”So I took
things into my own hands, and sacrificed the burnt offering.” 1 Samuel 13:12b
Saul acts
outside his authority. He was supposed to wait for Samuel who was coming in a
week. It was nearing the seventh day and Saul got anxious; no sign of the
prophet, the sacrifice was waiting, something had to be done.
How many times
have we given in to that thought: “Something has to be done!” There is no doubt
that certain situations demand action. To be frozen into inaction, our hands
hanging limp in a crisis is never to be preferred. But there is also great
wisdom in not overreacting. There is great strength in showing the restraint to
resist the impulse to force a situation forward.
Saul yields to
his own impetuous nature and takes things into his own hands. It was, first of
all, never the king’s right to offer sacrifices. Secondly, Samuel had told Saul
to wait for him. Saul had actually told Samuel he never wanted to have the
priest’s prerogatives, but, the first chance he has, he does exactly that. He
sacrifices the burnt offering! His actions betray a desire for power that his
words tried to mask.
We may well say
we support someone’s decision, but the test truly comes when we have the chance
to put our hands in the mix. If we truly support what the person has done, we
will resist the temptation to make it happen quicker, better or more precisely.
It is their project, and our actions need to line up with our words. Forego
your impulse to need control. Let the person pursue their assignment without
feeling the need to tinker with it yourself.
Saul’s misstep
seems to be such a small infraction, yet it costs him the kingdom. The act is the
symptom of a greater deficiency of character. Saul does not trust anyone. He
thinks David is trying to kill him and imagines his own son Jonathan is
conspiring with him. He is jealous of the attention David gets when he returns
from battle to the point of enraged tantrums. He is what we would call a “control
freak” today. Even as king, he didn’t feel like he had enough influence, and
tries to take the priests’ duties as well.
He could not
control the hasty prompting of his inner nature and listen instead to the
methodical and certain movements of God’s Spirit. How could he any longer be
God’s representative when he acts only out of what is expedient, and not out of
faith? How could he be a man after God’s heart, when he was a person of
constant haste and restlessness?
And how about
us? Do I respond to the hasty prompting of my lower self? Does impatience drive
me to act well before any action is required? Does fear cause me to speak
sharply and harm relationships with those around me? Does paranoia cut me off
from full and open relationships with people who care about me?
When I was young
I did what many other ten to thirteen year old boys did: I put together model cars
and airplanes. Impatience was my downfall. My first few attempts I just glued
and fit things together the way the pictures showed. Leaving a steering wheel
out, or realizing the seats had to be put in before the body was glued
together, next time I actually read the instructions. Still my haste won the
day. Because I couldn’t wait to see what the finished product looked like, I
left the painting till last. I know now how foolish that was. The tiny inner
pieces have to be painted first, before it is assembled, or paint is splattered
over every part of the model.
As followers of
Christ, we have even more motivation to wait. God has promised that, if we wait
on Him, we will gain more strength. And, to wait, we must slow down; to slow
down, we have to get our hands off the situation and show God we actually trust
Him.
