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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [First Samuel, Chapter XIII].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1708)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>F I R S T S A M U E L</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XIII.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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Those that desired a king like all the nations fancied that, when they
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had one, they should look very great and considerable; but in this
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chapter we find it proved much otherwise. While Samuel was joined in
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commission with Saul things went well,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+11:7"><I>ch.</I> xi. 7</A>.
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But, now that Saul began to reign alone, all went to decay, and
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Samuel's words began to be fulfilled: "You shall be consumed, both you
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and your king;" for never was the state of Israel further gone in a
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consumption than in this chapter.
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I. Saul appears here a very silly prince.
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1. Infatuated in his counsels,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+13:1-3">ver. 1-3</A>.
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2. Invaded by his neighbours,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+13:4,5">ver. 4, 5</A>.
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3. Deserted by his soldiers,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+13:6,7">ver. 6, 7</A>.
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4. Disordered in his own spirit, and sacrificing in confusion,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+13:8-10">ver. 8-10</A>.
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5. Chidden by Samuel,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+13:11-13">ver. 11-13</A>.
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6. Rejected of God from being king,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+13:14">ver. 14</A>.
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II. The people appear hear a very miserable people.
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1. Disheartened and dispersed, ver.
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+13:6,7">6, 7</A>.
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2. Diminished,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+13:15,16">ver. 15, 16</A>.
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3. Plundered,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+13:17,18">ver. 17, 18</A>.
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4. Disarmed,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+13:19-23">ver. 19-23</A>.
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This they got by casting off God's government, and making themselves
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like the nations: all their glory departed from them.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="1Sa13_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa13_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa13_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa13_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa13_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa13_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa13_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Philistines War against Israel.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1067.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over
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Israel,
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2 Saul chose him three thousand <I>men</I> of Israel; <I>whereof</I> two
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thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Beth-el, and a
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thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest
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of the people he sent every man to his tent.
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3 And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that <I>was</I>
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in Geba, and the Philistines heard <I>of it.</I> And Saul blew the
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trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear.
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4 And all Israel heard say <I>that</I> Saul had smitten a garrison
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of the Philistines, and <I>that</I> Israel also was had in abomination
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with the Philistines. And the people were called together after
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Saul to Gilgal.
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5 And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight
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with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen,
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and people as the sand which <I>is</I> on the sea shore in multitude:
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and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from
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Beth-aven.
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6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for
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the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves
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in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and
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in pits.
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7 And <I>some of</I> the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad
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and Gilead. As for Saul, he <I>was</I> yet in Gilgal, and all the
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people followed him trembling.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We are not told wherein it was that the people of Israel offended God,
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so as to forfeit his presence and turn his hand against them, as Samuel
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had threatened
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+12:15"><I>ch.</I> xii. 15</A>);
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but doubtless they left God, else he would not have left them, as here
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it appears he did; for,</P>
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<P>
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I. Saul was very weak and impolitic, and did not order his affairs with
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discretion. <I>Saul was the son of one year</I> (so the first words are
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in the original), a phrase which we make to signify the date of his
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reign, but ordinarily it signifies the date of one's birth, and
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therefore some understand it figuratively--he was as innocent and good
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as a child of a year old; so the Chaldee paraphrase: he was <I>without
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fault, like the son of a year.</I> But, if we admit a figurative sense,
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it may as well intimate that he was ignorant and imprudent, and as
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unfit for business as a child of a year old: and the subsequent
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particulars make this more accordant with his character than the
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former. But we take it rather, as our own translation has it, <I>Saul
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reigned one year,</I> and nothing happened that was considerable, it
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was a year of no action; but in his second year he did as follows:--
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1. he chose a band of 3000 men, of whom he himself commanded 2000, and
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his son Jonathan 1000,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+13:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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The rest of the people he dismissed to their tents. If he intended
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these only for the guard of his person and his honorary attendants, it
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was impolitic to have so many, if for a standing army, in apprehension
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of danger from the Philistines, it was no less impolitic to have so
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few; and perhaps the confidence he put in this select number, and his
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disbanding the rest of that brave army with which he had lately beaten
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the Ammonites
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+11:8-11"><I>ch.</I> xi. 8-11</A>),
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was looked upon as an affront to the kingdom, excited general disgust,
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and was the reason he had so few at his call when he had occasion for
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them. The prince that relies on a particular party weakens his own
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interest in the whole community.
