Readers Guide: “The Word for Today” Monday, October 29, 2012 Read – 1 Samuel 13 & 14 It does not take Saul long to get into trouble. In the words of the Muppet, Kermit, “It’s not easy being “king”.” Action is needed. Saul is waiting for Samuel to appear and provide the sacrifice that will bring blessing and assure victory. Samuel, who now represents the priestly office is slow in arriving. What is Saul to do? People are jumping ship. So, in desperation Saul oversteps his role – Saul performs the sacrifice. And just as he does Samuel arrives on the scene. There are at least a couple of things we should notice about this story. First, do any of you feel just a little bit uneasy about needing a sacrifice to assure a victory? Sounds a little “magical” again doesn’t it. The truth of the matter is that God’s Old Testament people sometimes looked a lot like the people around them – they did sacrifice, probably looked at animal livers, and other sorts of things to make sure things would go well. We don’t expect that from God’s people and in the end the Bible will make clear that such behavior is not proper. But it does appear to happen and this is one of those stories that seem to reflect that. Secondly, and more importantly, the story marks the pronounced distinction between the office of king and the office of priest. These two offices are most often at tension with one another in the Old Testament. In a way they counter-balance one another. Saul’s real violation was not to resort to “magical” actions to assure a victory but rather to overstep the boundary between the king and the priest. This distinction is an interesting one to ponder in the Old Testament story – especially in light of the reality that Jesus acts both as priest and king.