Reflections on 1 Samuel 11

1 Samuel 11 (Contemporary English Version)

1. About this time, King Nahash of Ammon came with his army and surrounded the town of Jabesh in Gilead. The people who lived there told Nahash, "If you will sign a peace treaty with us, you can be our ruler, and we will pay taxes to you."
   
2. Nahash answered, "Sure, I'll sign a treaty! But not before I insult Israel by poking out the right eye of every man who lives in Jabesh."
   
3. The town leaders said, "Give us seven days so we can send messengers everywhere in Israel to ask for help. If no one comes here to save us, we will surrender to you."
   
4. Some of the messengers went to Gibeah, Saul's hometown. They told what was happening at Jabesh, and everyone in Gibeah started crying.
   
5. Just then, Saul came in from the fields, walking behind his oxen. "Why is everyone crying?" Saul asked. They told him what the men from Jabesh had said.
   
6. Then the Spirit of God suddenly took control of Saul and made him furious.
   
7. Saul killed two of his oxen, cut them up in pieces, and gave the pieces to the messengers. He told them to show the pieces to everyone in Israel and say, "Saul and Samuel are getting an army together. Come and join them. If you don't, this is what will happen to your oxen!" The LORD made the people of Israel terribly afraid. So all the men came together
   
8. at Bezek. Saul had them organized and counted. There were three hundred thousand from Israel and thirty thousand from Judah.
   
9. Saul and his officers sent the messengers back to Jabesh with this promise: "We will rescue you tomorrow afternoon." The messengers went back to the people at Jabesh and told them that they were going to be rescued. Everyone was encouraged!
   
10. So they told the Ammonites, "We will surrender to you tomorrow, and then you can do whatever you want to."
    
11. The next day, Saul divided his army into three groups and attacked before daylight. They started killing Ammonites and kept it up until afternoon. A few Ammonites managed to escape, but they were scattered far from each other.
    
12. The Israelite soldiers went to Samuel and demanded, "Where are the men who said they didn't want Saul to be king? Bring them to us, and we will put them to death!"
    
13. "No you won't!" Saul told them. "The LORD rescued Israel today, and no one will be put to death."
    
14. "Come on!" Samuel said. "Let's go to Gilgal and make an agreement that Saul will continue to be our king."
    
15. Everyone went to the place of worship at Gilgal, where they agreed that Saul would be their king. Saul and the people sacrificed animals to ask for the LORD's blessing, and they had a big celebration.
    

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    It is often in crises that leaders are raised up and heros are made. Following Saul's anointing as king, described in chapter 10, he returned home and life seemed to go on as normal until a crises arose. The city of Jabesh-gilead was besieged by the Ammonites. Seeing no escape, the leaders of Jabesh offered to surrender and become the slaves of the Ammonites. This was not quite good enough for Nahash, the Ammonite leader, and he added the condition that, "I gouge out everyone's right eye and humiliate all Israel." (11:2) The elders of Jabesh asked for a reprieve of seven days to see if they could get help from the rest of their countrymen. Evidently seeing no threat, Nahash granted the request.
    
    When the messengers from Jabesh arrived in Gibeah, Saul's hometown, Saul was working in the field. He returned from the field to find everyone weeping over the plight of the people of Jabesh and enquired into what was the matter. When he learned of the situation, God's Spirit took control of Saul. Whereas Saul's nature was to stay in the background, when God's Spirit came upon him he began to lead, taking charge of the situation. He cut up a team of oxen and sent the pieces throughout Israel with the message that, "This is what will be done to the ox of anyone who doesn't march behind Saul and Samuel." (11:7) Under normal circumstances this approach may have backfired on Saul, angering the people rather than motivating them. But this was not a normal circumstance. Instead, the Lord intervened and "the terror of the LORD fell on the people, and they went out united." (11:7) In this way, Saul mustered an army of 330,000 and told the messengers from Jabesh to go home and tell the people that "Deliverance will be yours tomorrow." (11:9)
    
    Sure enough, on the next day Saul led his army to a sound defeat of the Ammonites. Saul emerged from this crises as the confirmed leader of Israel. Whereas there were those following his anointing as king who doubted his ability, none voiced doubt following these events. Samuel summoned Israel back to Gilgal where "they sacrificed fellowship offerings in the LORD's presence," and Saul was confirmed as king of Israel.