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2. He ordered his son Jonathan to surprise and destroy the garrison of
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the Philistines that lay near him in Geba,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+13:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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I wish there were no ground for supposing that this was a violation or
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infraction of some articles with the Philistines, and that it was done
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treacherously and perfidiously. The reason why I suspect it is because
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it is said that, for doing it, <I>Israel was had in abomination,</I>
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or, as the word is, <I>did stink with the Philistines</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+13:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
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as men void of common honesty and whose word could not be relied on. If
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it was so, we will lay the blame, not on Jonathan who did it, but on
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Saul, his prince and father, who ordered him to do it, and perhaps kept
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him in ignorance of the truth of the matter. Nothing makes the name of
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Israel odious to those that are without so much as the fraud and
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dishonesty of those that are called by that worthy name. If professors
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of religion cheat and over-reach, break their word and betray their
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trust, religion suffers by it, and is <I>had in abomination with the
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Philistines.</I> Whom may one trust if not an Israelite, one that, it
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is expected, should be <I>without guile?</I>
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3. When he had thus exasperated the Philistines, then he began to raise
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forces, which, if he had acted wisely, he would have done before. When
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the Philistines had a vast army ready to pour in upon him, to avenge
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the wrong he had done them, then was he <I>blowing the trumpet through
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the land,</I> among a careless, if not a disaffected people, saying,
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<I>Let the Hebrews hear</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+13:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
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and so as many as thought fit came to Saul to Gilgal,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+13:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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But now the generality, we may suppose, drew back (either in dislike of
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Saul's politics or in dread of the Philistines' power), who, if he had
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summoned them sooner, would have been as ready at his beck as they were
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when he marched against the Ammonites. We often find that after-wit
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would have done much better before and have prevented much
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inconvenience.</P>
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<P>
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II. Never did the Philistines appear in such a formidable body as they
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did now, upon this provocation which Saul gave them. We may suppose
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they had great assistance from their allies, for
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+13:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
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besides 6000 horse, which in those times, when horses were not so much
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used in war as they are now, was a great body, they had an incredible
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number of chariots, 30,000 in all: most of them, we may suppose, were
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carriages for the bag and baggage of so vast an army, not chariots of
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war. But their foot was <I>innumerable as the sand of the
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sea-shore,</I> so jealous were they for the honour of their nation and
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so much enraged at the baseness of the Israelites in destroying their
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garrison. If Saul had asked counsel of God before he had given the
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Philistines this provocation, he and his people might the better have
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borne this threatening trouble which they had now brought on themselves
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by their own folly.</P>
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<P>
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III. Never were the people of Israel so faint-hearted, so sneaking, so
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very cowardly, as they were now. Some considerable numbers, it may be,
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came to Saul to Gilgal; but, hearing of the Philistines' numbers and
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preparations, their spirits sunk within them, some think because they
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did not find Samuel there with Saul. Those that, awhile ago, were weary
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of him, and wished for a king, now had small joy of their king unless
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they could see him under Samuel's direction. Sooner or later, men will
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be made to see that God and his prophets are their best friends. Now
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that they saw the Philistines making war upon them, and Samuel not
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coming in to help them, they knew not what to do; <I>men's hearts
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failed them for fear.</I> And.
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1. Some absconded. Rather than run upon death among the Philistines,
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they buried themselves alive in caves and thickets,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+13:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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See what work sin makes; it exposes men to perils, and then robs them
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of their courage and dispirits them. A single person, by faith, can
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say, <I>I will not be afraid of</I> 10,000
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+3:6">Ps. iii. 6</A>);
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but here thousands of degenerate Israelites tremble at the approach of
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a great crowd of Philistines. Guilt makes men cowards.
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2. Others fled
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+13:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
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They <I>went over Jordan to the land of Gilead,</I> as far as they
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could from the danger, and to a place where they had lately been
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victorious over the Ammonites. Where they had triumphed they hoped to
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be sheltered.
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3. Those that staid with Saul <I>followed him trembling,</I> expecting
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no other than to be cut off, and having their hands and hearts very
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much weakened by the desertion of so many of their troops. And perhaps
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Saul himself, though he had so much honour as to stand his ground, yet
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had no courage to spare wherewith to inspire his trembling
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soldiers.</P>
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<A NAME="1Sa13_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa13_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa13_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa13_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa13_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa13_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="1Sa13_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Saul Reproved by Samuel; Sentence Passed upon Saul.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1067.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>8 And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that
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Samuel <I>had appointed:</I> but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the
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people were scattered from him.
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9 And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace
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offerings. And he offered the burnt offering.
