1 SAUL reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel,

2 Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Beth-el, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent.

3 And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear. [ Israel has gone on the offensive - they started out under the direction of Samuel (the Lord) gived by the spirit - Now Saul is taking it upon himself se 3 Ne.3:21; D&C 98:23-48. Notice how from this point forward Saul begins to become a inefficient leader.]

4 And all Israel heard say that Saul [in the preceding verse we are informed it was in fact Jonathan, Saul's son, and not Saul, that had "smitten the garrison". A simple misattribution? A vicarious attribution since Jonathon was his son? Or did Saul want the credit for his son's actions and deliberately stretch the truth?] had smitten a garrison of the Philistines, [a poor translation. The JPS renders it "a Philistine prefect". Thus, Jonathan only killed a local Philistine leader and not a whole garrison, or otehrs suggest that perhaps he destroedy a marker designating the area as Philistine territory.] and that Israel also was had in abomination [made the Philistines hate them] with the Philistines. And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal.

5 ¶ And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, [30,000 chariots is almost certainly an exaggeration, probably a multiplication by 10. But even 3,000 chariots is an enormous number by ancient standards. Recall that Sisera only had 900 (Judges 4:3.) Whichever number we take, what is the point? ] and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Beth-aven.

6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits.

7 And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling. [They begin to see the entire Philistine army gather against them - not just the garrison attacked by Jonathan. They start shaking in their boots so to speak when they see thousands of chariots - it would be comparison to men in the army today going ino battle and seeing several thousand tanks come up over the hill toward you. One is protected the other exposed]

8 ¶ And he tarried seven days, [Saul, cooling his heels after getting Israel into a real mess, waits the remainder of the seven days Samuel told him to (cp. 10:8). ] according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not [Samuel hasn't show up by day seven] to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.

9 And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. [ Why does Saul offer the burnt offering? Previous verse. Saul goes ahead and takes it upon himself to offer sacrifice in an effort to importune to the Lord against the Philistines. After all he has seen it done before by Samuel - Saul has taken upon himself the duty of a priest. Coveting or encroaching on the Priesthood is not something looked upon favorably in the Law, cp. Num. 16:8-11, Num. 18:7. What does this tell us about Saul?]

10 And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; [ What is the significance of the timing of Samuel’s arrival? ] and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him.

11 ¶ And Samuel said, What hast thou done? [ Samuel sees what is going on and asks Saul what he thinks he is doing.] And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; [Saul follows a pretty predictable pattern when you know that you have done something worng First try to say that you did not want to do it but that you were forced too; then quickly shift the blame to someone else - in this case Samuel, as had he been there earlier Saul would not have had to force himself to offer the sacrifice. After all, time was of the essence as Israel is in imminent danger from the Philistines, and Israel was deserting, right? Samuel rejects Saul's attempt to justify his actions, and condemns him. Samuel tells him he has acted foolishly in not obeying the commandments of the Lord (presumably what Samuel told him in 9:25 and 10:25), had he not done so his kingdom would have continued (v. 13). However, the Lord will now search out another man to replace him as king (v. 14).]

12 Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering. [Saul is not of the Levite lineage and, therefore, has no priesthood right to make the offering. What is the issue here? Saul said he did not want to but did anyway, he had to force himself to do it. ]

13 And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.

14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought [or "will seek out" The
Lord has not yet had Samuel anoint a replacement Saul, but will later with David.] him a man after his own heart, [ What qualities would the Lord be referring to when he says a man after his own heart? ] and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee. [Verses 15-18 deal with how the armies arranged themselves.]

15 And Samuel arose, and gat him up from Gilgal unto Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that were present with him, about six hundred men. [ Samuel abandons Saul, and Saul is left with only 600 men. Notice in v. 2 he had 3000, and that was before he summoned all of Israel to him to fight. Israel has abandoned Saul too.]

16 And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were present with them, abode in Gibeah of Benjamin: but the Philistines encamped in Michmash.

17 ¶ And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned unto the way that leadeth to Ophrah, unto the land of Shual:

18 And another company turned the way to Beth-horon: and another company turned to the way of the border that looketh to the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness. [Verses 19-23 tell us about another military advantage the Philistines enjoyed, they have blacksmiths among them and Israel doesn't.]

19 ¶ Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: [The Israelites did not possess the
skill to work with iron] for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears:

20 But all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, [or ploughshare - the part of the plough that turns the dirt over.] and his coulter, [the front part of a plough that cuts the weeds, stocks.. up so they don't gather on the saft of the plough] and his axe, and his mattock. [previous to the assault recounted in v. 3 the Israelites and Philistines were on good enough terms to be doing business together. so, the attack in v. 3 appears to be unwarranted. The Philistines obviously weren't in any rush to give up their military advantage, but they also weren't being totally exclusive or oppressive as were the Ammonites.]

21 Yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the goads.

22 so it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found. [Farmers vs warriors, steel verse wood... who will win in such a war? Israel was not equipted for war - only Saul and Jonathan had metal weapons and armor - the rest were farmers with farm implements. The Philistines were equipted with armor, chariots, swords, spears...]

23 And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the passage of Michmash.