1 Samuel 13:13

13 "You did a foolish thing," Samuel told Saul. "You didn't follow the command of the LORD your God. [If you had,] the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel permanently.

1 Samuel 13:13 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 13:13

And Samuel said to Saul, thou hast done foolishly
Not by intruding himself into the priest's office, with that he is not charged, but not waiting the full time till Samuel came; which showed his impatience, disregard to Samuel, and distrust of God; and though he thought he had acted wisely, and taken the proper precautions in his circumstances, yet he acted foolishly; and though a king, Samuel being a prophet of the Lord, and in his name, spared not to tell him so:

thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he
commanded thee;
by his prophet, that he should wait seven days for his coming, who would then offer sacrifices, and tell him what he should do; and not to keep the commandment of God was acting a foolish part:

for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel for
ever;
that is, for a long time, on his son, and son's son; and then, according to promise and prophecy, it would come to one of the tribe of Judah; but now seeing he had acted such a part, it should not continue long in his family, no longer than his own life, and quickly come into other hands.

1 Samuel 13:13 In-Context

11 Samuel asked, "What have you done?" Saul replied, "I saw the troops were scattering. You didn't come when you said you would, and the Philistines were assembling at Michmash.
12 So I thought, 'Now, the Philistines will come against me at Gilgal, but I haven't sought the LORD's favor.' I felt pressured into sacrificing the burnt offering."
13 "You did a foolish thing," Samuel told Saul. "You didn't follow the command of the LORD your God. [If you had,] the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel permanently.
14 But now your kingdom will not last. The LORD has searched for a man after his own heart. The LORD has appointed him as ruler of his people, because you didn't follow the command of the LORD."
15 Samuel left Gilgal. The rest of the people followed Saul to meet the soldiers. They went from Gilgal to Gibeah in Benjamin, where Saul counted the troops who were still with him--about 600 men.
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