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10 And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of
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offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went
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out to meet him, that he might salute him.
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11 And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because
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I saw that the people were scattered from me, and <I>that</I> thou
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camest not within the days appointed, and <I>that</I> the Philistines
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gathered themselves together at Michmash;
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12 Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me
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to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>: I
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forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering.
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13 And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast
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not kept the commandment of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> thy God, which he commanded
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thee: for now would the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> have established thy kingdom upon
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Israel for ever.
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14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath sought
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him a man after his own heart, and the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath commanded him
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<I>to be</I> captain over his people, because thou hast not kept
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<I>that</I> which the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> commanded thee.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is,
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I. Saul's offence in offering sacrifice before Samuel came. Samuel,
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when he anointed him, had ordered him to tarry for him seven days in
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Gilgal, promising that, at the end of those days, he would be sure to
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come to him, and both offer sacrifices for him and direct him what he
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should do. This we had
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+10:8"><I>ch.</I> x. 8</A>.
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Perhaps that order, though inserted there, was given him afterwards, or
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was given him as a general rule to be observed in every public congress
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at Gilgal, or, as is most probable, though not mentioned again, was
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lately repeated with reference to this particular occasion; for it is
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plain that Saul himself understood it as obliging him from God now to
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stay till Samuel came, else he would not have made so many excuses as
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he did for not staying,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+13:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>.
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This order Saul broke. He staid till the seventh day, yet had not
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patience to wait till the end of the seventh day. Perhaps he began to
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reproach Samuel as false to his word, careless of his country, and
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disrespectful of his prince, and thought it more fit that Samuel should
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wait for him than he for Samuel. However,
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1. He presumed to offer sacrifice without Samuel, and nothing appears
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to the contrary but that he did it himself, though he was neither
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priest nor prophet, as if, because he was a king, he might do any
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thing, a piece of presumption which king Uzziah paid dearly for,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+26:16-23">2 Chron. xxvi. 16</A>,
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&c.
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2. He determined to engage the Philistines without Samuel's
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directions, though he had promised to <I>show him what he should
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do.</I> So self-sufficient Saul was that he thought it not worth while
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to stay for a prophet of the Lord, either to pray for him or to advise
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him. This was Saul's offence, and that which aggravated it was,
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(1.) That for aught that appears, he did not send any messenger to
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Samuel, to know his mind, to represent the case to him, and to receive
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fresh directions from him, though he had enough about him that were
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swift enough of foot at this time.
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(2.) That when Samuel came he rather seemed to boast of what he had
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done than to repent of it; for he <I>went forth to salute him,</I> as
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his brother-sacrificer, and seemed pleased with the opportunity he had
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of letting Samuel know that he needed him not, but could do well enough
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without him. He went out to <I>bless him,</I> so the word is, as if he
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now thought himself a complete priest, empowered to bless as well as
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sacrifice, whereas he should have gone out to be blessed by him.
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(3.) That he charged Samuel with breach of promise: <I>Thou camest not
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within the days appointed</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+13:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
|
|
|
|
and therefore if any thing was amiss Samuel must bear the blame, who
|
|
was God's minister; whereas he did come according to his word, before
|
|
the seven days had expired. Thus the <I>scoffers of the latter days</I>
|
|
think the promise of Christ's coming is broken, because he does not
|
|
come in their time, though it is certain he will come at the set time.
|
|
|
|
(4.) That when he was charged with disobedience he justified himself in
|
|
what he had done, and gave no sign at all of repentance for it. It is
|
|
not sinning that ruins men, but sinning and not repenting, falling and
|
|
not getting up again. See what excuses he made,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+13:11,12"><I>v.</I> 11, 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
He would have this act of disobedience pass,
|
|
|
|
[1.] For an instance of his prudence. The people were most of them
|
|
scattered from him, and he had no other way than this to keep those
|
|
with him that remained and to prevent their deserting too. If Samuel
|
|
neglected the public concerns, he would not.
