Hear now the reading of God's inerrant, infallible, and inspired Word, 1 Samuel 13, starting at verse 1. Saul reigned one year, and when he had reigned two years over Israel, Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel. where of 2,000 were with Saul in Michmash and in Mount Bethel, and 1,000 were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. And the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent. And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land saying, let the Hebrews hear. And all Israel heard say that Saul had smitten a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel also was had an abomination with the Philistines. And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal. And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, 30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. And they came up and pitched in Michmash eastward from Beth-Avon. 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. 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 followed him, trembling. 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. And Saul said, bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. 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 salute him. 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, 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. 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 forever, 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. and Samuel arose and got him up from Gilgal onto Gibeah of Benjamin, and Saul numbered the people that were present with him about 600 men. And Saul and Jonathan his son and the people that were present with them abode in Gibeah of Benjamin, but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned unto the way that leadeth to Ofra, unto the land of Shual, and another company turned the way to Beth-horon, and another company turned to the way of the border that looketh to the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness. Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears. But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen every man his share, and his colter, and his axe, and his mattock. Yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the colters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goads. 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. And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the passage of Michmash. Thus far the reading of God's inspired word. May the Lord bless us in the reading and hearing of it and now in the consideration of it. We have in this chapter two things that vanish. First is Saul's kingdom vanishing away. Next is Israel's defense vanishing away. Verses 1 through 14, we have the vanishing of Saul's kingdom as the dew of the morning. Saul reigned, it says, one year, or the son of one year in his kingdom, possibly dating from the election at Mizpah. possibly also from the renewal of the kingdom at Gilgal. Saul chose him 3,000 men after his second year of reigning. He took his royal state, you might say, upon himself. He began to execute what was warned of in 1 Samuel 8, the custom of conscription that the kings had in the ancient world. Jonathan, in verse 3, it says that he smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba. Jonathan is uncommonly brave. He has valor and courage and faith. We'll also see this in chapter 14 in more detail this evening, God willing. Now this word Geba can mean the hill or the hill of God, likely the one where the garrison was as we read in 1 Samuel 10 5 that Saul would come to the hill of God where was the garrison of the Philistines. The word Geba just means the hill. Now the Philistines heard likely ellipting the idea of they heard and prepared themselves for battle. They didn't just hear and say, oh, that's nice, we heard a report. No, they got themselves ready to kill and destroy the Israelites. So Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land saying, let the Hebrews hear. Now, as we've seen in the book of Revelation, the trumpet calls forth war, it calls forth judgment. It's a royal summons, in other words. So here, what do we have? We have the preparations of the Hebrews. They're to listen. They're to be ready. Now, Israel, it says in verse 4, was had an abomination with the Philistines. This literally means something that stinks as a rotting corpse. Would you desire such a thing? No, you want to bury it out of your sight. So the Philistines wanted to bury Israel out of their sight because you destroyed our garrison, they said. And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal. Now remember, this is Gilgal where the covenant was renewed, where Saul, you might say, was elected the second time by the people. This is also the place of covenant renewal where the circumcision happened upon Joshua's entering into the land. So apparently there's some desire to renew the old feeling of excitement there, and also it was directed by God himself through the prophet Samuel that they should go to Gilgal. Now notice the overwhelming odds that the Lord in his providence raised up on the part of the Philistines, 30,000 chariots. Now think about that. How many men did Saul currently have with himself? 