1 Samuel 13:10-14: a reflection

10It came to pass that as soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him. 11Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul said, “Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you didn’t come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines assembled themselves together at Michmash, 12therefore I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down on me to Gilgal, and I haven’t entreated the favor of the LORD.’ I forced myself therefore, and offered the burnt offering.” 13Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which he commanded you; for now the LORD would have established your kingdom on Israel forever. 14But now your kingdom will not continue. The LORD has sought for himself a man after his own heart, and the LORD has appointed him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept that which the LORD commanded you.”

When Saul, waiting for Samuel to come and offer the sacrifice before battle, grew impatient as the appointed time seemed to pass and his army began to scatter, he took matters into his own hands and offered the sacrifice himself, a thing he was not permitted to do. His impatience led him to disobey. I forced myself, Saul explains, and offered the burnt offering. He could not wait; the pressure of the moment, the scattering army, the delayed prophet, drove him to act rather than wait for God's appointed way. And Samuel's word is severe: You have done foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the LORD. Saul's sin was an impatience that would not wait for God's timing, and so broke God's command. Impatience that will not wait for God can lead us into disobedience, driving us to take matters into our own hands rather than wait. Saul could not wait, and his impatience became disobedience.

Notice how impatience led Saul into disobedience. He was under real pressure: the army scattering, the enemy gathering, Samuel not yet come. But his response to the pressure was not to wait and trust, but to force himself to act, to do the thing he was not permitted to do, because he could not bear to wait longer. His impatience overrode his obedience. This is a real danger: that under pressure, when God's timing seems too slow and the situation too urgent, we grow impatient and take matters into our own hands, disobeying rather than waiting. Impatience can be the doorway to disobedience; the unwillingness to wait for God's timing drives us to act wrongly. Saul might have waited a little longer and kept the command; instead his impatience broke it. To wait for God's timing, even under pressure, is part of obedience; to let impatience drive us to act wrongly is to fail as Saul failed. The refusal to wait can become the choice to disobey. Impatience undid Saul's obedience.

That is worth taking to heart, for impatience that will not wait for God's timing can lead us into disobedience. We can grow impatient under pressure, when God's timing seems too slow and our situation too urgent, and take matters into our own hands, doing what we should not because we cannot bear to wait, as Saul forced himself to offer the sacrifice rather than wait for Samuel. But impatience can be the doorway to disobedience; the refusal to wait for God becomes the choice to act wrongly. To wait for God's timing, even under pressure, is part of obedience. Do not let impatience drive you to act wrongly when God's timing seems slow; wait for him, rather than disobeying as Saul did. Do not let impatience that will not wait for God's timing drive you into disobedience, as Saul, unable to wait for Samuel, forced himself to offer the sacrifice and so broke the commandment of the Lord; for under pressure, when God's timing seems too slow and our situation too urgent, impatience can become the doorway to disobedience, driving us to take matters into our own hands rather than wait, so that to wait for God's timing even under pressure is part of obedience, and the refusal to wait can become the choice to disobey.

Lord, when Saul, waiting for Samuel to come and offer the sacrifice before battle, grew impatient as the appointed time seemed to pass and his army began to scatter, he took matters into his own hands and offered the sacrifice himself, a thing he was not permitted to do. His impatience led him to disobey. I forced myself, Saul explains, and offered the burnt offering. He could not wait; the pressure of the moment drove him to act rather than wait for your appointed way. And Samuel's word is severe: you have done foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the LORD. Saul's sin was an impatience that would not wait for your timing. Show me how impatience led Saul into disobedience. He was under real pressure: the army scattering, the enemy gathering, Samuel not yet come. But his response was not to wait and trust, but to force himself to act, because he could not bear to wait longer. His impatience overrode his obedience. This is a real danger: that under pressure, when your timing seems too slow, I grow impatient and take matters into my own hands, disobeying rather than waiting. Impatience can be the doorway to disobedience. Saul might have waited a little longer and kept the command; instead his impatience broke it. Take that to my heart, for impatience that will not wait for your timing can lead me into disobedience. I can grow impatient under pressure, when your timing seems too slow and my situation too urgent, and take matters into my own hands, as Saul forced himself to offer the sacrifice. But the refusal to wait for you becomes the choice to act wrongly. Keep me from letting impatience drive me to act wrongly when your timing seems slow, Lord; help me wait for you, rather than disobeying as Saul did.