|
|
|
|
[2.] For an instance of his piety. He would be thought very devout, and
|
|
in great care not to engage the Philistines till he had by prayer and
|
|
sacrifice engaged God on his side: "<I>The Philistines,</I>" said he,
|
|
"<I>will come down upon me, before I have made my supplication to the
|
|
Lord,</I> and then I am undone. What! go to war before I have said my
|
|
prayers!" Thus he covered his disobedience to God's command with a
|
|
pretence of concern for God's favour. Hypocrites lay a great stress
|
|
upon the external performances of religion, thinking thereby to excuse
|
|
their neglect of the <I>weightier matters of the law.</I> And yet,
|
|
lastly, He owns it went against his conscience to do it: <I>I forced
|
|
myself and offered a burnt-offering,</I> perhaps boasting that he had
|
|
broken through his convictions and got the better of them, or at least
|
|
thinking this extenuated his fault, that he knew he should not have
|
|
done as he did, but did it with reluctancy. Foolish man! to think that
|
|
God would be well pleased with sacrifices offered in direct opposition
|
|
both to his general and particular command.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The sentence passed upon Saul for this offence. Samuel found him
|
|
standing by his burnt-offering, but, instead of an answer of peace, was
|
|
sent to him with heavy tidings, and let him know that <I>the sacrifice
|
|
of the wicked is abomination to the Lord,</I> much more when he brings
|
|
it, as Saul did, <I>with a wicked mind.</I>
|
|
|
|
1. He shows him the aggravations of his crime, and says to this king,
|
|
<I>Thou art wicked,</I> which it is not for any but a prophet of the
|
|
Lord to say,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+34:18">Job xxxiv. 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
He charges him with being an enemy to himself and his interest--<I>Thou
|
|
hast done foolishly,</I> and a rebel to God and his
|
|
government--"<I>Thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy
|
|
God,</I> that commandment wherewith he intended to try thy obedience."
|
|
Note, Those that disobey the commandments of God do foolishly for
|
|
themselves. Sin is folly, and sinners are the greatest fools.
|
|
|
|
2. He reads his doom
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+13:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>):
|
|
|
|
"<I>Thy kingdom shall not continue</I> long to thee or thy family; God
|
|
has his eye upon another, <I>a man after his own heart,</I> and not
|
|
like thee, that will have thy own will and way." The sentence is in
|
|
effect the same with <I>Mene tekel,</I> only now there seems room left
|
|
for Saul's repentance, upon which this sentence would have been
|
|
reversed; but, upon the next act of disobedience, it was made
|
|
irreversible,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+15:29"><I>ch.</I> xv. 29</A>.
|
|
|
|
And now, better a thousand times he had continued in obscurity tending
|
|
his asses than to be enthroned and so soon dethroned. But was not this
|
|
hard, to pass so severe a sentence upon him and his house for a single
|
|
error, an error that seemed so small, and in excuse for which he had so
|
|
much to say? No, <I>The Lord is righteous in all his ways</I> and does
|
|
no man any wrong, <I>will be justified when he speaks and clear when he
|
|
judges.</I> By this,
|
|
|
|
(1.) He shows that there is no sin little, because no little god to sin
|
|
against; but that every sin is a forfeiture of the heavenly kingdom,
|
|
for which we stood fair.
|
|
|
|
(2.) He shows that disobedience to an express command, though in a
|
|
small matter, is a great provocation, as in the case of our first
|
|
parents.
|
|
|
|
(3.) He warns us to <I>take heed of our spirits,</I> for that which to
|
|
men may seem but a small offence, yet to him that knows from what
|
|
principle and with what disposition of mind it is done, may appear a
|
|
heinous crime.
|
|
|
|
(4.) God, in rejecting Saul for an error seemingly little, sets off, as
|
|
by a foil, the lustre of his mercy in forgiving such great sins as
|
|
those of David, Manasseh, and others.
|
|
|
|
(5.) We are taught hereby how necessary it is that we <I>wait on our
|
|
God continually.</I> Saul lost his kingdom for want of two or three
|
|
hours' patience.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="1Sa13_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Sa13_16"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Sa13_17"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Sa13_18"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Sa13_19"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Sa13_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Sa13_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Sa13_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="1Sa13_23"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Israelites' Low Condition.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1067.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>15 And Samuel arose, and gat him up from Gilgal unto Gibeah of
|
|
Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people <I>that were</I> present with
|
|
him, about six hundred men.
|
|
16 And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people <I>that were</I>
|
|
present with them, abode in Gibeah of Benjamin: but the
|
|
Philistines encamped in Michmash.
|
|
17 And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in
|
|
three companies: one company turned unto the way <I>that leadeth
|
|
to</I> Ophrah, unto the land of Shual:
|
|
18 And another company turned the way <I>to</I> Beth-horon: and
|
|
another company turned <I>to</I> the way of the border that looketh to
|
|
the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.
|
|
19 Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of
|
|
Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make <I>them</I>
|
|
swords or spears:
|
|
20 But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to
|
|
sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his axe, and
|
|
his mattock.
