“What have you done?” asked Samuel
Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash, I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”
In the movie “Braveheart”, William Wallace is portrayed as the avenger of the Scott’s. Under English oppression, the Scott’s have ruled for many years and William Wallace is going to start a much needed war against the English. One of my favorite lines in the movie is when he is all painted up one morning and is asked, “What are you doing?” He says to his followers, “I’m going to pick a fight!” That starts a war and the Scott’s eventually win their freedom from the English. However, picking a fight does not always end well.
Saul’s first act as king is to pick a fight with the Philistines by attacking an outpost called Geba. Saul picks three thousand men and attacks this outpost. Afterwards, a trumpet was blown throughout Israel announcing that Saul has attacked a Philistine outpost and Israel has become obnoxious to the Phillistines (verse 4). As you would guess, the Philistines gather together and assemble themselves to fight with a huge army of three thousand chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. Saul ready’s his army, fear grips the Israelites, and they begin to hide everywhere. So Saul, in a desperate attempt to regain control, goes ahead and sacrifices an offering to the Lord without Samuel, the priest. Just like in the movies, Samuel shows up as the offering is burning and Samuel lays into Saul and rebukes him (verse 13). The chapter ends with only 600 men left that are still assembled and ready to fight, but only Saul and Johnathan had swords. No one else had any swords or any fighting equipment at all.
You might be asking yourself what in world was Saul thinking? Well, when you act outside of the will of God like Saul did, things get messy. After Saul had already picked a fight the Lord did not instruct him to fight, he then went out of line and said “I’ll fix it!” He goes ahead and sacrifices an offering when he was not ordained to do so. Stepping out of line like that did not end up good for Saul. Samuel rebukes Saul and tells him that the Lord has chosen a new king for Israel, one that will a man after his own heart.
You might see an enemy in your life and it seems right just to avenge, but the battle should be the Lord’s, not yours. This could be a co-worker, someone at school, or even your friends and family. But instead of starting a fight with one another, you can stop where you are right now and seek the Lord in all things. God has a much better plan but you have to acknowledge Him in all your ways by practicing patience, praying, reading His Word, and seeking wise counsel.
Yes, we can start unnecessary fights that we are not suppose to fight. As with Saul, the Lord will let us fight those battles and we will have to deal with the outcome. Saul started something he was not suppose to start, he acted out of his own best interest and it did not end up well. Today, humble yourself before the Lord and give Him your all because He can do much more with it than you can. Let Him fight your battles.
Prayer: Lord, we choose to let you fight our battles as we do everything your Word instructs us to do. Guide us into perfect peace under your hand. Amen.
Let It Go 
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