When Sam'u-el first informed Saul that he was to become king of Is'ra-el, he stressed the fact that his first duty would be to rid the nation of the Phi-lis'tines. But instead of following up his brilliant victory over the Am'mon-ites with an immediate war against the ancient foes of Is'ra-el, he settled down quietly in his home at Gib'e-ah and began to surround himself with the royal courts and splendors enjoyed by heathen kings. In his public acceptance of the throne he had pledged his loyalty to the laws announced by Sam'u-el. These promises were soon forgotten, and he became a king in name only.
The Phi-lis'tines were much more advanced in the arts and crafts than the Is'ra-el-ites, and were well supplied with such implements of war as swords, spears, and iron chariots. They fordade the Is'ra-el-ites to have iron workers, so their only weapons of war were axes and mattocks and similar farming tools. The Is'ra-el-ites were obliged to go to the iron workers of the Phi-lis'tines to have their tools repaired and sharpened.
The condition of the nation seemed to be hopeless, and Saul was making no effort to break off the yoke of the Phi-lis'tines. The spirit of the Is'ra-el-ites became so broken that many of them entered into friendly relations with their oppressors.
It was in the midst of this sad state in Is'ra-el that the LORD moved the heart of one of Saul's sons to take the lead in war against the Phi-lis'tines. Jon'a-than, a young man of great courage and piety, was placed at the head of an army of one thousand men stationed at Gib'e-ah. His father Saul headed another army of two thousand men which occupied the town of Mich'mash, about seven miles north of Je-ru'sa-lem. A strong Phi-lis'tine garrison occupied an elevated position between Gib'e-ah and Mich'mash.
While Saul and his two thousand men remained inactive and afraid to move against the Phi-lis'tines, Jon'a-than and his army made a sudden attack upon the garrison, overwhelmingly defeating the heavily armed enemy. This victory aroused the spirit of Saul, and he ordered all Is'ra-el to gather with him at Gil'gal in the Jor'dan valley. The confidence of the nation in Saul's ability as a leader had been so shaken by his years of idleness that only six hundred men responded.
Realizing that the LORD had deserted him because of his shameful inactivity over a number of years, and because of his religious backslidings, Saul asked Sam'u-el to come to Gil'gal that he might sacrifice unto the LORD on his behalf. Growing impatient and worried by the delay in Sam'u-el's arrival, Saul presumptuously made the burnt offering himself, thus incurring greater disfavor from GOD. When Sam'u-el finally came to Gil'gal he denounced Saul for his irreverent act, declared that because of such unworthiness the LORD would choose another to take his kingdom, and then left the king in a state of confusion.
