The Life And Times Of Saul Series

January 10, 2026

1st Samuel 13:1 follows the Biblical formula for a kings age when he began to rule and the length of his reign (see examples in 2 Sam 2:10; 1 Kings 14:21; 22:42).

However, in the original, the verse is incomplete because the 1st number was inadvertently left out – so we don’t really know how old Saul was when he became king (most Bibles say 30 - some say 40).

So, Saul was ____ years old when he became king and reigned for ____ years (There is also a debate as to the length of his reign, however, Acts 13:21 states he reigned for 40 years and that is what is generally accepted).

Verse 2 starts a new section – telling us that Saul’s standing army consisted of 3000 fighting men.

Jonathan, Saul’s oldest son and heir, is mentioned here for the 1st time. He was old enough by this time (at least 20) to be a commander in the army.

Israel’s standing army was divided into 2 groups - 2000 men were with Saul at Micmash near Bethel and 1000 men were with Jonathan at Gibeah in the tribe of Benjamin.

The Philistines

Jonathan attacked and defeated the Philistine garrison at Geba and when the Philistines were told the news they assembled their army:

• ____ Chariots (some manuscripts say 3,000 and some say 30,000. It is argued that 30,000 is a scribal error since there is only a small difference between the #3 "????" (shalosh) and the #30 ?????????? (sheloshim) in Hebrew. Regardless, Israel was still out numbered.

• 6,000 horsemen

• An army like the sand on the seashore.

The Philistines camped at Micmash…..

The Israelites were so afraid that they hid in caves, thickets, cliffs, cellars and pits. Some even crossed the Jordan River and sought refuge with the “east-siders.”

You can understand their fear when you realize that only Saul and Jonathan had weapons.

Why? Because the Philistines did not allow Israel to have blacksmiths. As a matter of fact, the Israelites had to go to Philistia and pay to have their farm equipment - plowshares, axes, sickles, etc. - sharpened.

Samuel had instructed Saul, who was now at Gilgal, to wait for 7 days at which time he would come and sacrifice to Yahweh and seek his instructions. Saul got tired of waiting and as his army continued to slip away, he decided that he could no longer wait and sacrificed the burnt offering himself – a duty reserved exclusively for the priest. Just as Saul was finishing the ceremony, Samuel arrived and was not amused.

Saul’s response to Samuel’s displeasure is telling: “What was I supposed to do? The people are scattering and you had not arrived - as promised. The Philistines have assembled at Michmash, so, I forced myself to seek Yahweh’s favor and offer the burnt offering.”

Before leaving, Samuel informed Saul that because of his disobedience, his dynasty would come to an end and that Yahweh was looking for a man, “according to his own heart, and has appointed him as leader over his people.”

The day came when Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “Come, let us go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps Yahweh will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder Him from saving, whether by many or by few."

His armor-bearer agreed whole heartedly and they snuck out of camp, heading toward the Philistine garrison which sat on top of a butte ---- No one knew that Jonathan was gone.

They climbed the cliff that was said to be unclimbable and worked their way toward the Philistine camp.

When the Philistines saw Jonathan and his companion, they were amused, “Hey! Come over here we have something to tell you.”

This was the sign Jonathan was looking for – Yahweh would give the Philistines into Israel’s hand.

Jonathan and his armor bearer killed 20 Philistines. There was a great earthquake and confusion broke out amongst the Philistines causing them to start killing each other.

Meanwhile, Saul was staying at the outskirts of Gibeah under the pomegranate tree at Migron. He had about 600 hundred men with him, including Ahijah, the son of Ahitub - the brother of Ichabod - the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli the priest of Yahweh at Shiloh, who was wearing an ephod.

As Saul prepared for battle, he said to Ahijah, "Bring the ark of God." – which, apparently, was with the Israelites - but when he saw that the Philistines confusion was increasing, he said to Ahijah, "never mind."

Saul rallied his soldiers and went into battle.

Some Hebrews, who had joined the Philistines, turned on them and joined Israel.

Even the men of Israel, who had gone into hiding in the hill country of Ephraim, pursued the Philistines.