The People's King and His Son's Faith Text: 1 Samuel 13:1-4
Introduction: The Difference Between a Crown and a Throne
We come now to a pivotal moment in the reign of Israel’s first king. The people had demanded a king, like the other nations, and in Saul, God gave them exactly what they asked for. He was tall, he was handsome, he looked the part. He was a king you could put on a poster. But the throne of Israel was never meant to be a mere political office occupied by the most impressive specimen. The throne of Israel belongs to God, and any man who sits on it does so as a viceroy, a steward under orders. The crown is a heavy thing, but not because of the gold and jewels. It is heavy because it must be worn in submission to the God who grants it.
Saul’s story is the story of a man who loved the crown but never understood the throne. He wanted the glory of kingship without the submission it required. He wanted to lead the people in his own strength, by his own wits, according to the latest polling data from the army. And in this chapter, we see the first significant cracks appear in his reign. The pressure is on, the Philistines are mustering, and the character of the king is about to be tested. Will he be a king who waits on God, or a king who takes matters into his own hands?
But this passage is not just about Saul. It is also about his son, Jonathan. And here the Holy Spirit sets up a contrast that will run through the rest of Saul’s tragic story. We see the difference between a man who has the title of king, and a man who has the heart of a king. We see the difference between political calculation and covenantal courage. Saul is the king the people chose, a man of outward appearance. Jonathan is a foreshadowing of the king God would choose, a man of faith. As we unpack these verses, we must ask ourselves which kind of leadership we follow, and which kind we seek to embody. Do we trust in the machinery of human strength, or do we, like Jonathan, trust in the God who gives the victory?
The Text
Saul was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty-two years over Israel.
And Saul chose for himself 3,000 men of Israel, of which 2,000 were with Saul in Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, while 1,000 were with Jonathan at Gibeah of Benjamin. But he sent away the rest of the people, each to his tent.
And Jonathan struck the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear.”
Then all Israel heard the news that Saul had struck the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become odious to the Philistines. The people were then summoned to Saul at Gilgal.
(1 Samuel 13:1-4 LSB)
A Troubled Resume (v. 1)
We begin with a verse that has given translators and scribes fits for centuries.
"Saul was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty-two years over Israel." (1 Samuel 13:1)
Now, on the surface, this seems straightforward. But the Hebrew text is notoriously difficult. The number for Saul’s age is missing in some of the most ancient manuscripts, leading some translations to say, "Saul was a year old when he began to reign," which is obviously not the case. Others have supplied the number thirty. The length of his reign is also a matter of some debate when compared with what the apostle Paul says in Acts. But we need not get bogged down in a textual rabbit hole. The Spirit of God has preserved this text for us, and the overarching point is clear: Saul had a reign of a certain length. He was given a significant opportunity, a full generation, to establish a righteous kingdom in Israel.
But the very difficulty of the verse is instructive. Saul’s resume is, in a sense, smudged from the beginning. His kingship was born out of the people’s sinful demand, and his legacy will be one of incompleteness and failure. Unlike the clean genealogies and clear chronologies of David, Saul’s record is messy. This is what happens when men reject God’s perfect timing and provision and insist on their own way. They get a king whose numbers don't quite add up. God is sovereign over the smudges, and He uses them to tell us something about the man. Saul was the people’s choice, and the historical record itself bears the marks of the flawed, man-centered enterprise his reign represented.
Pragmatism on Parade (v. 2)
Saul now begins to organize his kingdom for the inevitable conflict with the Philistines.
"And Saul chose for himself 3,000 men of Israel, of which 2,000 were with Saul in Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel, while 1,000 were with Jonathan at Gibeah of Benjamin. But he sent away the rest of the people, each to his tent." (1 Samuel 13:2)
Here we see the mind of a military strategist at work. Saul is establishing a standing army. This is what the people wanted, a king like the nations, and a king like the nations needs an army. He selects a core group of warriors, an elite force, and he divides them. Two-thirds he keeps under his direct command, and one-third he gives to his son Jonathan. The rest of the men, the general levy, he sends home. From a purely human standpoint, this makes a certain kind of sense. It’s efficient. It’s organized. It is how a pagan king would prepare for war.
But notice the language: "Saul chose for himself." This is Saul’s project. This is about his kingdom, his strategy, his men. There is no mention of seeking the Lord, no inquiry of the prophet, no reliance on the God who had delivered Israel time and again with trumpets, and lamps, and a jawbone. Saul is operating on the horizontal plane. He is counting his soldiers, arranging his battalions, and dismissing the rest. He believes the victory will depend on his 3,000 chosen men. This is the logic of the flesh. It is a logic that sees strength in numbers and security in human organization. But God has a long history of winning battles with the remnant, with the few, precisely to show that the victory is His alone. Saul is trimming the fat, but he is also trimming away the opportunity for God to display His glory.
