Welcome to the Bible in a Year for 2025. Intro to this series and resource links available here, plus here’s how I’m approaching this year.
Scriptures for Today:
Reflection:
Hasty sacrifices (13:3-14) - In yet another confrontation with the Philistines, Saul and his men wait for Samuel to arrive at a set time (7 days). When he seems to be late, Saul takes matters into his own hands and makes the sacrifice himself. I don’t see much elaboration, but we are simply told that this is not right and constitutes disobedience to the Lord. After all, Samuel shows up just as the offerings are being complete, which is another way of suggesting in the story that Samuel didn’t run out of time. Rather, Saul hastily jumped the gun.
Hasty oaths (14:45) - Saul seems incapable of leading from a grounded and thoughtful center. When he takes initiative, he’s being hasty and rash. When he isn’t, so far he’s shrinking back—remember hiding among the supplies yesterday. Here, he almost puts his own son to death because of his own hasty oath and ill-advised scheme to figure out why the Lord did not answer his inquiry immediately.
Lying about following God’s instruction (15:14-16) - Up front, let’s acknowledge that this is a text that records a formulaic instruction for divinely-sanctioned complete destruction of a rival people (like those in the book of Joshua). I added a video series earlier to share a perspective on how to read these (parts one, two, three). Please check that out if you’d like to explore that topic. Saul fails to follow the instruction, but two things are most notable: First, he spares the king and the best animals of the flock. In other words, if we take the command to destroy all literally (it’s hard to tell for sure here, since there’s something of a literary formula about the command), then Saul’s judgment is not to preserve the weak but rather the most powerful and most valuable. Second, Saul plainly lies about what he has done. Samuel’s indignation comes through in his famously sarcastic question: “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears?”
Summary of Saul’s failure: Saul’s royal line and his throne are taken from him because he is hasty, thoughtless, disobedient, and dishonest. It’s time to move on to anoint a different king in waiting, even while Saul will serve out his years.
Questions:
When did your lack of patience get you in trouble?
When were you caught “red-handed”?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, help me practice patience with others, with myself, and with you, that I may remain centered in your purpose and grace. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
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