1 Samuel / Saul's Unauthorized Sacrifice and Rebuke

Saul's Unauthorized Sacrifice and Rebuke

1 Samuel 13:1-15

Chapter 13

¹ Saul was one year old when he became king, and he reigned two years over Israel. ² And Saul chose three thousand men from Israel for himself. And two thousand were with Saul at Michmash and in the hill country of the house of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in the hill country of Benjamin. And he sent the rest of the people, each man to his tent. ³ And Jonathan struck the garrison of the Philistines that was in Gibeah, and the Philistines heard. And Saul blew the ram's horn throughout all the land, saying, "The Hebrews have heard." ⁴ And all Israel heard it said, "Saul has struck the garrison of the Philistines." And the people of Israel also became a stench among the Philistines. And the people cried out after Saul at Gilgal. ⁵ And the Philistines gathered to fight Israel—thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and people like the sand on the seashore in multitude. And they went up and encamped at Michmash, east of the House of Iniquity. ⁶ And a man of Israel saw that it was tight for him, because the people had drawn near. And the people hid themselves in caves and in thorns and in rocks and in crevices and in pits. ⁷ And the Hebrews crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead, and Saul was still in Gilgal, and all the people trembled after him. ⁸ And he waited seven days to the divinely appointed time which Shemuel had appointed, and Shemuel did not come to Gilgal. And the people scattered from him. ⁹ And Saul said, "Bring the burnt offering and the peace offerings near to me." And he offered up the burnt offering. ¹⁰ And it was as he finished offering the burnt offering—behold, Shemuel came. And Saul went out to meet him to bless him. ¹¹ And he said, "Samuel, what have you done?" And Saul said, "Because I saw that the people were scattering from me, and you did not come at the appointed time of the days, and the Philistines are gathering at Michmash." ¹² And I said, "Now the Philistines have come down to me at Gilgal, and I had not sought the face of the LORD, so I forced myself and offered the burnt offering." ¹³ And Shemuel said to Saul, "You have acted foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which he commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever." ¹⁴ And now your kingdom will not stand. The LORD has sought for himself a man after his heart, and the LORD has commanded him—a ruler over his people—because you did not keep what the LORD commanded you. ¹⁵ And Shemuel arose and went up from the wheels, the hill of Benjamin, and Saul mustered the people who were found with him, about six hundred men.