1 Samuel 13:1-23
1 Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel,
2 Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent.
3 And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba,a and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear.
4 And all Israel heard say that Saul had smitten a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel also was had in abomination with the Philistines. And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal.
5 And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Bethaven.
6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits.
7 And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followedb him trembling.
8 And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.
9 And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering.
10 And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salutec him.
11 And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash;
12 Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering.
13 And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.
14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.
15 And Samuel arose, and gat him up from Gilgal unto Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that were presentd with him, about six hundred men.
16 And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were presente 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 that leadeth to Ophrah, unto the land of Shual:
18 And another company turned the way to Bethhoron: and another company turned to 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 them 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 filef 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 were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found.
23 And the garrisong of the Philistines went out to the passage of Michmash.
Israel’s First King
1 Samuel
Helen Pocock
Chapter 13
Jonathan attacks the *Philistines
v1 Saul was 30 years old when he became king. He was the king of *Israel for 42 years. v2 Saul chose 3000 men from *Israel. 2000 men stayed with him at Michmash. This place was in the mountains of Bethel. 1000 men stayed with his son Jonathan. They stayed in the town of Gibeah. Gibeah was in the land that belonged to the *tribe of Benjamin. Saul sent the rest of the men home. v3 Some of the *Philistine army camped at Geba. Jonathan attacked them. The rest of the *Philistines heard about it. Saul said, ‘All the *Israelites must hear about this’. So Saul sent men out to every place in the land of *Israel. They had to blow trumpets to call the men to war. v4 All the people in *Israel heard the news. They heard that Saul had attacked the *Philistines. They heard that the *Philistines hated the *Israelites now. So the people came to Saul at Gilgal.
Verse 1 in the old *Hebrew texts says, ‘Saul was years old when he became king’. The person who wrote it left out Saul’s age. We do not know how old Saul was but many Bible teachers think that he was between 30 and 40 years old.
The *Israelites came from 12 different *tribes. They did not have an army. When people had attacked them in the past, all the men left their work. Then they went to fight. For example, this happened in chapter 11. Saul decided to train and pay a proper army. He chose the men that he wanted. He sent the rest of the men home. Jonathan was Saul’s oldest son (14:49).
Geba was about 6 kilometres (4 miles) north of Gibeah. Michmash was only 3 kilometres (2 miles) north of Geba. Small groups of *Philistine soldiers camped in many places in the land of *Israel. They watched the *Israelites. Later the *Philistines attacked the *Israelites. But the *Philistines could gather their main army quickly if the *Israelites attacked them. Jonathan attacked the small camp of *Philistines at Geba. The *Philistines were angry. This started a major battle. The *Israelites now needed more men to fight in this battle. A trumpet was an instrument that they blew into. In the *Old Testament the *Israelites gathered when they heard the trumpet. This was how news travelled quickly round the country. This time the trumpet called people together for war. Saul was at Gilgal where the *Israelites had made him king in 1 Samuel 11:14-15. Gilgal was about 18 kilometres (11 miles) from Geba.
Saul gives the *burnt offering to God
v5 The *Philistines gathered to fight the *Israelites. The *Philistines had 3000 *chariots and 6000 men who rode in the *chariots. They had many thousands of soldiers. There were so many soldiers that no-one could count them. The *Philistines camped at the town of Michmash which was east of Beth Aven. v6 The *Israelites saw the *Philistine army. The *Israelites knew that they were in a difficult situation. Some of them went and hid in caves and bushes. They also hid among the rocks, in holes in the ground and in wells. v7 Some of the *Israelites even crossed to the other side of the river Jordan. They went into the land of Gad and Gilead.
Saul stayed at Gilgal. All the people with him were so afraid that they trembled. v8 Samuel had told Saul to wait for him. Saul waited for 7 days as Samuel had told him. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal. The men with Saul began to leave him. v9 So Saul said, ‘Bring the *burnt offering and the friendship *offerings to me’. Saul offered the *burnt offering to God. v10 Samuel arrived just as he finished. Saul went to greet Samuel.
v11 Samuel asked, ‘What have you done?’
