A Hard Saying

Early in his career Saul made a kingdom ending decision. He did not wait for Samuel, the man of God, but officiated at a sacrifice himself (1Sa 13:7-14). I must admit that I always feel sorry for Saul when I read this. It seemed like his heart was right. He was trying to do the right thing. Samuel was late and the Philistines were pressing in as Saul’s army faded away. Nevertheless, stepping into the role of priest was a career-ending offense. But Samuel was not a priest either. He was from the tribe of Ephraim (1Sam 1:1-2). Additionally, Saul had a priest with him. Apparently, Ahijah who was of the tribe of Levi and who was wearing the ephod, never spoke up! (1Sam 14:3) Ahijah finally weighs in much later when Saul is trying to decide to continue his pursuit of the Philistines. He uses the Urim and Thummim to discover Jonathan’s error of eating honey against the oath (an offense for which he is apparently forgiven) (1Sam 14:36-46). All the lines are blurred in this account. The rules are unclear. I can only conclude that God is weighing hearts, not actions (1Sam 13:14). There must be something in Saul that the author does not adequately describe.