In 1 Samuel 13 we read the story of Saul launching an attack on the Philistine army. Saul’s army wins a temporary victory. After their victory the Philistine army decides to gather more forces in order to attack the Israelites as a way to retaliate their earlier loss.
Let’s look at the context of this story starting at verse 7. “Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear, He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.
“What have you done?” asked Samuel. Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash, I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”
The fear of man will cost you every time. It will cost you your inheritance if you allow it to. If we fear man and not God we can ruin what God has planned for us and the destiny that God desires us to walk into. God had in His heart to establish Saul’s kingdom over Israel forever but because of this one decision that Saul makes out of fearing the people around him he loses out by taking matters into his own hands. There are two principles that we can learn and put into practice in our lives. The first is to fear the Lord and not seek to please men and the second is for us to not make hasty decisions and actions.
As a result of fearing the people and desiring to please his men, Saul felt compelled to offer the burnt offering even though he knew what the Lord’s instructions were through Samuel the prophet. Are you seeking to please God with your life or are you concerned about pleasing and receiving honor from men? I pray that God will cause us to have a jealousy for pleasing God with our lives and that we would desire to live for His glory alone. May you walk in obedience to the Lord’s instructions regardless of the circumstances around you so that you may walk into all that God has prepared for you!