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Worship and obedience in 1 Samuel 13-14

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In ancient Israel, warfare was the normal experience of young and old, rich and poor. During Saul’s reign, the Philistines were Israel’s great enemy who had dominance over the Israelites to the degree that no one in Israel was able to sharpen his weapons except by paying the Philistines. The Israelites were feeble before the Philistines. In one battle episode in which the Philistines rise up against the Israelites, Saul blows the trumpet to call out the people for battle. But Saul is barely able to hold together an army let alone a resolute army, with the men fleeing and hiding in holes and caves; and at Gilgal (Saul’s home base) “all the people followed him trembling” (1 Samuel 13:7). The Philistine army on the other hand is prepared and confident, maybe even dazzling in their numbers and armaments.

“And the Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, 30 thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude.” (1 Samuel: 13:5)

As an aside, it’s not possible that the Philistines could have had 30 thousand chariots (!), a staggering number that was probably the result of a copy error, lol. The number of chariots was probably in the 3000 range and even then there is a mismatch of strength with the Israelites like farmers with pitchforks in comparison. According to 1 Samuel 13:22, “…on the day of battle there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and Jonathan his son had them.”

It’s in such dire circumstances that Saul is called to stand fast and wait upon God. During this time and in previous generations the Israelite army fought with the Ark of the Covenant (and the priest) on the battlefield. The priest’s role seems to have been to give the green light to engage in any particular battle. The priest stirred the men to action and strengthened their faith to believe that God would give them victory. The Israelites’ greatest strength and deliverer was God, Yahweh, who supernaturally delivered them in battle through certain leaders, even such as Saul.

1“When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up out of Egypt. 2And when you draw near to battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the people 3and shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them, 4for the LORD your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’” (Deuteronomy 20:1-4)

Faced with his men fleeing as the Philistines mustered for battle at Michmash, Saul succumbs to fear and takes emergency action. Saul breaks the chain of command: he willfully “offers the burnt offering” to petition God for victory though he was not sanctified for this role. It may be difficult for us to grasp why this is a serious transgression but Saul should have known the severe consequences of doing things that only priests and certain anointed individuals like Samuel had authority to do, given history. If he had reverence for God’s commands (in this instance by way of Samuel), Saul would have waited and submitted to God’s word even if the world was going up in flames before his eyes.

Saul had a casual way with God’s commandments. Why does God demand Saul obey His word? Obedience despite not knowing why and despite the life and death pressure to take matters into one’s own hands indicates faith, reverence and “the fear of the Lord.” Saul started out with a bright future but along the way he succumbed to the fear of man.

What is God looking for? He is looking for total worship. We see something akin to total worship in Jonathan, Saul’s son, through his spectacular and God-glorifying faith as described in 1 Samuel 14.

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6Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the LORD will work for us, for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few.” 7And his armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish. Behold, I am with you heart and soul.” (1 Samuel 14:6-7)

Jonathan has a laser beam faith which betrays no hint of uncertainty. I wouldn’t even describe it as faith but as knowledge that comes by way of knowing and having encountered the living God. Actually, many of the Israelites would have had this type of faith, including Saul. For if the visceral presence of God was in the camp and the glory of God manifested on occasion, then they would have lived in the reality that they are not their own. The key difference is that Jonathan worshipped while Saul’s missteps betrayed a careless and what was in fact a rebel heart.

So Jonathan was given the privilege of witnessing God’s faithfulness and thrilling deliverance as God intervened from the heavens, so that by two men and an earthquake the Philistines camp was thrown into chaos. The pitchfork contingent overran the tech-heavy thousands: God testified yet again He alone is God and is to be worshipped.

A fascinating detail about Saul not being able to chase after the fleeing Philistines without the priest first “withdrawing his hand” confirms the strict adherence to spiritual protocols in warfare.

In this narrative there is an obvious contrast between Saul and his son Jonathan so that we understand who God is and the type of man He is looking for. The narrative builds a case for Saul’s deficiency and sets up the subsequent rise of David as a man after God’s own heart. And David as we know is a foreshadowing of the only true worshipper of God, Jesus Christ.

The glory of God and the ark

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In their many battles against their various enemies, Israel knew that their strength and victory came from God. If Israel lost a battle, they would not have blamed their tactics or level of readiness primarily. They would have been confused and amazed at the defeat, and perhaps would have questioned their consecration – did someone sin? When Israel was chased down by the men of Ai (in Joshua 7), Joshua falls on his face before the ark of the LORD in great distress:

“O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their back before their enemies! For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will you do you for your great name?” (Joshua 7:8-9)

God answers: “Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their belongings. Therefore, the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies.” (Joshua 7:11-12)

In 1 Samuel 4, the Israelites are defeated by the Philistines and instead of inquiring of God, they decide to use the Ark of the Covenant as a talisman by bringing it into the battle field. The consequences are great and in fulfillment of God’s judgment: Thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel are slaughtered, the ark of God is captured and the two sons of Eli are killed in battle.

