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test completed — test failed

1 Samuel 13:8-12 (JDV)

1 Samuel 13:8 He waited seven days for the appointed time that Samuel had set, but Samuel didn’t come to Gilgal, and the troops were deserting him.
1 Samuel 13:9 So Saul said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” Then he offered the burnt offering.
1 Samuel 13:10 Just as he finished offering the burnt offering, notice Samuel arrived. So, Saul went out to greet him,
1 Samuel 13:11 and Samuel asked, “What have you done?” Saul answered, “When I saw that the troops were deserting me and you didn’t come within the appointed days and the Philistines were gathering at Michmash,
1 Samuel 13:12 I thought, ‘The Philistines will now descend on me at Gilgal, and I haven’t sought Yahveh’s favor.’ So, I forced myself to offer the burnt offering.”

test completed — test failed

Saul’s test was completed, and he had failed the test. If he had patiently waited for Samuel to arrive, he may have lost more men, but he would not have lost the blessing of God. His fear of the Philistines was greater than his fear of God. He was anxious to do something, so he winded up doing the wrong thing. The offerings were the wrong thing for Saul to do because he had not been ordained as priest. For Saul to take the offerings into his own hands was to put more trust in the ritual than in the God who commanded it. All Saul had to “do” was wait on the Lord for his deliverance. His failure to wait was a failure of his leadership.