A Word in Season: The Feels (1 Samuel 13:12)

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King Saul was feeling the pressure badly. He had, under the instruction of Samuel the prophet of God, gathered together all that he could of Israel at a place called

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Gilgal, but still few had come. Meanwhile the Philistines were gathering at a place called

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Michmash, and Saul was deeply concerned that the Philistines might come on him and the small gathering of Israelites all unprepared and bring them to nothing.

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Samuel had promised that he would come to Saul within seven days, and yet Samuel had not arrived.

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It was at this point that Saul decided to take matters into his own hands. He took a burnt offering and brought it before the

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Lord, and it was at that precise moment that Samuel arrived. The sense seems to be that if Saul had only waited patiently for a few more hours, that Samuel would have made his word good, would have arrived in due course, and that the offering would have been given to God in the proper way.

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Samuel therefore asked Saul in 1 Samuel chapter 13 and verse 11 what have you done?

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And Saul said, When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the

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Philistines gathered together at Michmash, then I said, The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the

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Lord. Therefore I felt compelled and offered a burnt offering. And you might listen to that, and you might say,

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Well, what else could King Saul have done? I mean, under the circumstances, wouldn't

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I or you have done the same thing? After all, consider the great need. Israel is so few in number.

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The Philistines are gathering this great host together. We really need to make sure that we have the

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Lord God on our side. Samuel hasn't arrived. If he doesn't come, someone's surely going to need to take his place.

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You might have said even if you are particularly optimistic, here's a great opportunity. If we can do this now and proceed with the favor of God, then we might be able to accomplish great things for the glory of his name.

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How can we not do this under the circumstances? And you might even have said, But it's very religious.

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It's very spiritual. There's a proper desire to see the smile of God upon the endeavor and proceed accordingly.

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Yes, there's a great need. Yes, there's a great opportunity. And yes, it looks greatly spiritual.

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In fact, that's how Saul answers Samuel. He says, I felt compelled.

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I looked at the situation around me and I concluded that I could do nothing but this.

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My hand was forced, we might say. I had no other options. If I wanted to go with the blessing of God, this was the way

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I had to go. And yet Samuel says, You have done foolishly.

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You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which he commanded you. For now the

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Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. In other words,

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Samuel, as the prophet of God, had given Saul clear instruction.

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God had spoken and he speaks to us now firmly, clearly and surely in his word, helping us to understand it by the

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Holy Spirit whom he has given. Samuel in the end was grieved by Saul's disobedience to God, even though Saul felt compelled.

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Saul eventually went out to do what he had been called to do without the smile of God upon him.

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He essentially had lost God's favor through his disobedience. And the problem is that so often today we hear the same kind of language.

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I just feel that. I just feel compelled in my spirit.

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This is what I need to do. This is the way I need to go. These are the only possibilities that I could see.

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I had no other option. And we might dress it up in the language of great need. We might dress it up in the language of great opportunity.

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We might dress it up in the language of great spirituality. But still, the feels are not enough.

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The mere fact that we feel the pressure of a certain course, that we feel as if our hand is being forced, that we can see no other option if God has spoken plainly to the matter.

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If God has made his word known, not now through apostles and prophets in the flesh, but now through his word and by his servants, then we have no business going against that no matter how persuaded we may be.

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So let us hold fast to the word and to the testimony, and not just act in accordance with our own whims and wishes.