There would have been shock and lamentation in Israel upon hearing that the Philistines had captured the ark of God. Eli, the priest, falls over backward from his chair, breaks his neck and dies. His daughter-in-law gives birth prematurely and names her son Ichabod. “And she said, ‘The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.'” (1 Samuel 4:22)  That she has born a son is no consolation to her in the reality of what seems like God’s departure.

During these ancient days, the glory of God is dramatically revealed on the battlefield or when God routs an advancing enemy. The text implies that Israel was being harassed by the Philistines who were threatening to overwhelm the Israelites, if not already. In these desperate times, the leaders and the faithful would have been compelled to cling to God as their only hope of deliverance from a strong enemy. Philistine triumph in battle could presumably lead to Israel’s worst nightmare, which eventually became a reality with the end of the monarchy in Judah and exile to Babylon, along with all the horrors of war. When God does bring about deliverance, the exultation in triumph, the singing, dancing, memorials, worship and glory given to God as recorded in scripture draws the modern reader into their world and deepens our understanding of what it means for believers to be ‘saved’ by God today.

The battle narratives in scripture are compelling in that God reveals himself as the mighty warrior in glory and brilliance. He is the champion of Israel who in great power scatters and stuns the enemy so that Israel need only rally and pursue. God’s constant teaching to the Israelites is that only He can save and deliver and that only He is God.

In Joshua 5, Joshua has a face to face encounter with God:

13 Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” 14 “Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?” 15 The commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

This was certainly God in the flesh because the scene echoes Moses’ encounter with God in the flames of the burning bush (Exodus 3). God had also instructed Moses to take off his sandals for the ground on which he stood was holy and furthermore, God clearly identified himself: “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

Joshua’s encounter is bit more visually compelling to me because here is God appearing in the flesh, as a warrior. Being face to face with God, Joshua falls facedown to the ground and worships. And the response is the outflow of a core longing to worship before a true and long-awaited King, the memory of glory imprinted into the soul of every human being. In those moments of true worship, we have arrived home and our identities are revealed; we have the Spirit to be brave and honorable for His sake and for others.

The Philistines return The Ark of God after 7 months of destruction and “emerods in their secret parts” according to the King James translation. The speculation is that the bubonic plague ravaged the Philistines. At Beth-shemesh, where the ark of God is received, God destroys over 50,000 men (or 70 men depending on translation) because they looked into the the ark – I suppose it was equivalent to gazing at someone’s private parts without permission, an exchange that should only happen between lovers. Later (perhaps 20 years later), Samuel gathers the people together where they commit to turn away from foreign gods and serve the LORD only. When the Philistines hear of the gathering, they marshal their forces to attack Israel. By faith, the people of Israel wait upon God to deliver them from the Philistines:

8 And the people of Israel said to Samuel, “Do not cease to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that he may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” 9 So Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. And Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him. 10 As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel. But the Lord thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were defeated before Israel. 11 And the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them, as far as below Beth-car. (1 Samuel: 8-11)

To stand still in weakness and wait for God to deliver us from a desperate situation is to test our belief that God is alive and merciful. And when God to our thrilling amazement intervenes supernaturally, he alone receives praise and the glory.

The book of Judges chronicles several accounts of God working though the Judges to save them from their enemies. The most spectacular account involves God instructing Gideon to go into battle with 300 men into the camp of Midian. Gideon by nature is cautious and doesn’t have the zeal and fervor to risk life and limb in an impossible mission and God knows that of course. With patience and understanding, God strengthens his faith by small miracles and with bits of knowledge so that by the middle night watch Gideon has the confidence to muster his handful of men. All 300 men are set around the camp with torches in their hands and they blow their trumpets at the appointed time as if to herald a charging army into battle. The Midianites in terror and confusion draw swords against one another and flee from what they perceive to be a massive assault. Yet, the strength of Israel was as real as if Gideon had an army of 100,000 at his command because God was present in the battlefield with sword drawn, leading the armies of the living God. And Joshua and his men must have been swept up into reality of God’s glory and power as they watched the enemy crumble away.

Only Israel had the glory of God in their midst. God’s presence was in the camp as a comforting reality that God provided and protected them. But beyond that, they had access to the God of mighty acts, the God who lead them out of slavery in Egypt. They were near to the God of glory before whom they trembled and reverenced.

Much later on in history, God visits again in the flesh, but not as a warrior. He visits as a gentle and supremely approachable carpenter in a story of salvation through voluntary weakness and sacrifice that is heart-wrenching and stuns the enemy into silence.