UST 1SA Chapter 13

◄ 1SA 13 ► ║ ═ ©

13 Saul was 30 years old when he began to rule the Israelites as their king, and he ruled them for 42 years. 2 After returning from defeating the Ammonites at Jabesh Gilead, Saul chose 3,000 of the Israelite men who had fought them to become a regular army. He sent the other men back home. Of the soldiers Saul chose, 2,000 stayed with him at Michmash and in the hilly area near the city of Bethel. The other 1,000 stayed with his son Jonathan at the city of Gibeah within the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. 3 Jonathan and the men who were with him attacked the Philistine soldiers who had camped at Geba. The Philistine rulers heard what they did and planned to attack in response. Saul expected this and sent messengers to blow horns throughout Israel and tell the people what was happening. 4 The other Israelites heard the news that Saul’s army had attacked a camp of Philistine soldiers and that this had made the Philistines very angry with the Israelites. The messengers told the rest of the fighting men to join Saul and his soldiers at Gilgal. 5 Then the Philistines mobilized their army to attack the Israelites. The Philistines had 3,000 chariots and 6,000 soldiers on horseback. They seemed to have too many footsoldiers to count, like the grains of sand on the seashore. The Philistines came and set up their tents near the city of Michmash, to the east of Beth Aven. 6 The Israelite soldiers realized that they were in a very dangerous situation because the Philistines would be able to attack them from there and harm them greatly. So many of them fled and hid in caves or bushes or climbed up onto high rocks or hid in ditches or holes in the ground. 7 Some of them crossed the Jordan River and went to the area where the descendants of Gad lived and to the region of Gilead. But Saul stayed at Gilgal. All the soldiers who were with him were shaking because they were so afraid. 8 Samuel had told Saul to wait seven days for him to come and offer sacrifices, and so he did. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal during that time, and meanwhile many of the soldiers in Saul’s remaining army were leaving him and running away. 9 So Saul told the soldiers, “Bring me an animal that I can burn completely on the altar to express our complete dedication to Yahweh. Also bring me animals that we can sacrifice and whose meat we can share at a meal to celebrate and thank Yahweh for the victory we expect he will enable us to win.” So his soldiers brought him these animals, and he burned the first one completely on the altar. 10 When Saul had nearly completed burning this animal, suddenly Samuel arrived. Saul went over to greet him. 11 Samuel saw what Saul had done, and he said to Saul, “You should not have sacrificed that animal yourself!” Saul replied, “I saw that my soldiers were leaving me and running away. You did not come here by the time you said you would come. Meanwhile, the Philistines had mobilized their army at Michmash and were threatening us dangerously. 12 So I thought, ‘Soon the Philistine army will attack us here at Gilgal, but I have not yet asked Yahweh to help us.’ So I felt it was necessary to offer the burnt offering myself.” 13 Samuel told Saul, “That was a very foolish thing to do! You did not obey what Yahweh, your God, commanded about sacrifices. If you had obeyed him, Yahweh would have allowed you and your descendants to rule Israel for a long time. 14 But now, after you die, none of your descendants will become king. That is because you have not obeyed what Yahweh told you to do, Yahweh has found someone else who will do what he wants him to do. He has decided to make that person the next king of Israel.” 15 Then Samuel left Gilgal and went to the city of Gibeah that is in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. Saul counted the soldiers he still had with him and he discovered that there were only about 600 of them who had not run away. 16 Saul and his son Jonathan and the soldiers who were with them went to an area near the city of Geba in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin and set up their tents there. The Philistine army had set up their tents at Michmash. 17 The Philistines sent out three groups of soldiers to make raids on Israelite towns. One group went north toward the city of Ophrah in the region of Shual. 18 Another group went west towards the city of Beth Horon. The third group went east toward the area above the Zeboyim Valley, beyond which there is a desolate area. 19 The Philistines did not want the Israelites (whom they called Hebrews) to be able to make any swords or spears. So they did not allow any Israelites to be metalworkers. 20 As a result, whenever the Israelites needed someone to sharpen their plow blades, picks, axes, or sickles, they had to bring them to a Philistine man who could sharpen them. 21 The Israelites had to pay about eight grams of silver to get such a man to sharpen their plow blades, picks, forks with three prongs, or sickles or to straighten the goads they used to drive their oxen. 22 As a result, none of the 600 men who were with Saul and Jonathan had swords or spears that they could use to fight the Philistines. Only Saul and Jonathan, his son, had swords and spears. 23 The Philistines sent some of their soldiers to guard the mountain pass outside Michmash.

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