Picking your Battles

Picking your Battles
Words of Faith 9-23-24
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2024
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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1 Samuel 13
[1] Saul was [thirty] years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel [forty-] two years. [2] Saul chose three thousand men from Israel; two thousand were with him at Micmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. The rest of the men he sent back to their homes. [3] Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul had the trumpet blown throughout the land and said, "Let the Hebrews hear!" [4] So all Israel heard the news: "Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost, and now Israel has become a stench to the Philistines." And the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal. [5] The Philistines assembled to fight Israel with three thousand chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Micmash, east of Beth Aven. [6] When the men of Israel saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard-pressed, they hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns. [7] Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear. [8] He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul's men began to scatter. [9] So he said, "Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings." And Saul offered up the burnt offering. [10] Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him. [11] "What have you done?" asked Samuel.

Saul was off to a good start. He had the support of the people and the support of Samuel, the most respected person in the land. Having learned from his recent experience with the Ammonites, Saul set about to create a standing army of 3,000 trained troops-- 2,000 under his direct control and 1,000 under his son Jonathan. Apparently, feeling confident in the size of his two military units, Saul sent the rest of the men home. A standing army can be a good defense… but it can also be a temptation.
The smaller military unit under Jonathan started a war against the Philistines by attacking their outpost at Geba in Benjamin, about five miles northeast of Jerusalem. Saul was ultimately responsible for the attack and realized the main Philistine army had heard about it. The conflict was suddenly escalating, so he had the ram's horn trumpet blown throughout Israel to summon additional men.
Suddenly, this was a political and military mess. Israel had now become a "stench to the Philistines," and they were mustering more troops to fight Israel. Saul's call to arms was answered by the "people" who assembled to get ready to fight. Saul's more civilian army faced the Philistines, feared far and wide because of their armored wooden chariots with iron fittings. Besides being able to put three thousand two-man chariots into the field, the enemy had summoned troops "as numerous as the sand on the seashore." This was one massive battle that was brewing.
The Philistine deployment caused mass desertions in the Israelite army. Like their ancestors, some Israelites hid in whatever out-of-the-way places they could find. In contrast, others fled eastward across the Jordan River. The greatly reduced number of men who remained with Saul at Gilgal were understandably frightened.
When Samuel did not show up as expected, Saul decided to seek the Lord's favor by sacrificing the offerings that Samuel had told him he himself would make. Samuel arrived on the scene just after Saul offered the burnt offering but before he had had time to sacrifice the fellowship offerings. No wonder Samuel rebuked him-- "What have you done?"
What a mess, actually. Saul had jumped ahead in almost every regard. He had mounted a standing army and then picked a fight with a powerful enemy. Now, he had even jumped ahead on the instructed offering. Saul sinned because he disobeyed God's word through the prophet Samuel. This was a sin that he would commit again.
As we read this story of ancient warfare and political arrogance, it is easy to see that little has changed in the modern world. Kings and leaders build up large standing armies and then need something to do with them. Fights are picked that never need to be fought. There are often contentious battles brewing where neither attack nor any great principle has been threatened. The prophet would ask, "What have you done?"
For us? We might do well with the sage advice-- Pick your battles carefully. Some battles need never be fought at all. We can do very well as peacemakers in our world and in our communities. Some battles are based more on arrogance and pride than anything else. Of course, there are battles that arise simply because they can. We may find ourselves asking-- "What have I done?"
Do you have a battle brewing in your life, family, workplace, neighborhood, community, or church? Respond it carefully. Make peace if you can. Later, you may be asking, "What have I done?" How much better the answer is: I have made peace today.

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Give me grace to see Your hand in my life and the situations around me. Give me the grace to surrender arrogant pride and follow Christ's example and mind. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2024 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.