Chapter 11
What was Saul called to do?
1 Samuel 10:1 (ESV)
10 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince over his heritage.
I remember in New Testament Greek class, the first day the Professor said as of right now, everyone has an “A”. Everyone started out well. It wasn’t to far away when for many the wheels would fall off and their “A” would be long gone. Greek class was very hard and took a lot of study and commitment. At the beginning everything was good.
This is how things were for Israel and King Saul. At Chapter 11, they all had “A”s. Things would unfortunately change quickly.
For now, things were good. For now…
Saul’s military beginning left everyone full of hope and confidence. Maybe Israel did make the right decision after all?
The Theme of this Chapter is Salvation. The word for Salvation is used many times. The question was from the last chapter…
1 Samuel 10:27 (ESV)
27 But some worthless fellows said, “How can this man save us?” And they despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace.
1. Israel’s Great Helplessness and Disgrace (11:1-4)
11 Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead, and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.” 2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “On this condition I will make a treaty with you, that I gouge out all your right eyes, and thus bring disgrace on all Israel.” 3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days’ respite that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you.” 4 When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people, and all the people wept aloud.
Here is an example of the world’s hatred toward God’s people. The Ammonite King, Nahash was to completely humiliate the Israelites. One very early source speaks of the Ammonites gouging out the right eyes of some of Gadites and the Reubenites and leaving them no deliverer.
Nahash, the King, enjoyed causing anxiety and fear to come upon the Israelites. So, when they asked for a week to consider the Ammonites offer, he enjoyed it because that would mean another week of torment for Israel.
Here’s the deal…Nahash is going to wipe out Israel or he will make a treaty with them and one of the conditions of the treaty is to gouge out each of the Israelite’s right eye. At best your eye is gouged out, at worst you’re dead…
To maim and destroy God’s people is Satan’s supreme goal. We see these foreign countries are not just opposed to Israel but they want to completely destroy them and make them suffer along the way.
This was the mindset of God’s enemies then. It was the mindset of those who hated Jesus when He was on earth and if you are a follower of Christ, the world will hate you too…
John 15:18–19 (ESV)
18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
This is a very serious time for God’s people they are in a great problem with nowhere to turn. They have chosen instead of God an earthly king.
I pray we see that Israel had been attempting to live without God. They had rejected God and desired another king. They wanted to fit in with those around them. On one side there were Ammonites and on the other the Philistines and both were greater in military and might than they were.
Have you ever felt helpless in this life? Have you ever felt defeated even before the battle began?
2. Israel’s Great Victory (11:5-11)
5 Now, behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen. And Saul said, “What is wrong with the people, that they are weeping?” So they told him the news of the men of Jabesh. 6 And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled. 7 He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!” Then the dread of the Lord fell upon the people, and they came out as one man. 8 When he mustered them at Bezek, the people of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. 9 And they said to the messengers who had come, “Thus shall you say to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have salvation.’ ” When the messengers came and told the men of Jabesh, they were glad. 10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.” 11 And the next day Saul put the people in three companies. And they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.
One could say here that this section is simply details, the main point is found in verse 6.
6 And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled.
What the Israelites truly needed was to have God fighting for them. They did not need a king but they needed the Holy Spirit.
If we are to live lives of victory and not defeat, we must have the Holy Spirit of God leading us and working within us.
Zechariah 4:6 (ESV)
6 Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.
What made all the difference? What brought Israel from fear, anxiety and defeat to victory? It wasn’t the people and it wasn’t even King Saul, it was the fact that the Holy Spirit rushed upon him.
This ancient Hebrew word for rushed salah which is only one other place and it’s found tied to Samson.
Judges 14:6 (ESV)
6 Then the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him, and although he had nothing in his hand, he tore the lion in pieces as one tears a young goat. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done.
Three times this verb is used for Samson
7 He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!” Then the dread of the Lord fell upon the people, and they came out as one man.
Here the Spirit of God rushes on Saul and he becomes God’s leader to defend His people against their enemies.
The Holy Spirit rushes upon Saul.
The Holy Spirit places a dread of the Lord upon the people so they respond to Saul’s call to join the fight.
There was victory for Israel not because Israel had a king but because the king had the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit brings deliverance not the king.
This is such an important point for us to remember. We can make all the plans we want. We can get things in order. We can act like we are in charge, but unless God works it is all for nothing.
Are you planning your life without God? When you make decisions are they bathed in prayer and do you seek God’s leading through the Scriptures?
Without the Holy Spirit acting that day there would have been no victory only humiliation and defeat or even death.
Seek the Lord as you make your plans and read His Word to discover the answers.
John 15:5 (ESV)
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
This same exact point is so vital for the Church as well. We must corporately seek the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us.
I ran across a story from Charles Spurgeon that he told about the prayer he prayed before every sermon he preached…God I believe in Your Holy Spirit, please send Him to us today.
Israel could do nothing without God. We see here God’s grace. Even though they had rejected Him and wanted a king like the nations, He was still their God. He raised up Saul and made him king. He empowered Saul to organize and execute God’s plan and God won the victory.
3. After Victory, the People are Called to Return to God (11:12-15)
12 Then the people said to Samuel, “Who is it that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, that we may put them to death.” 13 But Saul said, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has worked salvation in Israel.” 14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the Lord, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
The people of God are to recommit themselves to Him. In the OT it was called renewing the Kingdom. They were to be renewed also by the power of God at Gilgal. They made Saul king and sacrificed to the Lord and rejoiced greatly.
We are to do the same thing today. We are to continually renew our love and allegiance to God through His Son, Jesus. In fact, the same command is given to us in the NT…
Matthew 6:33 (ESV)
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
If we jump up through this passage and read Jesus’ Kingdom demands, we very quickly discover that we are not any better than the ancient Israelites.
Matthew 6:25–34 (ESV)
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Like Israel who was very anxious over the Ammonites and king Nahash and his threat. They soon discovered the answer. The Holy Spirit. They discovered that day that their allegiance and love had drifted away from God and onto other very lesser things. They believed that if they were like the other nations such as the Philistines and Ammonites who had kings that they too would be strong and that their trust for security would be better placed in an earthly king like they had. After all, they were strong powers in the region and Israel wasn’t. The real issue had to do with love and worshipping God not in military might.
Jesus teaches us the same exact truth is for us. If you’re anxious and worried, seek to discover where your allegiance has drifted from God to something else. Repent and seek first the Kingdom of God and all the things you might tend to be anxious about will fall into place.
The call for us is the same that Samuel made to the Israelites. Renew you Kingdom commitment. Renew your love and trust in Jesus.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Answer: by the power of the Holy Spirit
Resources Used:
1 Samuel by Dale Ralph Davis
Leave a Reply