What exactly was Saul's sin that caused God to reject him and punish him?

Question

I see similar questions have already been asked about this passage but there was a lack of definite answer, some see it as a series of mistakes.

I have been trying to understand the exact nature of Saul's sin surrounding the offering he sacrificed and his subsequent rejection. It seemed he was predestined to fail for David to be chosen.

-Was the sin the fact that he wasn't a priest, type of sacrifice, or that he didn't wait for Samuel to arrive (panicking because he was late), or was it the disobedience that caused God's anger? Or just that he had a lack of awareness of the presence of God and wasn't "after God's own heart"?

What was the commandment that Saul broke?

To be chosen and then rejected by the Most High God must have been the depths of misery, I cannot think of anything worse. I want to understand exactly what he did wrong.

And Samuel said, “What have you done?” 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 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 Lord.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.”

And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.

But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”

I Samuel 13:11-14 NKJV https://bible.com/bible/114/1sa.13.11.NKJV

Answer 1

The events of 1 Samuel ch13 should be compared with Samuel's instructions in a a previous chapter.

"And you shall go down before me to Gilgal and behold I am coming to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, until I shall come to you and show you what you shall do" (1 Samuel ch10 v8, RSV).

Despite the time interval, ch13 is the occasion when he is supposed to be following those instructions. The Philistines invade, and Saul fulfils the first line by summoning the host of Israel to Gilgal (v4). "He waited seven days" (v8). Unfortunately his estimate of "seven days" is a little short, perhaps by at least an hour. So Saul gets impatient, and makes the burnt offerings and peace offerings which he was supposed to leave to Samuel. Samuel arrives, just as he promised, finding that the offerings have only just been completed (v10).

The wording of Samuel's verdict is "You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God" (v13).That is, Saul has not conformed with the instruction of ch10.

There is no suggestion that the act of sacrifice was wrong in itself. It was wrong for Saul on this occasion because it conflicted with his instructions. If we look ahead to ch14 we find another battle in which the people are in danger of offending God. They begin to slaughter and eat the captured animals, and the grievous fault is that they are doing this without offering sacrifice. They are not separating out the blood. Saul's remedy for this danger is to set up an altar, so that every man can kill his own animal with appropriate ritual (ch14 vv31-35). It would appear that this was still regarded as the norm, which explains why he felt comfortable about doing it in ch13.

Two other incidents throw light on God's rejection of Saul. In ch14 vv38-45, Saul has adjudged Jonathan as worthy of death, because he has, however accidentally, broken an oath which Saul swore in the people's name (v24). Jonathan is released because the crowd objects to his death. In ch15, the Lord commands the total destruction of Amalek, including all their animals. But in v15 of the same chapter the people are planning to use the best of the animals to "sacrifice to the Lord at Gilgal"; that is, to hold a massive celebratory feast from which the Lord will get his usual portions. That is not the commanded "destruction", as Samuel is quick to point out. And the key factor in ch13, let us remember, is that Saul was giving way to the impatience of the people.

In other words, the common element in those three incidents is that Saul is listening to the crowd and being swayed by them instead of listening to God. God deputes leaders to lead his people, not to follow them.

Finally, Saul's disobedience in ch13 was a symptom of insufficient faith. He was waiting for God to do something and got tired of waiting. There is good reason why Revelation (e.g. Revelation ch13 v10) demands patience (or endurance) from the saints. "Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength" (Isaiah ch40 v31). "Faith" may be the real point of difference between David and Saul.

Answer 2

There is a toxic element to sin that is not repented of, if there is no turning back to God and away from disobedience to God's commands. Now, in the text in question, there is no mention of Saul expressing repentance, though he probably regretted his action, especially as it would result in God giving the kingdom to another.

It is not until chapter 15 that we learn of Saul later trying to excuse himself to Samuel for presumptuously and rashly acting disobediently once more, this time in dealing with the Amalekites. But Samuel will have none of it. He rebukes Saul again:

"Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king." 1 Samuel 15:22-23 A.V.

Only then does Saul express regret and admit that he has sinned, fearing the people more than he feared the Lord (vss. 24 & 30). Yet his motive is to save face before the people. This shows how Saul's sin is becoming toxic.

After other sins, it culminates in the sin of witchcraft (chapter 28).

While David also committed sins during his kingship, the difference between him and Saul was that David repented. David still had to suffer the consequences of his sins, but his genuine repentance stopped his sins becoming toxic.

The question is, "What exactly was Saul's sin that caused God to reject him and punish him - what was the commandment that Saul broke?" The answer is given in the passage quoted above, 1 Samuel 15:22-23: his stubborn rebellion (shown in disobedience) and rejecting the word of God, particularly in resorting to witchcraft.

But you have to get the whole picture about Saul demonstrating such sins, and not just look at that one particular event. God reads the hearts and knew the course Saul would end up taking, because Saul never truly repented of his various sins.

Answer 3

Saul was appointed king to represent the Lord.

It was his own idea to make an oath that no man should eat until the Philistine army was destroyed. The result was that the campaign was a failure. God honored Jonathan's faith in the campaign and used him to begin the victory that day. He wasn't present during the oath and that honey he ate could have refreshed many more men and led to total victory. Saul's willingness to put his own son to death shows how out of touch with God he was even then.

