The Philistines assembled to fight Israel, with three thousand chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Micmash, east of Beth Aven. When the men of Israel saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns. Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking with fear. He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul's men began to scatter. So he said, "Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings." And Saul offered up the burnt offering. 1 Samuel 13:5-10

The Philistines clearly outnumbered the Israelites. The Israelite cowered in fear. Then as the Israelites were scattering, Saul decides to offer a burnt offering, hoping that the Lord would look favorably upon that sacrifice. It's not recorded, but Samuel had told Saul to wait for him for seven days. Scripture doesn't tell us what the actual agreement was. Saul waited but Samuel didn't show. The new King Saul was impatient. He obviously trusted the prophet of God to arrive when he said he would. It's clear from the following text (starting at verse 11) that Saul knew the right thing to do but didn't do it.

Again, we see our leaders knowing the right thing to do in many instances but failing to do it. It seems it's like that in issue after issue after issue. One of my favorite quotes is from a radio show host and columnist in Minnesota, Joe Soucheray, "If we don't stay on them, they're gonna get it wrong."

Pray that our leaders and politicians do the right thing in every circumstance. Many, many things are black and white. They are non-negotiable. Those are the "things" I'm referring to.