In 1 Samuel 13, we read about a time when Saul unlawfully offered a burnt offering to the Lord. This happened after Samuel had instructed Saul to wait seven days for him to arrive to offer the sacrifice. However, Saul grew impatient and offered the burnt offering himself on the seventh day before Samuel arrived. This was a grievous sin in God’s eyes for several reasons.
Saul disobeyed God’s command
God had specifically commanded that only priests from the tribe of Levi were permitted to offer sacrifices to Him (Numbers 3:5-10, 18:1-7). The priest acted as a mediator between God and men, representing the people before God. Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin, not Levi. By taking it upon himself to burn the offering, Saul directly disobeyed God’s instructions about who was authorized to perform that sacred duty.
In 1 Samuel 10:8, Samuel had told Saul to wait seven days until he arrived to make the burnt offering and fellowship offerings. But Saul grew impatient and offered the burnt offering himself on the seventh day before Samuel got there. This was a clear act of willful disobedience against God’s command spoken through Samuel.
Saul’s sacrifice displayed a lack of faith
Saul’s action demonstrated a lack of faith in God’s timing and provision. God had specifically told him to wait for Samuel to arrive. But instead of trusting in God’s perfect timing, Saul took matters into his own hands. He feared that his army would desert him and the Philistines would attack if he waited any longer for Samuel (1 Samuel 13:11-12).
However, by refusing to wait on the Lord, Saul was essentially questioning God’s sovereignty and doubting that God would actually deliver Israel from the Philistines. He relied on his own wisdom rather than obediently waiting on God. This revealed Saul’s lack of faith in God’s power and timing.
Saul usurped the priest’s office
Only Levitical priests consecrated by God had the authority to present offerings and sacrifices. Saul was a king, not a priest. By taking it upon himself to make the burnt offering, Saul usurped the sacred office of the priesthood. He sought to take total control and centralize power under himself as king, rather than respecting the separation of duties between king and priest.
In making the sacrifice, Saul essentially set himself up as both political and spiritual ruler over Israel. This consolidated too much power under the king and disrupted the checks and balances God intended between the different leadership roles. The king was never meant to also function as priest.
Saul failed to acknowledge his sin
When Samuel confronted Saul about his disobedient actions, at first Saul repeatedly denied he had done anything wrong. Instead of admitting his failure and repenting, Saul defended himself and attempted to justify his actions by blaming others (1 Samuel 13:11-12).
Saul’s stubborn refusal to acknowledge his sin showed his pride. A truly humble person would have admitted their mistake, sought forgiveness, and repented. Sadly, Saul persisted in defending his unlawful sacrifice instead of confessing it as sin.
Saul’s dynasty would not last
Samuel informed Saul that because of his disobedience, his dynasty would not last. God would seek out a man after His own heart to be king instead of Saul’s descendants (1 Samuel 13:13-14). Saul’s lineage would not establish a long-lasting dynasty over Israel because he had proven himself unfaithful and disobedient before God.
If only Saul had waited patiently for Samuel, his rule likely could have been established for generations. Tragically, his impatient arrogance cost him the opportunity for an enduring legacy.
The consequences were immediate and severe
Samuel informed Saul that as a direct consequence of his disobedience, his kingship would not last. God was already searching for a more faithful leader to eventually replace him as king over Israel (1 Samuel 13:14). So there were immediate and severe consequences for Saul’s unlawful sacrifice.
Rather than securing God’s blessing and establishing his dynasty, Saul’s impatience and rebellion actually cut short his legacy. Just one act of defiance cost him the opportunity to found an enduring royal dynasty in Israel.
Saul was motivated by fear of man rather than fear of God
When confronted by Samuel, Saul explained his actions by saying he was compelled to offer the burnt offering because the people were scattering from him and the Philistines were ready to attack (1 Samuel 13:11-12). In other words, Saul was afraid of losing the people’s support and seeing his army desert him.
Rather than fearing God and obeying His command, Saul was controlled by fear of man and concern for his leadership position. This showed that Saul cared more about retaining the people’s loyalty than being faithful to God’s direction. His priorities were out of order.
God desires obedience over sacrifice
Samuel said to Saul, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22)
Though sacrifices were an important part of Israel’s worship, God desires obedience even more than burnt offerings. It was more important for Saul to obey God’s command by waiting for Samuel than to impatiently offer the sacrifice himself. Obedience always takes priority over religious rituals.
