1 Samuel: An Uncertain Trumpet

For me, the most riveting scene in “Braveheart” is the Battle of Stirling where William Wallace, greatly outnumbered by the English soldiers and cavalry approaching their position, says, “Hold.” Every Scot has their eyes on Wallace alone as he commands them to do nothing. It is difficult to watch as the English forces bear down on the line of defenders. “Wait,” he says time and again until the horses and riders are almost on top of the Scots and then he yells, “Now!” At that moment his men raise their long wooden pikes and impale horses and soldiers alike. The English retreat while the Scots rout and slaughter them. It is the turning point in the war for Scottish resistance and the battle that catapulted Wallace into a national hero and leader.

There is power in waiting for that moment but few - even the anointed - have the confidence required. That’s the case of Saul as he frets over Samuel’s lateness before engaging the Philistine armies. He is outnumbered but not for the same reason as the Scots. Saul called out three thousand fighters but when they saw the Philistine forces “as numerous as the sand on the seashore” they began to desert. They “hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns.” His army was dissolving and even though Samuel had told him to wait for seven days, Saul and all his remaining troops were in a panic. William Wallace faced the same threat. It would have made sense for his men to run but he rallies them with these words.

‍Aye, fight and you may die. Run and you'll live -- at least a while. And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom!!! 

Saul cannot rally because he cannot inspire. He has no true courage. With his army dwindling and the Philistines prepared to overwhelm them it was obvious to him what needed doing. When Samuel did not come as he said he would, Saul took it on himself to be not only the king but the priest as well. He made the offering to receive the blessing of the Lord but received the opposite. “But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.” The battle was won miraculously but the reign of Saul and his family was finished. “And the Lord grieved that he had made Saul king over Israel.”

Saul, like other Old Testament figures, is the central figure in a dismal story. They have something in common. They are impetuous. Desiring to be men of action, their impulses often lead to disaster for themselves and the nation. They are not leaders but only actors. They do not mature. They, like Saul, may have an early success but then follow a pattern of disobedience, fear, pride, cowardice and failure to rise to the responsibility they have been given or live up to the measure of the gifts that are theirs. Saul is a man trying desperately to be a leader but is over his head from the start. He wants recognition for the accomplishments of others by hoping to convince David to go up against Goliath in his armor while he cowers in his tent.  He wants undeserved esteem to bolster his outsized ego as he did in going to Carmel to set up a monument in his own honor. He is terrified of real talent and surrounds himself with sycophants. Losing touch with reality and possessed by fear he calls up the ghost of Samuel who once guided him because the Lord no longer speaks - as Saul did with the witch of Endor. “I am in great distress,” Saul said. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has turned away from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do.” He makes public oaths and rash threats. Yet, the oaths and orders are rescinded when the consequences affect him personally and the crowds push back against him. He is an uncertain trumpet who spends the balance of his maddened and vengeful life being compared to David and waiting for the inevitable.

In the end, their deaths are ironic and tragic. Samson brings down the heathen temple on himself. Ahithophel takes his own life. Absalom is caught in a tree by his beautiful hair and killed. Gideon leads Israel into idolatry while Saul falls on his sword in disgrace. What a waste of lives that began with such promise. What a cautionary tale for those who follow in their steps.

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Art by Robert Bruno

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