Burnt Offering
1 Samuel 13:5-18
Sometimes, taking matters into your own hands is not the right thing to do.
Photo by Bita Eskandari on Unsplash
The Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude; they came up and encamped at Michmash, to the east of Beth-aven. When the Israelites saw that they were in distress (for the troops were hard pressed), the people hid themselves in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns. Some Hebrews crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people began to slip away from Saul. So Saul said, "Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the offerings of well-being." And he offered the burnt offering. As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived; and Saul went out to meet him and salute him. Samuel said, "What have you done?" Saul replied, "When I saw that the people were slipping away from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines were mustering at Michmash, I said, 'Now the Philistines will come down upon me at Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of the Lord' so I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering." Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which he commanded you. The Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever, but now your kingdom will not continue; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart; and the Lord has appointed him to be ruler over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you." And Samuel left and went on his way from Gilgal. The rest of the people followed Saul to join the army; they went up from Gilgal toward Gibeah of Benjamin. Saul counted the people who were present with him, about six hundred men. Saul, his son Jonathan, and the people who were present with them stayed in Geba of Benjamin; but the Philistines encamped at Michmash. And raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies; one company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual, another company turned toward Beth-horon, and another company turned toward the mountain that looks down upon the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness. - 1 Samuel 13:5-18
It may be hard for us to understand what transgression Saul was guilty of in God's eyes.
He sounds a bit cowardly here, retreating, rather than fighting, and then losing control of his people. But it was taking on the role of a priest, making an offering to God, rather than wait for Samuel to come to do that, which resulted in God's disappointment in him.
Now, this sounds crazy for us Christians, who believe we have a direct path to God, as Jesus explained when he told us how to pray. He also affirmed this relationship later, telling us we are God's children. So, we would probably find no fault in offering our meal to God, just as the priest does with the host and wine.
But we wouldn't take it on ourselves to bless the bread and wine before dinner as a substitute Holy Eucharist.
We might think we should be able to do that, and we may justify or rationalize that saying prayers of thanks before dinner is sufficient for us, so we don't need to partake in the sacrament.
And that's where the line is drawn. Does God look down upon us for doing our own thing?
I don't know.
Some criticize the church for the excessive pomp and circumstance of the traditional service, and I can see how that could be boring and uninteresting to many raised on entertainment in all forms of communication.
Should the church change?
Yes, perhaps, but that won't attract many more people, and it may turn some away.
Like Saul, we are watching the crowds disperse, leaving to go home or disappearing into the woodwork of life. Something, he felt, was needed to bring them together, and so he showed them God was with them.
I guess I can't blame him for trying, but I understand why it cost him so dearly. It was not God's plan.
I sometimes wonder if God cares whether we attend church or not. That wasn't one of the commandments, at least not directly. Keeping the Sabbath holy is, but we struggle with how to do that.
Jesus was right when he said we are lost sheep in need of a shepherd.
Maybe we are moving away from traditional services and rituals, but what are we moving toward? That is what God cares about. Look at the religious section in the bookstore and you will see that many try to come up with new ways to get back to God.
Maybe we should do as Jesus said, and pray.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name...
I will leave the rest to you.
More to come...