Passing the Test in the Moment of Truth
By Deidre Braley
Bible Reading
You have been foolish. You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. It was at this time that the Lord would have established your reign over Israel, but now your reign will not endure. – 1 Samuel 13:13
Theologian A.W. Tozer writes that at one point or another, every Christian intent on pursuing God comes to a place of “renunciation”—a time when they must turn themselves completely over to God if they desire to know him more intimately and to be used for his purposes. He gives the example of Abraham who—when asked to sacrifice his only son Isaac—responded to the test by surrendering his most cherished ‘possession’ over to God in total obedience. In turn, Abraham was able to experience new depths of relationship with God—and the fulfillment of his promises.
In The Pursuit of God Tozer writes:
So we will be brought one by one to the testing place, and we may never know when we are there. At that testing place there will be no dozen possible choices for us—just one and an alternative—but our whole future will be conditioned by the choice we make.1
Abraham passed the test. But in 1 Samuel 13, we see the cautionary tale of another who does not: Saul.
A couple of years after Saul became the first king of the Israelites, his son Jonathan picked a fight with the Philistines at the garrison they held in the town of Geba. The Philistines weren’t happy—and they responded by attacking Michmash, a town north of Geba where Saul and his troops were stationed. 1 Samuel 13:5 says, “And the Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude.”
When Saul and his men saw them approaching, they knew they were in trouble—and they were terrified. “They hid in caves, in thickets, among rocks, and in holes and cisterns. Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead” (1 Samuel 13:6-7).
According to the narrative, Saul had been given strict instructions to wait for seven days until Samuel (priest, prophet, and last Judge of Israel before Saul had become king) arrived at an appointed time to meet him. But—as was characteristic of Saul—he didn’t follow directions very well. When Samuel didn’t show up when Saul had expected and he saw that his people were deserting him, he panicked and took matters into his own hands. Without consulting with God or God’s prophet Samuel, Saul threw a complete Hail Mary, sacrificing the burnt offering himself and defying the law that said only priests were to present offerings (1 Samuel 13:8-9).
Just then, Samuel arrived—and not without strong words for Saul. “What have you done?” he asked (1 Samuel 13:10).
Saul tried to explain himself and defend his actions. You can almost hear the desperation in his voice when he responded, “I thought, ‘The Philistines will now descend on me at Gilgal, and I haven’t sought the Lord’s favor.’ So I forced myself to offer the burnt offering” (1 Samuel 13:12).
Did you catch the real problem here? Saul rushed into action without seeking the Lord’s favor or asking for discernment, and it wasn’t until he was in a complete crisis that he remembered God. And then he treated God almost as if he were a good luck charm, “forcing” himself to go through the motions of a burnt offering in hopes that, by some stroke of supernatural magic, he could summon God to make the tides turn in his favor.
Samuel’s response must have been a real slap in the face for Saul: “You have been foolish. You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. It was at this time that the Lord would have established your reign over Israel,” (this was his moment of testing, as Tozer puts it) “but now your reign will not endure” (1 Samuel 13:13).
Saul had come to his moment of testing and chance for renunciation, but he’d blown it. He hadn’t sought the Lord’s favor but had instead rushed into action and chosen to do what was right in his own eyes instead. He’d failed to abide in God, and he’d failed to be obedient. And in turn? He’d failed the test.
The stakes were high, too. Instead of a long, successful reign over Israel—which Samuel said that God would have given him, had he been obedient—Saul would go on to watch a young shepherd boy become the rightful ruler of the kingdom. “The Lord has found a man after his own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over his people, because you have not done what the Lord commanded,” Samuel told him (1 Samuel 13:14). The man that Samuel was talking about was David.
What was the difference between Saul and David? In times of testing, Saul rushed into action without talking to the Lord or being willing to turn his own desires over to God. David, on the other hand, would go on to walk with and obey the Lord’s commands.
Intersecting Faith & Life:
When we face our own tests, we will be wise to remember Saul and to instead act like David: seeking the favor of the Lord always, and striving to be a people after his own heart.
Further Reading:
John 15:1-11
(1) A.W. Tozer, Three Spiritual Classics in One Volume: The Pursuit of God (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2018), 238.
Photo Credit: © Getty Images/Chainarong Prasertthai
Deidre Braley is a wife and mother to three children. She is the author and host behind The Second Cup, a collection of essays, poems, and podcast episodes where holiness and humanity collide. She recently published her debut poetry collection, The Shape I Take. Deidre is an editor with The Truly Co, and a contributor for The Way Back to Ourselves and Aletheia Today, among others. Her ideal day is spent eating chocolate croissants and having long chats about writing, dreams, and theology. Connect with Deidre on Instagram @deidrebraley.
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