|
|
21 Yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters,
|
|
and for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goads.
|
|
22 So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was
|
|
neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people
|
|
that <I>were</I> with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with
|
|
Jonathan his son was there found.
|
|
23 And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the passage
|
|
of Michmash.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
Here,
|
|
|
|
1. Samuel departs in displeasure. Saul has set up for himself, and now
|
|
he is left to himself: <I>Samuel gat him from Gilgal</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+13:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
and it does not appear that he either prayed with Saul or directed him.
|
|
Yet in going up to Gibeah of Benjamin, which was Saul's city, he
|
|
intimated that he had not quite abandoned him, but waited to do him a
|
|
kindness another time. Or he went to the college of the prophets there,
|
|
to pray for Saul when he did not think fit to pray with him.
|
|
|
|
2. Saul goes after him to Gibeah, and there musters his army, and finds
|
|
his whole number to be but 600 men,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+13:15,16"><I>v.</I> 15, 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
Thus were they for their sin <I>diminished and brought low.</I>
|
|
|
|
3. The Philistines ravage the country, and put all the adjacent parts
|
|
under contribution. The body of their army, or standing camp (as it is
|
|
called in the margin,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+13:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>),
|
|
|
|
lay in an advantageous pass at Michmash, but thence they sent out three
|
|
separate parties or detachments that took several ways, to plunder the
|
|
country, and bring in provisions for the army,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+13:17,18"><I>v.</I> 17, 18</A>.
|
|
|
|
By these the land of Israel was both terrified and impoverished, and
|
|
the Philistines were animated and enriched. This the sin of Israel
|
|
brought upon them,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+42:24">Isa. xlii. 24</A>.
|
|
|
|
4. The Israelites that take the field with Saul are unarmed, having
|
|
only slings and clubs, not a sword or spear among them all, except what
|
|
Saul and Jonathan themselves have,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+13:19,22"><I>v.</I> 19, 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
See here,
|
|
|
|
(1.) How politic the Philistines were, when they had power in their
|
|
hands, and did what they pleased in Israel. They put down all the
|
|
smiths' shops, transplanted the smiths into their own country, and
|
|
forbade any Israelite, under severe penalties, to exercise the trade or
|
|
mystery of working in brass or iron, though they had rich mines of both
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+8:9">Deut. viii. 9</A>)
|
|
|
|
in such plenty that it was said of Asher, <I>his shoes shall be iron
|
|
and brass,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+33:25">Deut. xxxiii. 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
This was subtilely done of the Philistines, for hereby they not only
|
|
prevented the people of Israel from making themselves weapons of war
|
|
(by which they would be both disused to military exercises and
|
|
unfurnished when there was occasion), but obliged them to a dependence
|
|
upon them even for the instruments of husbandry; they must go to them,
|
|
that is, to some or other of their garrisons, which were dispersed in
|
|
the country, to have all their iron-work done, and no more might an
|
|
Israelite do than use a file
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+13:20,21"><I>v.</I> 20, 21</A>),
|
|
|
|
and no doubt the Philistines' smiths brought the Israelites long bills
|
|
for work done.
|
|
|
|
(2.) How impolitic Saul was, that did not, in the beginning of his
|
|
reign, set himself to redress this grievance. Samuel's not doing it
|
|
was very excusable; he fought with other artillery; thunder and
|
|
lightning, in answer to his prayer, were to him instead of sword and
|
|
spear; but for Saul, that pretended to be a king like the kings of the
|
|
nations, to leave his soldiers without swords and spears, and take no
|
|
care to provide them, especially when he might have done it out of the
|
|
spoils of the Ammonites whom he conquered in the beginning of his
|
|
reign, was such a piece of negligence as could by no means be excused.
|
|
|
|
(3.) How slothful and mean-spirited the Israelites were, that suffered
|
|
the Philistines thus to impose upon them and had no thought nor spirit
|
|
to help themselves. It was reckoned very bad with them when there was
|
|
<I>not a shield or spear found among</I> 40,000 <I>in Israel</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+5:8">Judg. v. 8</A>),
|
|
|
|
and it was not better now, when there was never an Israelite with a
|
|
sword by his side but the king and his son, never a soldier, never a
|
|
gentleman; surely they were reduced to this, or began to be so, in
|
|
Samuel's time, for we never find him with sword or spear in his hand.
|
|
If they had not been dispirited, they could not have been disarmed, but
|
|
it was sin that made them naked to their shame.</P>
|
|
|
|
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