Saul replied, ‘The soldiers were leaving me. You said you would be here at a particular time. But you did not arrive at that time. The *Philistines were gathering at Michmash. v12 I thought that they would come and attack me at Gilgal. But I had not asked God to help me. So I thought that I ought to offer the *burnt offering’.
v13 Samuel said, ‘You have behaved in a foolish way. You have not obeyed the command of the *Lord your God. You should have obeyed the *Lord. Then the *Lord would have let you and your family rule over the *Israelites for ever. v14 But this will not happen because you did not obey the *Lord. Instead, the *Lord will find the kind of man that he wants. The *Lord will make this man the ruler of his people, the *Israelites’.
Saul and his army left Michmash and went to Gilgal. So the main *Philistine army came to Michmash. The *Philistines had many *chariots. The *Philistine army was so large that no one could count all the soldiers. The *Israelite soldiers saw this and became very frightened. Some of them hid. Some ran more than 24 kilometres (15 miles) to the river Jordan. They did not want the *Philistines to kill them. In 1 Samuel 10:8, Samuel had told Saul to go to Gilgal and wait for him. Samuel said, ‘I will certainly come down to you there and give *burnt sacrifices and friendship *offerings. You must wait for 7 days. Then I will come and tell you what to do’.
Before a battle the priest gave *sacrifices to God and prayed. He listened to God. And he told the people what God had said. God told them how to fight. He told them how to win the battle. The *Israelites trusted God to help them. Saul waited for 7 days but Samuel did not arrive. Perhaps Samuel was testing Saul to see if Saul would trust God. Saul became frightened. He could have asked God to help. Only the priest should offer the *burnt offering. Saul saw that his soldiers were leaving. So he went against Samuel’s instruction. Saul did not trust God’s word that Samuel the *prophet had spoken. Saul did not obey God. Instead, Saul did what he thought was right. This is *sin. Saul *sinned in this way several times while he was king.
Verses 11-12 show that Saul had been afraid of the situation. That is why he acted. In verse 13 ‘foolish’ means guilty of wrong behaviour. In 1 Samuel 15:22 Samuel said that it is better to obey God than to *sacrifice to him. The *Israelites wanted a king to lead them. They wanted to be like other nations. They wanted a king to fight their battles. God gave them what they wanted. But King Saul did not trust God. Usually the present king’s son became the next king. And this continued for many years. The king’s son learned how to be king by watching his father. God did not want another king like Saul. God wanted his special people, the *Israelites, to have a good king. In chapter 16, we read how God chose the next king.
v15 Samuel left Gilgal. He went to the town of Gibeah in the land of Benjamin. Saul counted the men who were with him. There were 600 men.
v16 Saul, his son Jonathan and the men who were with them were in the town of Gibeah in the land of Benjamin. The *Philistines camped at Michmash. v17 They sent out three groups of men to make attacks. One group went towards Ophrah in the land of Shual. v18 The second group went towards the town of Beth Horon. The third group went to the border of the land. There they could see across the Valley of Zeboim towards the desert.
v19 There were no *blacksmiths in the land of *Israel. The *Philistines had said, ‘If the *Israelites have *blacksmiths they will be able to make swords or *spears’. v20 The *Israelites used ploughs, hoes, axes and sickles on their farm land. These tools got blunt. So they had to take them to the *Philistines’ *blacksmiths who made them sharp again. v21 The *Israelites had to pay 8 grams of silver to have each plough and hoe made sharp again. They paid 4 grams of silver for each axe, sickle and *ox-goad.
v22 When the battle started only Saul and Jonathan had a sword and *spear. The other soldiers did not have any swords or *spears.
Saul’s army was very small now. Saul and Jonathan joined together so that all the *Israelites fought as one army. But the *Philistine army divided into 3 groups. This was a common way for an army to attack. Each group went in a different direction. Ophrah was in the north. Beth Horon was in the west. The valley of Zeboim was in the south east. But the Bible does not say how far they went.
Saul became king more than 3000 years ago. At that time, people were learning how to make tools from iron. People used to make tools from wood and stone. Then they learned how to make metal called *bronze. But iron was better because it was much stronger. And iron tools stayed sharp for a long time. A ‘*blacksmith’ was a man who made iron tools. He also made blunt tools sharp again.
