1 Samuel 10:8

And thou shall go down before me to Gilgal,.... Not immediately; for the first summons of the people, and of Saul, and the first meeting of them by Samuel, were at Mizpeh, where Saul was chosen by

And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come

Seven days shalt thou tarry till I come to thee: this, though now mentioned and commanded, yet was not immediately to be performed; as is evident, partly from the whole course of the story, which shows that Saul, and Samuel, and the people first met at Mizpeh, , &c., where Saul was chosen by God and accepted by the people as king; and afterwards went to Gilgal, once before the time here spoken of, ,15; and partly by comparing this place with , &c., where we find Saul charged with the violation of this command two years after the giving of it, as appears from ,2. Quest. How then is this to be understood? Answ. 1. This may be given as a standing rule for Saul to observe while Samuel and he lived; that in case of any great future difficulties, as the invasion of enemies, Saul should resort to Gilgal, and call the people thither, and tarry there seven days, which was but a reasonable and necessary time for the gathering of the people, and for the coming of Samuel thither. For though this be related as but once done, 1 Samuel 13, yet Josephus affirms that it was to be constantly practised upon all such occasions. And Gilgal was chosen for this purpose as a very fit place; partly because that place was famous for the solemn renewing of the covenant between God and Israel, Joshua 4, and for other eminent instances of God’ s favour to them, the remembrance whereof was a notable confirmation of their faith; and partly because it was a very convenient place for the tribes within and without Jordan to assemble, and consult, and unite their forces together upon such occasions. If you ask, Why then Saul did not practise this precept upon the first invasion of the Ammonites? it may be answered, that this was a rule for Saul when he and Samuel were asunder, whereas they were together in that expedition, . And further, that necessity did excuse the violation of this precept then, because Saul could not wait for Samuel, nor forbear his action for seven days, as is evident from ,9,10. Or, 2. (which I propose with submission to the learned and judicious) This may be here added as another sign to confirm his faith, which having strengthened by three foregoing signs, he now fortifies it by another sign which was to follow afterwards; it being very usual for God to give men signs to confirm their faith from future events; as ,14. So the meaning maybe this, Another sign will I add to strengthen thy faith: Thou shalt in due time, and upon a great occasion which shall then happen, go down before me to Gilgal, and there I will come down unto thee to offer— sacrifices, & c. But when thou comest thither, be sure thou tarry there seven days, and then I will come, as I have said, and give thee necessary instructions and assistance, as the matter shall require.

1 Samuel 10:8 And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, [and] to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do.Ver. 8. And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal.] This do also as occasion shall serve thee but see thou do it; for thy kingdom lieth upon it. He that believeth maketh not haste. Compare 1 Samuel 13:1-2; 1 Samuel 13:8. And show thee what thou shalt do.] Happy Saul in such a monitor! far better than Polybius was to Scipio, whose counsel whilst he followed, he never miscarried, saith Pausanius, in any enterprise.

(8) And shew thee what thou shalt do.—Considerable doubt exists among expositors as to the exact meaning and reference of these words of Samuel. In 1 Samuel 13., 1 Samuel 10:8 and following, a well-known and most important event in Saul’s life and reign is related, in which the circumstances strangely fit in with the words of the warning of Samuel. Only between this first meeting of the seer and the future king and the Gilgal meeting, described in 1 Samuel 13., two years—perhaps even a much longer period—elapsed (the dates of this age are most uncertain); besides which, that famous meeting at Gilgal was not by any means the first meeting of Samuel and Saul at that place. Yet, in spite of these difficulties, it seems best to refer to this meeting between the prophet and king at Gilgal, related in 1 Samuel 13, as the trial of faith especially looked on to by Samuel here. The solemn warning here given was, doubtless, repeated in a much more detailed form by the prophet some time before the appointed Gilgal meeting. So much for the reference; the signification of the warning is best explained in the following way:—Samuel had bidden the future king to advance along the paths of glory and difficulty which lay before him in all confidence and trust, acting in each emergency according to the dictates of his own heart—only in one thing he must be ever on his guard. In his future great work for the regeneration and advancement of Israel, he must, for the sake of the faith of Israel, be on his guard against infringing the sacred privileges of the religion of the Eternal. In the plenitude of his kingly power, the day would come when the temptation would assault him to disregard the ancient sanctity of the sacrifice, and to assume as king, functions which belonged alone to men like Samuel set apart for the sacred office, and thus publicly to dishonour the commandments of God, and by his reckless example of unbelief in revelation to weaken the faith of the people. Such a temptation presented itself to Saul, we believe, some two or more years from this time, when, as related in 1 Samuel 13, a solemn assembly of the people was summoned to Gilgal, before the commencement of the war of independence. This great enterprise for the people of the Lord must necessarily be begun with solemn religious rites and sacrifices. These the king was forbidden to officiate at without the presence of the Divinely appointed seer. We shall see how King Saul acted under the temptation to set himself and his royal power above the prophet of the Lord and the direct command of God.

Verse 8. Seven days shalt thou tarry] I will come to thee within seven days, offer sacrifices, receive directions from the Lord, and deliver them to thee. It is likely that these seven days referred to the time in which Samuel came to Saul to Gilgal, offered sacrifices, and confirmed the kingdom to him, after he had defeated the Ammonites. See 1 Samuel 11:14-15.

8. thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal] Better, and when thou goest down before me to Gilgal. This is not to be understood as a direction to meet Samuel at Gilgal at once. The injunction applies to some future occasion whenever it might be, of which they had been talking. Doubtless Samuel and Saul had been discussing the best means of shaking off the Philistine yoke, and had agreed upon a muster of the people at Gilgal, as the national centre furthest from the Philistine power. Samuel’s parting injunction to Saul is to take no step independently. The king must wait for the prophet’s sanction to strike the blow. The fitting opportunity for the muster did not come for several years, and when it came Saul disobeyed Samuel’s command. See 1 Samuel 13:8 ff.

Seven days shalt thou tarry ... - The appointment here made is not to be confounded with that mentioned in marginal reference.

8. Thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal — This is not a command, but a prediction.