When Others Run Away

We should be glad that Jesus didn’t abandon God’s word when others abandoned him.   ~~~   Saul had gathered his army for war, but he had been instructed by Samuel for seven days. Seven days came and went. And this is where Saul’s impatience gets the best of him. He decides to go ahead and offer sacrifices, even though Samuel has not arrived yet. And just as soon as he finishes up the burnt offering, Samuel strolled into town, saw what was goin on and said, “What have you done?” Samuel does not exchange pleasantries with Saul. He doesn’t ask how the family is doing or if he is enjoying his time as king. Two words in the Hebrew language. He wastes no time and no words in getting to the heart of the matter—“What have you done?” So what is the big deal here? Saul wants the Lord’s blessing over the battle that is about to take place. Time was running out. The enemy was moving in. The people needed to have a rally point or else there was going to be no army left. What else was there to do? What would you have done? Im pretty sure I know what I would have done, and it probably wouldn’t have looked a lot different than Saul’s action. We notice that in 1 Samuel 13 11, one of the motivating factors in Saul’s abandoning the word of God for his own authority is when the people start hiding themselves in caves and holes and rocks and tombs and in cisterns. The approaching Philistine army is so overwhelming that men are hiding in above ground caves and underground water tunnels, and others just flat out ran away from the place altogether. Samuel will tell Saul that God desires a man after his own heart. And that man will ultimately be Jesus, who does not abandon God’s word, even when other abandon him. There were many occasions in Jesus’ ministry when people just stopped following him as they once did. The most poignant of those times was on the night of his betrayal, when the disciples ran away as Jesus was arrested. And you and I should be glad that Jesus didn’t abandon God’s word when others abandoned him. It was his devotion to His Father that brought him to the cross.