John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Samuel 13:11
And Samuel said, what hast thou done ? This question he put to bring him to a confession of what he had done, otherwise he guessed at it by his countenance; or rather, by the prophetic spirit he was endowed with, he knew it certainly that he had offered the sacrifices without waiting for him: and Saul said because I saw the people were scattered from me ; they were deserting, and he feared, if he stayed any longer, they would all leave him; this was one reason of doing what he did: ... read more
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Samuel 13:8-14
Here is, I. Saul's offence in offering sacrifice before Samuel came. Samuel, when he anointed him, had ordered him to tarry for him seven days in Gilgal, promising that, at the end of those days, he would be sure to come to him, and both offer sacrifices for him and direct him what he should do. This we had 1 Sam. 10:8. Perhaps that order, though inserted there, was given him afterwards, or was given him as a general rule to be observed in every public congress at Gilgal, or, as is most... read more