2,000? And maybe 1,000 more? And nobody had weapons but Saul and his son and those with him possibly. Can you imagine 3,000 chariots against 3,000 men? Who would win? What if you have 10 times that? 30,000, and that's just the chariots, 6,000 horsemen, twice your force, just with men on horses, then all the chariots, then how many combatants? How many infantry? More than you could number, as the sand which is on the seashore. These are impossible odds. Now, why did God do this? Do you recall from chapter 12, the farewell sermon of Samuel? You remember what his counsel to them was? That if they continued following the Lord, that they would be blessed, both them and their king, but if they turned aside from following the Lord, what would happen? you and your king will be consumed. So God is pushing them to this decisive moment. Will you continue following the Lord despite the odds and do your duty and trust in my promises? Or will you cower? When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, for the people were distressed, then the people did hide themselves. They were defenseless. Helpless, hopeless. They had no faith in God. They did not look to his power. They look to their own. And so this word means they were pressed down by the Philistines. They were in a small place with the walls closing in. And so they hide. Some fled over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. An impossible victory. A defenseless kingdom. Their god king Saul was trembling and incapable of defending them. What were they to do? Now this is mere human wisdom of course. Saul himself should have been the prime example of faith and trusting in God and calling upon his name. What's he doing? Sitting there. Now he tarries seven days according to the set time that Samuel had given him. Most likely from chapter 10, verse eight. Thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal, and behold, I will come down unto thee to offer burnt offering and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings. Seven days shalt thou tarry till I come to thee and show thee what thou shalt do. That is the word of God to this man Saul. But notice verse eight. It says, Samuel came not to Gilgal. Now this is important in the Bible when it uses absolutes like this, you'll often find in context, there's some qualifier. He did come within the set time, but not when Saul thought he should. Not soon enough for Saul. Saul had to be patient. He had to wait. And he had to say, well, Samuel promised to be here. I will trust in the word of God to bring him here, as he said. Is that what Saul did? Well, he didn't show up. I have to do something. I've got to take matters into my own hand. In other words, it is not an absolute. Samuel came not to Gilgal, but relative. He didn't come in Saul's time frame. Not when the people had hoped, and so what do the people do? They scatter like chaff to the wind, gone from Saul. He goes from having 3,000 down to 600 men. That's it. His men are scattered. I note then this doctrine. God's providence is not to be judged by our impatience. God's providence is not to be judged by our impatience, by our will, by our desire, but rather by God's wisdom. Does God have kind and wise purposes toward us? He does. So we should wait upon him. We should recognize his providence is on a different timetable than ours. So what happens? Saul offered the burnt offering. Now this is contrary to the general law of the priesthood. That is, as Samuel was a Levite and a prophet, by divine inspiration he could appoint seasons and times of altars and sacrifices. God could speak through him and he could do these things. Could Saul do that? No, he's a king. What does his affair concern? Well, it concerns civil matters, those things that concern the administration of justice. And that certainly includes those things that Constantine called the external matters of the church. At the council of Nicaea, Constantine the Great, the emperor of Rome, he said to the bishops of the church, you are the bishops of those matters inside the church. I am a bishop, a watchman, in other words, of those things on the outside of the church, those in sacra, in the sacred things, and those circa sacra, those concerned with the external parts of God's worship. No, here Saul invades those things that are in Sakris, in the sacred things that belong solely to the priests and prophets of God, not to the king. He invades the kingdom that he does not belong to. I note then there are two kingdoms. There is the church and there is the state. There are powers, duties, and sources of these that differ from each other. The church is from Christ the mediator. The state is from God as creator and judge. Two different sources, same God, just in different respects. Had there been no fall, there would be no redemption and no atonement and no ordinances of sacrifice. There would be no church as we know it. God has made these two separate. What does the church have as its sword? Well, it can persuade men, it can excommunicate them, it can worship publicly, it can govern those sacred matters. Can it fine men? Say, you have done wrong, I'm fining you $1,000. Can it take a sword and behead a man for the evil that he's done? You know, the church could excommunicate an adulterer and the state could kill him. Those are the two things. God gives a sword of civil justice to the state. He does not give that to the church. There are two kingdoms. The state has physical coercion, the butcher's sword, as Romans 13 puts it. and concerns itself with those things of the external form of the church, not