The Yehudah Project: The Day of Repentance and the Nation gathers to Cry out!

Saul's first response to a prophetic rebuke is silence. I must point out that while Saul may appear to repent in 1 Samuel 15, and again in chapter 26, this “repentance” is both too little and too late. The place repentance should first be found is in chapter 13. There, the Philistines have invaded Israel in force. Saul has but a handful of men, and they are quickly deserting. Although Saul was instructed to wait for Samuel, who would offer the sacrifices (1 Samuel 10:8), he felt time was short and that he could wait no longer. And so Saul offered the burnt offering himself, only to see Samuel arrive just after he had done so. When Samuel rebuked Saul for this act of rebellion against God, Saul sought to defend himself, claiming that he had acted appropriately, given the circumstances. Samuel did not accept Saul's excuse and rebuked him for his foolishness and disobedience, informing him that it would cost him his kingdom. Saul's response was silence. Here was a man who had just been told his days as Israel's king were numbered, but rather than confess his sin, he parted company with Samuel in silence.