“2026: Year of the Explosion” Day 12: Sometimes the answer is, “Wait.”

“And when David again inquired of God, God said to him, “You shall not go up after them; go around and come against them opposite the balsam trees. And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then go out to battle, . . .”

‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭14‬:‭14‬-‭15‬a ESV‬‬

Last time, we discussed how Saul had displeased the Lord by keeping a hostage and spoil from a battle, after having been instructed not to do so. Sadly, we turn to him again today, as an example of what not to do.

Saul, fearing that he was about to lose the support of his people, took it on himself to offer a sacrifice, although he had been explicitly told not to do so, by Samuel.

“He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.””

‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭13‬:‭8‬-‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Samuel had made it clear to Saul before; he was not to offer the sacrifice, but wait for him to come.

“Now when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you. Then go down before me to Gilgal. And behold, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.””

‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭10‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Some might point out the fact that David, Saul’s successor, had offered a sacrifice with no negative repercussions from the Lord, therefore, questioning the extreme consequences Saul experienced. So, why was David able to get by with it? Let’s look at that incident:

A long story made short, David had displeased the Lord by numbering Israel. The Lord gave David the choice of what kind of punishment he would take to pay for his disobedience. David chose to fall into the hand of the Lord. The Lord sent pestilence on the people, resulting in 70,000 deaths. When the angel that was bringing the pestilence, headed towards Jerusalem, David begged for the mercy of the Lord and the Lord gave him this instruction:

“And Gad came that day to David and said to him, “Go up, raise an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” So David went up at Gad’s word, as the Lord commanded. And David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord responded to the plea for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel.”

‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭24‬:‭18‬-‭19‬, ‭25‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The fact is, David sacrificed at the direction of the prophet, Gad. Interestingly, doing so, as a king doing a priestly duty, foreshadows our Lord, Who is both King and High Priest forever.

Back to Saul, his inability to wait on the Lord, would prove to seal his ruin.

In today’s portion of the story of David’s victory at Baal-perazim, we see that when David again inquires of the Lord, the Lord’s directions include a vital command to wait in position until the Lord gives the signal to go up against the enemy.

Sadly, some Christians who might be good at positioning or preparing themselves, fail on the second part by not waiting until the Lord gives the go ahead. And make no mistake, that never turns out well.

Child of God, let’s take care that having been obedient to do what the Lord would have us to do, let us not fail by jumping the gun on His timing. That too, is a critical part of our obedience as we follow Him.

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!