the internal worship or government of the church. Saul here invades. Now, notice there, verse 10, very ironic God's providence. As soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, what happens? There's Samuel. Remember the one who never showed up? Who wasn't there in time? Here he is, right on time, God's time. This is a signal providence of God, demonstrating the wickedness of Saul's act, the evil of his impatience, his hypocrisy. He wants to please God by offering a sacrifice. Well, what did God tell him to do? Wait till Samuel gets there and he'll offer the sacrifice. Does he do that? No. I have my good intentions. I have my human reasoning. I have my justification. Forget what God said. That's his attitude. And he's so, you might say, unaware of his sin. What does he go to do when Samuel gets there? Hey! Come on in, you blessed of the Lord. That's what the word salute means, to bless him. He goes out to bless this man, to salute him. He's blinded by what? Well, I had good intentions. I meant well. I didn't have to do what God said because I meant well, of course. My good intentions blot out the stain of my crime. I'm fine. Notice Samuel in his mercy to Saul. What hast thou done? Now, is it that Samuel doesn't know what he's done? No, he knows exactly what he's done. He could see the bloody sacrifice. He could see it being burnt. He could see the altar. He could see all those things. He knew what happened. The question is not, give me information. The question is, you have sinned against God and you need to confess it. You need to acknowledge your sin. You need to turn from your sin. What hast thou done? Do you remember when God asked that of Adam? Was he wanting information about what happened? No. drawing him to repentance, what hast thou done? It's to awaken his sense of the evil that he had done. But notice, does he say, I sinned against the Lord? Does he confess the evil that he's done? No, he justifies, he covers for himself. He shows why he's righteous and it's okay what he did. 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. Everybody else is the problem, you see, Samuel. I'm not the problem. I'm not the sinner. You see, I saw with my own eyes several things. My people, they just left me. And then you, where were you Samuel? You didn't come when you were supposed to. And then the Philistines. Now all of these, think about it. Your army's diminishing, the prophet hasn't showed up, and your enemy's about to destroy you. What should you do? Take matters into your own hands? No. Trust in God's promise? Yes. Obey his commandments? Yes. All of these could be used as arguments to obey God's command. But does he argue that way? No. These are all reasons I don't have to do what God said. Now, let me warn you, as the Holy Ghost is warning us by the life of this man's soul, do you want to see where the chains lead in his decision making? They lead to destruction. These are links in the black chain of reprobation when a man says, I'm not the problem, everybody else is. I don't destroy myself by my sin. I'm not responsible. I'm a victim. This is the black chain of reprobation. And where does it end? Well, he's in a witch's house consulting with the devil to figure out what he ought to do because God won't talk to him anymore. That's the end of it. And he burned in hell. Why? Well, I'm not the problem. Everybody else is, you see. Can you repent if you're not the problem? Can you turn from a sin that's everybody else's fault? Well, you could apologize on their behalf or for yourself. Oh, see, you know, that person, they did this bad thing and that person and that person. But God doesn't really want you to talk about that. He wants you to confess your sins. What hast thou done? Let us learn to own our duties. And then in light of what we know to be our duty to repent of our sins, hoping in God's word, obeying his precepts. The Westminster annotations say that this should teach us this wisdom. Not to dispense with God's commandments in the least tittle or circumstance, lest we make ourselves guilty of sin and liable to punishment. Not in the least tittle or circumstance. This is wisdom. I forced myself therefore. Oh, you see, I didn't want to do this. I just had to. You see, because I'm a victim and all these people outside of me, they made me do it. I didn't choose to do it. I forced myself, he says. Against my will, it's not my fault. Or at least my fault's not that bad. You know, all these things happen to me. My brother did this to me, my sister said that. My friends, oh, if you only understood. My parents, oh, the school system, oh, the socioeconomic status, oh, the white supremacy, oh, oh, all these things. I'm not responsible for myself. We all want it, don't we? We all want to say that. Why? Because then the conscience stops judging us and saying, guilty, you are a sinner. You must repent. No, we don't like that. We don't want to hear that. But Saul had done foolishly. Samuel tells him as much. Thou hast done foolishly. Your reasons may appeal to the godless, but when you weigh against God's wisdom, what does God think of this, blaming others for your sins? You think he's impressed? You think he's fooled? You think he's persuaded? Thou hast done foolishly, for thou hast not kept a commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee. No excuses, no sidestepping, no self-justification, no victim card, Saul. you've done foolishly. For