By offering the sacrifice himself he demonstrated that he had no fear or regard for the Lord. The destruction of the Amalekites was meant to be divine judgment not a military campaign for plunder. It sent the wrong message to the surrounding nations. Saul was seeking to bring honor and fame to himself by allowing the army to enjoy the spoils. He also flat out lies to Samuel that they intended to sacrifice the best livestock. And Saul chose to spare Agag as a trophy or perhaps to use his influence in some way for his own gain.

It was clear that Saul was using God's chosen people for his own gain. Yet God was so patient with him.

It was God's spirit in David when David challenged Goliath, even though Saul was the obvious choice to face the giant. David had two opportunities to kill Saul but God wouldn't let that sit well on his conscience. Instead of repenting Saul went further and further seeking his own way, and by trying to kill David he was making himself an absolute enemy of God. He was so mad and deluded that he still sought the Lord's council before the final battle when he died, as though God should assist someone who was working completely against Him.

He seemed to be unable to realize or admit how much he had failed and rebelled. A common side effect of evil is a darkened understanding and the inability to acknowledge any wrongdoing. Seeking the medium was the last straw. Now he was communing with the dead when at one time he had the full anointing of God. How far he fell!

Answer 4

Just to add on to Stephen Disraeli's answer, Saul in his impatience did the duty of a priest of God, even though he was not ordained to be a priest. In doing so he broke the commandment of God. The commandment in this case is the prophetic word spoken by Samuel. I learned this from an exegetic Prophetic teaching by Dr. Lovy Elias.

Answer 5

King Saul's sin was basically his way of life. Instead of relying on the LORD God for instructions - as he did during the various steps involved in his anointment (1 Samuel 11) - Saul sought out his own ways to do things. The impact of this was particularly severe in chapter 15. This was the second time that Saul disobeyed the LORD's instructions, having already been chastised for disobedience during the events of chapter 13. While Samuel rebuked Saul with the news that God had rejected the continuation of his kingdom, Saul could have repented and God would have changed his mind. However, Saul chose to continue his disobedience following the victory over the Amalekites in chapter 15, fully aware of the consequences of disobedience. So he rebelled unhesitatingly, which is why in chapter 15 verse 22 Samuel compared Saul's disobedience to "divination" (a sin which, ironically, Saul was vehemently against but to which he eventually resorts to in chapter 28).Saul never took the LORD's word seriously.

This consecutive act of disobedience despite the awareness of its consequences was what made the LORD reject King Saul fully (1 Samuel 15:23). Saul wasn't that way when he first met Samuel and was informed of his anointment as king (chapters 9 & 10). Saul was humble and quite aware of his unworthiness (chapter 9 verse 21). But as he settled into is role of kingship, things gradually changed.

Why did Jesus rebuke the Pharisees more harshly than he rebuked the tax collectors Levi and Zacchaeus as well as the prostitute brought for stoning? It wasn't because he condoned their sin, but because they showed willingness to repent and transform. The Pharisees, though, considered themselves perfect and justified themselves rather than acknowledging the sin of their self-righteous, stubborn ways. God hates all sin, but the sin He hates the most is that of refusing to acknowledge it and turn away from it. That leads to the dangerous point of no return which Saul, unfortunately, had gotten to. He was left by God to be taunted by the Devil (1 Samuel 16:14) which eventually caused his murderous jealousy to David (1 Samuel 18:9-11), his witchcraft (1 Samuel 28) and his tragic suicide (1 Samuel 31). He became a toy for the Devil, who mercilessly played with his emotions and made his life a living hell. Unfortunately, many namesake Christians and churchgoers today are in this situation.

At the start of his career, King Saul could be said to have been at the height of spirituality. There are evidences to support this claim in 1 Samuel 11, particularly verses 6 and 12, 13 (where Saul refuses to kill those who opposed him and thereby shows great spiritual maturity). He was a lot like David back then. But towards the end of his life, Saul became a lot like Judas Iscariot. Like Judas, King Saul was buried in an obscure location after being beheaded post-death by the Philistines (1 Samuel 31:8-13). Judas' body too was mutilated (possibly after his suicide on a tree) in a place devoted to the burial of foreigners (Matthew 27:7, Acts 1:18).

It is tragic that King Saul, a man of such a figure who was found to be "a head taller than any of the others" (1 Samuel 9:2) had to meet this fate. The Bible has always mentioned King Saul as a very brave man who valiantly fought the enemies of Israel, particularly the Philistines, Ammonites and Amalekites. He was appointed by God to "deliver my people from the hand of the Philistines", which he did (1 Samuel 9:16). But, while he carried out the tasks he was appointed for by God, he forgot God Himself.

This is where we should remember John's letter to Ephesus in the book of Revelation chapter 2 verses 1 to 7. The church at Ephesus carried out many acts for Christ, even sacrificially enduring hardships and getting rid of false teachers claiming to be "apostles" (Rev 2: 2,3). But the letter didn't end on a good note. That's because the Ephesians had lost their "first love" for Christ (Rev 2:4). That warmth was gone in their relationship with God. Everything that was being done was done as a duty rather than the result of affection towards God.

Our love for Christ needs to be kindled just like the relationship between a husband and his wife. A wife needs to want to be with the husband and feel his love and warmth, rather than mechanically carrying out the tasks of a wife. As the bride of Christ, we Christians need to have that same affection for our bridegroom. Good works come after that. Without the affection and warmth (first love), good works hold no value to God. King Saul did many great things for Israel, but his heart was far from God. Eventually, those good deeds gave way to rebellion and self-justification.