to God. We don’t have to live in the flesh anymore; we can live in the Spirit. It requires retraining and relearning, but the alternative is the catastrophic sinkhole of a life lived apart from God. Let’s learn to submit to the King of Kings who loves us.

Closing Prayer

Father, we’re grateful. Thank you for the privilege we have to be in Christ and to no longer be stuck in autonomy. Lord, may Your Bible be rich in our lives. May our time in prayer be life-giving. Help us to reject living in the flesh and relying on the wisdom of this world. Instead, God, may we embrace the mystery of life with You. Bless us as we respond in worship. May You be honored by it all. In Jesus’ name, Amen.