A Son's Faith, A Father's Spin (v. 3)
While Saul is strategizing, Jonathan acts.
"And Jonathan struck the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. Then Saul blew the trumpet throughout the land, saying, 'Let the Hebrews hear.'" (1 Samuel 13:3)
Here is the contrast in black and white. Jonathan, with his smaller force, takes the initiative. He doesn't wait for a grand strategy from headquarters. He sees the enemy of God occupying God's land, and he acts in faith. This is not recklessness; it is faithfulness. Jonathan’s strike is a declaration that Israel serves a living God who is not intimidated by Philistine garrisons. It is a poke in the eye of the uncircumcised oppressors.
And what is Saul’s response? The Philistines heard about Jonathan’s victory, and then Saul gets out the trumpet. He becomes the kingdom’s press secretary. He blows the trumpet and issues a proclamation: "Let the Hebrews hear." Notice what he does not say. He does not say, "Let the Hebrews hear what God has done through Jonathan." He does not even say, "Let the Hebrews hear what Jonathan has done." The message that goes out in the next verse is that "Saul had struck the garrison." Saul immediately co-opts his son’s faithful victory and turns it into a public relations campaign for himself. He is more concerned with managing the narrative than with honoring the God who gave the victory. This is the heart of a politician, not a king after God’s own heart. He wants the credit for a battle he did not fight and a faith he did not exercise.
Reaping the Whirlwind (v. 4)
The news spreads, but the result is not what Saul might have hoped for.
"Then all Israel heard the news that Saul had struck the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become odious to the Philistines. The people were then summoned to Saul at Gilgal." (1 Samuel 13:4)
Saul's propaganda works, up to a point. The people hear the filtered news: "Saul won a victory." But there is an unintended consequence. Israel had "become odious to the Philistines." The Hebrew word means they began to stink. Jonathan’s faithful poke at the hornet’s nest has, under Saul’s management, enraged the hornets. The Philistines are now thoroughly stirred up. What was a localized victory is about to become a national crisis.
And so the people are summoned to Gilgal. Gilgal was a place of great spiritual significance. It was where Israel first encamped in the promised land, where they were circumcised, where they rolled away the reproach of Egypt. It was a place of covenant renewal. By calling them to Gilgal, Saul is making a religious gesture. He is trying to wrap his military and political problem in a spiritual flag. But as we will see in the verses that follow, Saul’s religion is all form and no substance. He knows the right place to gather, but he does not have the heart to wait for God’s appointed time or His appointed minister.
This is the pattern of carnal leadership. It relies on human strength, it takes credit for the faithfulness of others, and when the consequences of its actions create a crisis, it resorts to empty religious ceremony to try to fix it. Saul has poked the bear, and now he is gathering the people to a prayer meeting, not out of true repentance or faith, but out of fear. The stage is now set for his first great act of royal disobedience, where his impatience and lack of faith will be laid bare for all to see.
Conclusion: Two Ways to Fight
These four verses set before us two ways to engage the enemies of God. There is Jonathan’s way, and there is Saul’s way.
Jonathan’s way is the way of faith. It sees the enemy, it trusts in God’s promises, and it acts with courage, leaving the results to God. It is not concerned with who gets the credit, only that God gets the glory. This is the way of David before Goliath. It is the way of the apostles before the Sanhedrin. It is the way of every true believer who steps out in obedience, trusting that God will honor His name.
Saul’s way is the way of the flesh. It is the way of pragmatism, of human calculation, of building a kingdom for oneself. It relies on chosen men, on trumpets, and on spin. It is eager to claim victory but terrified of the consequences. And when the pressure mounts, it defaults to a hollow, disobedient religiosity. It is the way of the world, and it has crept into the church in countless forms.
We are all in a battle. The Philistines of our day are many, and they have their garrisons planted deep in our culture. The question for us is this: which king are we following into battle? Are we following the wisdom of Saul, which is the wisdom of this world, carefully managing our resources and our reputation? Or are we following the example of Jonathan, which is a dim shadow of the true faith of the Lord Jesus? Christ is the ultimate Jonathan, the Son who struck the decisive blow against the garrison of sin and death. He did it not with an army, but by Himself, on the cross. And His victory is now our own. We are called to live and fight in the light of that victory, not with the calculating fear of Saul, but with the faithful courage of a son.