Main Verse: 1 Samuel 13

Good morning!

Saul was a newly crowned king when the third battle with the Philistines started. When Jonathan destroyed a Philistine garrison, it was like cracking open a bee hive because the Philistines mobilized their entire army of 30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and an untold number of foot soldiers. Saul had underestimated the composition of the Philistine army by sending troops home, thinking, “This is no big deal,” sort of like what happened during the first battle against AI (Joshua 7). Because he was foolish and proud, Saul and the 2000 men were routed by the Philistines so they ran to hide in the craigs, and rocks to keep from being put to death. When Samuel didn’t arrive by the allotted time, seven days, Saul decided he would offer the evening sacrifice as a means of rallying the troops; Saul had thought that he would be lauded for taking the reigns only to be excoriated for his foolishness. When he was confronted by Samuel, Saul gave a feeble excuse for his actions, “We afraid because the Philistines had us on the run! You didn’t show up on time and I hadn’t asked for the Lord’s favor. So I forced myself to …”. Saul’ job was to lead the army into battle, maintain battle readiness, and motivate the troops. By failing to honor his assigned job, Saul’s kingdom would not endure.

While it sounds like Saul was treated rather harshly, the Lord requires more from leaders because their actions are imitated by the troops. Saul was afraid and, that is a normal reaction in battle conditions but, to break faith with the Lord is a punishable offense sort of like the case of Aaron and Moses (Numbers 20:9-14). The roles of the Pastor, Teacher, Preacher, and/or Prophet are called by the Lord and He does not hire just anybody “who wants to try it out”, He chooses them (Daniel 2:20-21). My encouragement for the ordained leaders is, “Stay true to what He has called you to do. Don’t let your fears stop you rather, use them as a springboard to higher places in Jesus Christ. The church will never rise higher than the leader (Dr. Rex Allen) so, it is incumbent on the leader to keep growing in the Word of God. If we turn down God’s calling like Saul tried to do (1 Samuel 10:22), the Lord will call someone else and the reward(s) that would have been ours will go to that person and we will never know what He would do for us if we had simply asked for His help (1 Kings 19:15-18 as an example).

I.H.S MK

Father,

You call people to leadership, it’s not something we take upon ourselves. You have intimate knowledge of our inner workings and, as such, know the people You can rely on. Please help me and the ordained leaders to fully grasp the importance of faithfulness despite our fears. Please help us to take dominion over our fears and doubts in the light of your Word (Psalms 119:105). Please send qualified leaders to direct the church and the nation (Matthew 9:35-38).

In Jesus Name