Understanding One's Role: Samuel vs. Saul
I’ve taught Sefer Shmuel for eleven years. It’s probably my favorite book of Tanakh (well, I also love Melachim and Koheles). Anyway, I’ve always struggled with explaining to students why Saul choosing to offer the korbanot (sacrifices) and not waiting for Samuel to offer them was so bad. Meaning, yes, he disobeyed- but Samuel was late! But I finally figured it out.
The key to this story lies in I Samuel 7:7-11. Here’s the text.
וַיִּשְׁמְע֣וּ פְלִשְׁתִּ֗ים כִּֽי־הִתְקַבְּצ֚וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ הַמִּצְפָּ֔תָה וַיַּעֲל֥וּ סַרְנֵֽי־פְלִשְׁתִּ֖ים אֶל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וַֽיִּשְׁמְעוּ֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וַיִּֽרְא֖וּ מִפְּנֵ֥י פְלִשְׁתִּֽים:
Now the Philistines heard that the children of Israel had assembled at Mizpah, and the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel, and the children of Israel heard, and they were afraid of the Philistines.
וַיֹּאמְר֚וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ אֶל־שְׁמוּאֵ֔ל אַל־תַּחֲרֵ֣שׁ מִמֶּ֔נּוּ מִזְּעֹ֖ק אֶל־יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ וְישִׁעֵ֖נוּ מִיַּ֥ד פְּלִשְׁתִּֽים:
And the children of Israel said to Samuel, "Cease not to cry out to the Lord our God for us, that He save us from the hand of the Philistines."
וַיִּקַּ֣ח שְׁמוּאֵ֗ל טְלֵ֚ה חָלָב֙ אֶחָ֔ד וַיַּעֲלֵ֧הוּ (כתיב וַיַּעֲלֵ֧הֻ) עוֹלָ֛ה כָּלִ֖יל לַֽיהֹוָ֑ה וַיִּזְעַ֨ק שְׁמוּאֵ֚ל אֶל־יְהֹוָה֙ בְּעַ֣ד יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וַֽיַּעֲנֵ֖הוּ יְהֹוָֽה:
And Samuel took one sucking lamb and offered it up as a burnt offering, entirely to the Lord, and Samuel cried out to the Lord on behalf of Israel, and the Lord answered him.
וַיְהִ֚י שְׁמוּאֵל֙ מַעֲלֶ֣ה הָעוֹלָ֔ה וּפְלִשְׁתִּ֣ים נִגְּשׁ֔וּ לַמִּלְחָמָ֖ה בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וַיַּרְעֵ֣ם יְהֹוָ֣ה | בְּקוֹל־גָּ֠דוֹל בַּיּ֨וֹם הַה֚וּא עַל־פְּלִשְׁתִּים֙ וַיְהֻמֵּ֔ם וַיִּנָּגְפ֖וּ לִפְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל:
And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near for war against Israel, and the Lord thundered with a loud noise on that day, upon the Philistines, and threw them into a panic, and they were beaten before Israel.
וַיֵּ֨צְא֜וּ אַנְשֵׁ֚י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ מִן־הַמִּצְפָּ֔ה וַֽיִּרְדְּפ֖וּ אֶת־פְּלִשְׁתִּ֑ים וַיַּכּ֕וּם עַד־מִתַּ֖חַת לְבֵ֥ית כָּֽר:
And the men of Israel went forth from Mizpah, and pursued the Philistines, and harassed them until they were below Bethcar.
When Samuel offers up the offering, God responds by making war upon the Philistines for Bnei Yisrael. At that point, Bnei Yisrael don’t even really need to fight- they just need to pick up the pieces after the frightened and disoriented Philistines flee.
What this practically means is that in I Samuel 13, Saul threw away a chance for God to engage in this supernatural warfare on behalf of Bnei Yisrael. He made the mistake of thinking that anyone was qualified to engage in the ritual offering, and that it would yield the same extraordinary supernatural result (or perhaps he did not even know of the result Samuel had been able to elicit from God in prior years).
Note that Saul offers up a burnt offering just as Samuel did in Chapter 7.
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר שָׁא֔וּל הַגִּ֣שׁוּ אֵלַ֔י הָעֹלָ֖ה וְהַשְּׁלָמִ֑ים וַיַּ֖עַל הָעֹלָֽה:
And Saul said, "Bring near to me the burnt offering and the peace offering"; and he offered up the burnt offering.
וַיְהִ֗י כְּכַלֹּתוֹ֙ לְהַעֲל֣וֹת הָעֹלָ֔ה וְהִנֵּ֥ה שְׁמוּאֵ֖ל בָּ֑א וַיֵּצֵ֥א שָׁא֛וּל לִקְרָאת֖וֹ לְבָרֲכֽוֹ:
And it was, when he finished offering up the burnt offering, that behold, Samuel came, and Saul went out toward him to greet him.
Now that the chance to have God supernaturally fight for the Jews in response to Samuel’s offering has been squandered, it’s Jonathan who is able to harness God’s supernatural power in I Samuel 14:15.
וַתְּהִי֩ חֲרָדָ֨ה בַמַּחֲנֶ֚ה בַשָּׂדֶה֙ וּבְכָל־הָעָ֔ם הַמַּצָּב֙ וְהַמַּשְׁחִ֔ית חָרְד֖וּ גַּם־הֵ֑מָּה וַתִּרְגַּ֣ז הָאָ֔רֶץ וַתְּהִ֖י לְחֶרְדַּ֥ת אֱלֹהִֽים:
And there was a trembling in the camp and the field, and among the people; the garrison and the raiders also trembled, and the earth quaked and became a trembling inspired by God.
But note that the Israelites do still need to fight, which leads to Saul declaring the fast, Jonathan almost dying, and the people sinning by eating on the blood. None of this would (ostensibly) have happened had Samuel offered the sacrifices rather than Saul, because God would have heeded him from the get-go.
Heshy pointed out this is similar to the children’s story of Strega Nona while my frame of reference was ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ in the original Fantasia by Disney. Each time, a person thinks they know how to perform the ritual, and that it doesn’t matter who performs it (or that they are equally qualified to perform it), but they are wrong.
In sum, if Saul had understood that Samuel and only Samuel was qualified to offer the sacrifices, his choice would have been to wait for Samuel or to proceed to battle without offering the sacrifices- understanding his own limitations, and that he was not the right man for the role. Saul did not understand this, and it ultimately leads to tragedy that could have been entirely averted.
The issue with the sacrifices was much bigger than sacrifices, and even than obedience. It was about roles and rituals- and understanding what one’s role does or does not include, and who is the right person to perform a particular ritual. Saul’s lack of understanding in this area is a precursor to his continued lack of understanding about the responsibilities and limitations of his role as king, and that is why his punishment is so severe. It’s not about the sacrifice itself. It’s what his lack of understanding about his own role vs. Samuel’s and thus his choice to offer the sacrifice cost his nation.