Saul sees that Samuel did not come within the appointed time. Saul didn’t understand. They hadn’t set a date and time. Saul gave up waiting just shortly before Samuel arrives. I want to look at the Hebrew word for the appointed time; it’s found in verse 8.
The word is moed. It appears hundreds of times in the Old Testament. It may actually be translated most often as assembly or congregation if you want to do any prayer and Bible study on that.
Moed is also translated not just “appointed time” but also day, feast, and season.
When God said that He put the lights in the sky and said they were for signs and seasons, He didn’t mean so we would know when fall was starting. The word seasons is moed; it’s God’s appointed time. His times are established. God doesn’t write His appointments in pencil. The signs in the sky would show the times He has fixed in place.
When moed is translated days, it’s talking about God’s calendar of special days, such as Yom Kippur, the Day of Judgement.
When moed is translated feasts, it’s not just talking about people getting together to eat. It’s specifically talking about God’s appointed time for this feast to happen, such as the Feast of Passover.
God has a calendar, and it’s not ours. God had an appointed time for Samuel to arrive. Samuel arrived at the appointed time. It wasn’t Monday at 2pm. It was God’s appointed time for him to arrive. He wasn’t going to arrive until Saul had wrongly offered the sacrifices. He was going to arrive on time.
God sees the end from the beginning. He knew what was in Saul’s heart and how he would react, what his choice would be. It didn’t take him long before he was willing to sin to get what he wanted. (Do you remember that’s one definition I give for an idol, something you are willing to sin to get?)
He got a taste of being king and he liked it. He was desperate to hold onto the devotion and admiration of the people.
God exposed what was in Saul’s heart by having Samuel arrive at the appointed time. God didn’t do anything wrong to Saul. Saul did wrong to God. It was Saul’s heart that was being exposed. God reveals what’s in the heart.
There is an appointed time for your heart to be exposed. What will be found there?