1st Samuel 26:8 Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day: now therefore let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear even to the earth at once, and I will not smite him the second time.
1st Samuel 26:9 And David said to Abishai, destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord's anointed, and be guiltless? 10 David said furthermore, As the Lord lives, the Lord shall smite him; or his day shall come to die; or he shall descend into battle, and perish….. Again, the blunder of Saul on the issue of hastiness, is the same problem on which so many persons had fallen previously.
In that instance he was instructed to wait for seven days, for Samuel to come and offer the sacrifice, before going into battle. But as is so often the case, the situation obtaining on the ground, drove Saul into panic mode, and he decided to take matters into his own hands, because in this instance he had waited the stipulated time. Observe how the situation on the ground triggers a response of unease and restlessness in Saul.
1st Samuel 13:6 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.
1st Samuel 13:8 And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study of His word. God bless!