now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel forever." Isn't this what God promised in chapter 12? What did He say? If you and your king continue following the Lord, what would happen? I'll take the kingdom away from you and give it to someone else. No, He never said that. God's will of precept is, do what I command and I will bless you. Does he mean it? Well, yeah, of course. If you follow his commands, he'll bless you. If you trust in his promises, you will be saved. If you continue following the Lord, he'll continue blessing you to continue following him. God is true to his word. But what else did Samuel say? Turn aside from following the Lord, You'll be consumed. Together with your king. Here it is. They're being consumed. Would you be blessed? Would you like God to bless you? Would I like God to bless me? Well, here's the key. Trust and obey. Obey the voice of Almighty God. Trust in His promise. Trust in His timing. Wait upon Him. Do His will. And when you sin, do not start making chains in that black chain of reprobation. Do not start adding links to your perdition. Rather say, no, I am at fault. I have sinned. That's what I have done. I have done foolishly. That's what he should have said. He shouldn't have said, them, them, them, him, this guy, these people, they're the problem, you see. Me, I just kind of forced myself to do this. No. Thou hast done foolishly, Samuel rightly says. You didn't keep what God told you to do. He commanded you. And if you would be blessed, what should you have done, Saul? Now the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, namely David, and through him the Son of David, the Son of God. Notice, the wrath of man will praise God. The foolishness and sins of Saul are always overruled by God for what? His glory and the good of his people, always. There is no sin that God in his wisdom causes to come to pass in his infinite wisdom and decree in his goodness and holiness that God does not overrule and overturn for a good purpose. Impatience, disobedience, invading the other kingdom, distrust of God, self-justification. God worked it for his glory. He's going to find David, the man after his own heart. And through him, Jesus Christ will become what? The king over Israel. And what will he do? He will save his people from their sins. You see, God is not mocked. God is not defeated. God is not frustrated. Let us never despair, no matter how bad things get. Be we ruled by fools and wicked men. God works it all for his glory and our good. Then, verses 15 through 23, we have Israel's vanishing defenses. 600 men. That's 1,400 gone just from the 2,000 he had, not the total 3,000. But from his 2,000, he has about 600. That's a 70% loss of men. No hope, no help, no God, no prophet, no army. Samuel then got him up from Gilgal unto Gibeah of Benjamin. Apparently, he did not wait around for the sequel. Remember, there were two offerings. There was supposed to be a first and then there was going to be a peace offering at the end. Samuel doesn't stick around for that. He's gone. He leaves. Saul would later follow Samuel to Gibeah. Verses 17 and 18, the Philistines take advantage as heathens will. They take advantage of this defenseless and inactive people. They begin to spoil the Israelites. And notice also, verse 19, there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel. Here's part of the backstory, as they say. What do tyrants do? They want you to be well-armed and well-equipped? No. You don't need a smith, do you? You know smiths kill people, right? If you had a smith lying around, you could sharpen weapons and hurt yourself. Allow us to be your official government regulated smith shop. You can come to us if you need to sharpen your tools, but don't even think about having your own shops and smiths. defenseless, unarmed, incapable of sharpening their own weapons, disarmament of Israel by a tyrannical civil power. Notice, why do they disarm them? Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears. Oh, just theoretically? No, because they'll fight us. Because they will cast off our tyranny over them and we don't want that. You know, if we wanna go and pillage them, rape, if we wanna go and murder them, do we want them to have swords all in favor? Say aye, no, nobody's gonna vote in favor. If they're a tyrant, they're not gonna say, I want them to be armed. No, they don't want that. They had to go down to the Philistines to sharpen every man his share. Yes, you can have a license to sharpen that share, but you better bring it to us to make sure it's okay. And this is precisely what a wicked nation will deserve and will receive. Oh, but the government, Saul and Jonathan, were they armed? Of course they were. Just not all you rascals out there in the land. Now this is a wicked nation. The government armed, the people disarmed. If you want to sharpen your weapon, come and talk to the foreign invader. This is destructive to any republic. You remember what our founding fathers said, if you want a well-regulated militia, what do you need? Everybody bearing arms. Everybody with the right to carry around arms on their person. This is necessary to what kind of state? A free state. You want to be slaves? Disarmed. You want to be free? You better be armed. And that's why the Philistines said, no arms for you, Israel. and thus far, the explanation of God's holy word. Let us join together in a prayer of