Impatience

Then he waited seven days, according to the time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. So Saul said, “Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me.” And he offered the burnt offering. Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him.

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.”

Then Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people present with him, about six hundred men. - 1 Samuel 13:8-15

I have always been interested in this story because it is a lot like something I had would have done.

Samuel had told Saul that he would come to Gilgal in seven days to offer a burnt offering.

The seven days passed and no Samuel.

What do you do if you are Saul? I can almost tell you for certain what I would have done.

‘Hmm, Samuel is not here when he said he would be here. The sacrifice needs to be offered. I’m the king. Let’s get this thing done.’

So he offered the offering with waiting for Samuel. And as soon as he did Samuel showed up and said ‘you have done foolishly because you did not obey the Lord.’

There are times when leaders can solve problems by jumping in and doing the work, but there is always the doing what Saul did here and jumping ahead of God. That comes from the basic problem of thinking that I can sort it our better than God can.

Those of us who get impatient and impetuous have to be careful that we are not putting our ways above God’s ways and our will above His. Sometimes we need to learn to be patient and wait on God to do it His way instead of rushing out on our own.

Sometimes we need to stop thinking we know best and getting the problem solved and instead 'quietly wait and see the salvation of the Lord.'