EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)
(9)
Bring hither a burnt offering to me.—It has been supposed by many that the greatness of the sin of Saul consisted in his offering sacrifice with his own hand, but not a hint of this is anywhere given us. It is more than probable that the sacrifice which was offered so prematurely in the absence of the seer of God was performed by the hand of Ahiah the priest, who, no doubt, was in attendance on the king. No unlawful assumption of priestly functions, as in the case of King Uzziah (
2Chronicles 26:18), is anywhere charged on Saul.
13:8-14 Saul broke the order expressly given by Samuel, see ch.
There is a difference of opinion among commentators whether Saul himself offered the sacrifices prepared for Samuel, thus entrenching upon the priest's office; or whether he ordered the priests to sacrifice, as Solomon did. In the latter case his sin consisted in disobeying the word of God, who had bidden him wait until Samuel came. And this is, on the whole, the more probable; since Samuel's rebuke says nothing of any assumption of priesthood, such as we read in the case of Uzziah
2 Chronicles 26:18.
1Sa 13:9-16. Saul, Weary of Waiting for Samuel, Sacrifices.
9-14. Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings—Saul, though patriotic enough in his own way, was more ambitious of gaining the glory of a triumph to himself than ascribing it to God. He did not understand his proper position as king of Israel; and although aware of the restrictions under which he held the sovereignty, he wished to rule as an autocrat, who possessed absolute power both in civil and sacred things. This occasion was his first trial. Samuel waited till the last day of the seven, in order to put the constitutional character of the king to the test; and, as Saul, in his impatient and passionate haste knowingly transgressed (1Sa 13:12) by invading the priest's office and thus showing his unfitness for his high office (as he showed nothing of the faith of Gideon and other Hebrew generals), he incurred a threat of the rejection which his subsequent waywardness confirmed.
Either himself; or rather by the priest, as Solomon is said to offer,
1 Kings 3:4. Compare
1 Samuel 1:3.
And Saul said,.... Being impatient, and seeing the people deserting him apace, and unwilling to engage in a battle without first sacrificing to God, and imploring his help and assistance:
bring hither a burnt offering to me; that is, a creature for a burnt offering, a bullock, sheep, goat, or lamb:
and peace offerings; which also were either of the herd, or of the flock:
and he offered the burnt offering; either he himself, or by a priest. In this unsettled time, while the tabernacle, altar, and ark, were at different places, and not yet fixed, it is thought that such who were not priests might offer, and that in high places, and where the tabernacle and altar were not.
And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering.