The tools in verses 20-21 were farm tools. A farmer used a hoe to get weeds out of the ground. A sickle was like a large curved knife. A farmer used it to cut down his grain. An *ox-goad was a long stick with a sharp metal point. The *ox pulled a plough. If the *ox stopped, the farmer pushed the goad into the *ox’s bottom. That made the *ox start to walk again. The *Philistines were skilled at making iron tools. They sold the tools to the people who lived near them, including the *Israelites. But the *Philistines did not teach anyone how to become *blacksmiths. Therefore, everyone had to go to the *Philistines when their tools became blunt. The *Philistines charged a very high price to make the tools sharp again. No one had invented money yet, so people paid with pieces of silver.
The *Philistines controlled the *Israelites in this way. The *Philistines knew that the *Israelites could not make swords or spears. A spear is like a large arrow that a soldier throws. Only Saul and Jonathan had a sword and spear. The other soldiers probably had bows and arrows. The *Philistines had a very large army. They had swords, spears and *chariots. And they knew that this was a disadvantage for the *Israelites.
Jonathan attacks the *Philistines
v23 A group of *Philistine soldiers went to the narrow road in the mountains at Michmash.
Philistines ~ the Israelites’ main enemies at that time. They lived on the west side of the country of Israel.Israelites ~ the people of Israel; the people who speak the Hebrew language.
Israel ~ the group of people that God chose. Israel is the name of all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israel is also the name of the land that God gave to the people of Israel.
Hebrew ~ the language of the Israelite people. A Hebrew is an Israelite person.
Israel ~ the group of people that God chose. Israel is the name of all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israel is also the name of the land that God gave to the people of Israel.
tribe ~ a family from one man. The first Israelites were the 12 sons of Jacob. The family of each son became a tribe.
Israelites ~ the people of Israel; the people who speak the Hebrew language.
Israel ~ the group of people that God chose. Israel is the name of all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israel is also the name of the land that God gave to the people of Israel.
Hebrew ~ the language of the Israelite people. A Hebrew is an Israelite person.
Israelites ~ the people of Israel; the people who speak the Hebrew language.
Israel ~ the group of people that God chose. Israel is the name of all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israel is also the name of the land that God gave to the people of Israel.
Hebrew ~ the language of the Israelite people. A Hebrew is an Israelite person.
Hebrew ~ the language of the Israelite people. A Hebrew is an Israelite person.
Israelites ~ the people of Israel; the people who speak the Hebrew language.
Israel ~ the group of people that God chose. Israel is the name of all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israel is also the name of the land that God gave to the people of Israel.
chariot ~ is like a cart. One or two horses pull it along. Armies used chariots when they went to war.
offering ~ a gift for God (or false gods) from the priest and people; an Israelite’s gift to God.
gods ~ gods with a small ‘g’ are all the false gods.
Israelites ~ the people of Israel; the people who speak the Hebrew language.
Israel ~ the group of people that God chose. Israel is the name of all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israel is also the name of the land that God gave to the people of Israel.
Hebrew ~ the language of the Israelite people. A Hebrew is an Israelite person.
Lord ~ the name of God in the Bible. The special name of God that he announced only to the Israelites (Genesis 3:13-15). It links God with his covenant (promise) to them.
Israelites ~ the people of Israel; the people who speak the Hebrew language.
Israel ~ the group of people that God chose. Israel is the name of all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israel is also the name of the land that God gave to the people of Israel.
Hebrew ~ the language of the Israelite people. A Hebrew is an Israelite person.
sacrifice ~ to give something to God, usually an animal, grain or wine; to ask God to forgive sins as the priest killed an animal. This sacrifice was a special animal. The priests killed and burned it on the altar.
sin ~ when people do things against God or other people; when people do not obey the commands of God; the things that people do that are wrong or evil.
altar ~ a table, where the priests burned animals and gave other gifts as a sacrifice to God or false gods.
prophet ~ a person who speaks for God. He can sometimes say what will happen in the future.
sin ~ when people do things against God or other people; when people do not obey the commands of God; the things that people do that are wrong or evil.
blacksmith ~ a man who made iron tools. He also made blunt tools sharp again.
spear ~ a long, thin pole with a sharp metal point at one end. It was like a large arrow. Soldiers threw it in battles.
bronze ~ a type of metal. It is brown. Bronze is not as strong as iron.'ox, oxen ~ another name for a cow. Oxen is the plural.