Saul committed a form of idolatry
By unlawfully assuming the priest’s office and prerogatives, Saul was essentially elevating himself above God’s established authority. He took a role that belonged only to God’s consecrated priests, thereby committing a form of idolatry.
Since idolatry places something or someone else higher than the one true God, Saul’s actions qualified as idolatrous. He pridefully assumed unauthorized religious authority unto himself that properly belonged only to God’s ordained priests.
Saul showed contempt for God’s ordained order
God is a God of order, not disorder (1 Corinthians 14:33). He established the separate roles of priest and king for specific purposes according to His wise design. But by combining the two offices under himself as king, Saul showed blatant contempt and disregard for God’s ordained order.
Saul’s actions displayed a spirit of pride, ambition and willful rebellion against God’s established authority. He sought to overturn God’s order to selfishly centralize all power and authority under himself as king.
Saul acted rashly under pressure
Saul’s unlawful sacrifice resulted in part from his tendency to act rashly under pressure. When he saw his army scattering and the Philistines assembled for battle, Saul took matters into his own hands without considering God’s commands or waiting for Samuel.
His decision was an emotional knee-jerk reaction, not well thought out wise judgment. Saul’s pattern of acting impulsively would eventually lead to losing the kingdom because he repeatedly made rash decisions out of a heart of fear and pride rather than faith and humility.
Saul failed to see the spiritual implications
Saul’s reasoning seemed sound from an earthly perspective. He saw his army scattering and the enemy Philistines ready to attack, so he presented burnt offerings himself to secure God’s blessing before battle. However, Saul failed to consider the profound spiritual implications of his actions.
By taking the priest’s role, Saul directly violated God’s order in a way that displayed lack of faith, mistrust, and pride. His only focus was the earthly circumstances rather than greater spiritual realities and obedience to God’s commands.
Saul showed disregard for holy things
The offering of sacrifices was a weighty responsibility given exclusively to Israel’s priests. It was a sacred holy duty. But Saul’s cavalier attitude and intrusion into this holy office displayed a flippant disregard for the sanctity and gravity of Israel’s sacrificial system of worship.
Saul essentially treated something holy as common when he unlawfully offered sacrifices himself. He showed carelessness toward holy things that God expected His people to revere.
Saul acted independently rather than interdependently
God designed the different leadership roles in Israel to work interdependently, not independently. The king and priests had different domains but needed to work together respectfully. But Saul asserted his own independence from Samuel the priest and attempted to operate on his own.
This autonomous attitude was rooted in pride. Saul essentially declared that he didn’t need Samuel to offer the sacrifices. He would just handle things himself without recognizing his own limits or respecting the other leaders God had put in place.
Saul failed to wait on the Lord
Rather than waiting patiently for Samuel to arrive and lead the burnt offering, Saul took matters into his own hands because he feared the consequences of further delay. But this revealed distrust in God’s sovereignty and timing.
The decision to move ahead without Samuel showed that Saul trusted more in himself than in God. He failed to wait on the Lord or acknowledge His divine authority over the situation.
Saul’s motives were impure
Though Saul claimed he felt compelled to offer burnt offerings because his army was deserting him, his underlying motives were tainted. Saul was more concerned about maintaining his kingship and retaining the people’s loyalty than obeying God’s commands.
This incident reveals that Saul was motivated by selfish political concerns rather than a desire to purely honor God. He disobeyed divine instructions in order to secure his own position.
Saul did not heed the divine warning
God in His mercy gave Saul an earlier opportunity to repent after his first act of disobedience in 1 Samuel 15 regarding the Amalekites. Samuel sternly confronted Saul and pronounced judgment, giving him a chance to turn from his rebellion. Tragically, Saul failed to take this divine warning seriously.
His unlawful sacrifice in the next chapter showed Saul had quickly returned to his pattern of willful defiance against God’s commands. He failed to heed the merciful warning God already gave him through Samuel.
Conclusion
Saul’s decision to make a burnt offering to the Lord in 1 Samuel 13 was a grave act of defiance with serious consequences. He directly violated God’s instructions, usurped the priesthood, and demonstrated a lack of faith in God’s timing and sovereignty. Though religious sacrifice can be an act of worship and obedience, obedience always takes priority over ritual offerings.
Tragically, Saul’s disobedience cost him the opportunity for an enduring dynasty. His example is a sober warning about the importance of prizing obedience over external religious formalities. Though Saul claimed he was motivated by fear of losing his army, his underlying sins of pride, fear of man, and lack of trust in God led him into direct rebellion against the Lord’s command.
As Samuel declared, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22).
