The fall of King Saul - impatience (part 1)

After read the book "Heart After God, Running with David". I began to understand how did a man like King Saul with such a brilliant future end up such a dark and hopeless back alley. It seem that it was a series of wrong turns, wrong choices, wrong responses and that have brought his life and his kingdom to ruin. Lets examine what were the causes of the fall and as we reflected in our life, are we like King Saul?

Impatience

I Samuel 13. Saul and his men were preparing for war against the Philistine army and when it was time to launch an offensive, Samuel the prophet has to offer a sacrifice before the battle. But Samuel has to be out of town at this moment and he has instructed King Saul to wait for him to get back in 7 days, then they will offer a sacrifice to the Lord and after that they'll go to war. Then the Lord will give them the victory.

Days after days passed. Everyone was nervous and the enemy was only on the other side of the hill and they did not see any sign of Samuel coming back. Come days 6, people began to walk out on Saul, heading back home and King Saul was becoming feverishly impatient. He wondered when will that old Samuel come back.

Finally on Day 7, King Saul could stand it no longer. He could not wait for Samuel to come back. In 1 Samuel 13:9, King Saul offer the sacrifices even though Samuel was the only one supposed to offer sacrifices. Just as King Saul was finishing, Samuel came and Samuel was furious. King Saul quickly justify his actions.

Listen how King Saul tried to justify his actions in 1 Samuel 13:11-12:

"Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Mich-mash; Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering."

Hear what Samuel said to King Saul, 1 Samuel 13:13-14

"And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee."

Impatience is an action that demonstrated by our hasty actions that we really do not believe our God is in loving control of every event which enters our lives. It is another word for unbelief. As a result of King Saul's impatience to wait for God's green light, King Saul leaped straight into disaster. Many of the times, we jump the gun and took matters into our own hands and failed to listen and wait for God's instruction, think about it, the sin of impatience could be our downfall.