1 Samuel 13:12

1Sa 13:12 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.

Ver. 12. And I have not made supplication unto the Lord.] Saul dared not enter the battle without this armour: but the sacrifice of the wicked is abomination to the Lord, {Pro 15:8} how much more when it is brought with an evil heart! {Pro 21:27} But the devil had taught the Athenians also when they began the battle to cry out Io Paean, which is the same in force as Jehovahpeneh, that is, Lord look upon us. And it is storied of Pausanias, king of Sparta, that when he fought against the Persians at Platea, he would not suffer a blow to be given till he had sacrificed, and had an auspicious answer. {a}

I forced myself therefore.] Or, I restrained or contained myself: sc., till I could no longer forbear. Here was a plausible pretence: hypocrisy needeth not to be taught to tell her own tale: but God is not mocked. Deus est sapiens nummularius, saith a father. {b}

{a} Macrob.

{b} Nummum fictum non recipiet. - Bern.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Sa_13:12

I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering.

The right and the wrong of Sauls conduct

I forced myself therefore; could not help it; my poverty but not my will consents. This not tenable in Christian morality. (Rom_12:1-21 fin.; 1Co_10:13.) The prophet was mouthpiece of Divine law: the king its administrator and executor. Prophet superior to king in respect of religious observances. Sauls difficulty continually recurs, plain commands of God not to be slighted or disobeyed for less plain ones. In this incident we find something right in Saul, and something wrong.

I. Where Saul was right. He was in great distress, and felt need of Divine aid. (Psa_60:11.) He was for seeking it in ordinances appointed. Christs sacrifice on cross our great peace offering, to be presented in faithful, intelligent prayer. (St. Joh_14:6 fin.) Do not stay at a mere dull, diffused sense of wanting pardon. So, if need enlightenment, seek it in Holy Scripture (St. Joh_5:39); if spiritual refreshment, at Holy Communion. Ordinances have their proper value, rightly used. Thus Saul was right.

II. Where Saul was wrong. Elements of his fault: Want of faith; contrast Gideon (Isa_28:16); superstition as to sacrifice. Nowadays, many value ordinance of religion quite independently of state of heart in the person using it. Saul relied on the form only. Sacrifice must be offered! No! It is not the objective but the subjective that is of highest importance; the formal is useless without the spiritual. Heart first. (Isa_1:10-20; Jam_4:3; St. Joh_4:24; Psa_51:9-10.) Saul misapprehended the object and effect of religious ordinances. It is not the thing done, but the obedient spirit of the doer which obtains. (Psa_50:18.) No mechanical influence upon God by prayer, etc. Ordinances are not charms, but channels of grace when rightly used. Therefore Saul disobeyed. Sin never necessary. Contrary notion arises from cowardice, or from superstition, or from some other want of intelligence Since Sauls fault was superstitious distrustfulness, seek from Holy Spirit an intelligent reliance on the general promises of God, and an intelligent obedience to the plain commands. (Cornelius Witherby, M. A.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13:12 asked for the Lord’s help: The purpose of the burnt offering was to entreat God to grant victory in battle. Samuel himself had offered a similar sacrifice, which did lead to victory in battle (see 7:7-11). But Samuel, unlike Saul, served in a priestly role.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 12. I forced myself] It was with great reluctance that I did what I did. In all this Saul was sincere, but ha was rash, and regardless of the precept of the Lord, which precept or command he most evidently had received, 1Sa 13:13. And one part of this precept was, that the Lord should tell him what he should do. Without this information, in an affair under the immediate cognizance of God, he should have taken no step.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Therefore said I..... That is, within himself:

the Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal; on a sudden, unprepared for them, especially in a religious way:

and I have not made supplication to the Lord; for his direction and assistance, and for success in the war; which it seems went along with sacrifices, or was implied in them:

I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering; it was reluctant to him, it was against his will as well as the command of Samuel, to offer before he came, he suggests; but such were the circumstances he was in, that he was obliged to it; these are the reasons or excuses he made, and some of them have a specious appearance in them.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Lord, by sacrifices. --- Holocaust. Hebrew, "I forced myself therefore," &c. It is asked whether Saul offered sacrifice, or caused it to be offered by the priests. The text seems to assert that he did it himself. Samuel and David did the like; and we read that Solomon ascended to the brazen altar, at Gabaon, for the same purpose, 2 Paralipomenon i. 5. If it was lawful to erect altars out of the tabernacle, notwithstanding the divine prohibition, why might not individuals also offer sacrifice on certain solemn occasions? The Hebrew kings seem to have exercised some of the sacerdotal functions, particularly before the building of the temple; for afterwards we find one of their kings severely punished for presuming to offer incense, 4 Kings xv. 5. (Calmet) --- Yet the proofs that they ever lawfully offered sacrifice, are not very satisfactory, as, in the Scripture language, a person is often said to do what he enjoins another to perform on his account; and if some prophets have acted in the character of priests, by divine dispensation, we need not extend the privilege to all who have dared to assume the like prerogative. The law is clear. It is the duty of all who do not regulate their conduct by it, to know that they have God’s approbation. Their expressing no scruple on the occasion, proves nothing, no more than the sacred writer’s omitting to stigmatize their proceedings. But here, if Saul really offered the holocaust, the words of Samuel, Thou hast done foolishly, convey a sufficient reproach: but if he did not, we must suppose that he blames the neglect of waiting the full term of days. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

I have not made supplication to the Lord; hence it appears that sacrifices were accompanied with solemn prayers.

I forced myself; I did it against my own mind and inclination. My conscience told me I should forbear it, and punctually obey God’s command delivered to me by Samuel, but my necessity urged me to make haste.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

12. I forced myself — I did violence to my conscience, and with great reluctance did this act. But all his apology is very feeble in the face of a broken commandment, and of the most plain and solemn counsels of his great spiritual father.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I have not made supplication unto Jehovah. Literally, "I have not stroked the face of Jehovah," but used of making him propitious by prayer. (Exo_32:11; Jer_26:19) I forced myself. Saul pleads in his justification the imminence of the danger, and perhaps there are few who have faith enough to "stand still and see the salvation of Jehovah". (Exo_14:13)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Supplication - Thence it appears, that sacrifices were accompanied with solemn prayers. Forced myself - I did it against my own mind and inclination.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

So I forced myself. I overcame my will, for my heart told me to wait for you, and against my will I suppressed my heart, and offered the burnt-offering.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.