NBBC SS: 1 Samuel 11-12

Introduction: Brothers and sisters, you know that I generally have trouble making it through one chapter.

With 2 chapters before us today, I must confess that our reflection will be rather pointed and specific with intermittent broad points.

Please feel free to ask questions but understand that, though we’re going to read both chapters, we will not be able to get into the weeds unless you ask a specific question.

Saul has been chosen as king with some people objecting at the conclusion of 1 Samuel 10.

What we’re going to see in the next 2 chapters is a challenge that exposes what the Israelites were trusting and a timely reminder concerning God’s character and ways that turns into an opportunity to learn how one ought to relate to the Lord.

Let’s begin reading from the first four verses of 1 Samuel 11.

1 Samuel 11:1–4 “1 Now Nahash the Ammonite (Lot) came up and besieged Jabesh-gilead (Jdg 19-21, Levite concubine); and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a covenant with us and we will serve you.” 2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “I will make it with you on this condition, that I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you, thus I will make it a reproach on all Israel.” 3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Let us alone for seven days, that we may send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to deliver us, we will come out to you.” 4 Then the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and spoke these words in the hearing of the people, and all the people lifted up their voices and wept.”

What is taking place here is a military operation made against a border town within Israelite territory.

If, within the course of having been the subject of a military operation you express that you want to make a covenant wherein the result is service to the aggressor military, what are you communicating?

Surrender because you’ve been defeated.

Brothers and sisters, does this not strike us as odd?

Didn’t the Lord promises His people victory?

Why haven’t the people experienced victory here?

We’re not told about any specific sin that they committed, such as the idolatry that Samuel called out in 1 Samuel 7.

However, what important action is missing from being attributed to the men of Jabesh Gilead?

We know that they were defeated otherwise they would not have sought out terms of peace that included their surrender.

They didn’t seek the Lord.

Brothers and sisters, they didn’t seek the Lord upon undertaking this skirmish.

To make things worse, they accepted defeat rather than seeking the Lord!

They accepted defeat to an enemy who clearly was cruel and did not have their best interest in mind.

It wasn’t until the enemy demonstrated how cruel he was that they thought about seeking outside help.

Remember, brothers and sisters, defeat in the life of the Christian is the inability to do what God has given you to do.

When faced with defeat, the Lord doesn’t want for us to surrender and give up!

Remember, brothers and sisters, surrender to the enemy in the life of a Christian is surrender to a cruel enemy that will lead to shame and death.

Hence, these consequences become all the more reason we ought to seek the Lord first.

Instead, He wants for us to seek Him more, just like in the example that we saw from the Israelites at Mizpah in 1 Samuel 7.

We confess sin as the Lord brings it to mind (cf. 1 Sam 7:3-4).

We earnestly seek Him, even bringing our spiritual leadership into the circumstance to further support us in prayer as we seek to be faithful in what the Lord has given to us (cf. 1 Sam 7:8).

Spoiler Alert: we’re going to see these in the next chapter!

The scene concludes with messengers being sent and the people weeping for their countrymen; let’s continue reading to see what Saul does when the news reaches him.

1 Samuel 11:5–11 “5 Now behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen, and he said, “What is the matter with the people that they weep?” So they related to him the words of the men of Jabesh. 6 Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul mightily when he heard these words, and he became very angry. 7 He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces (raise an army in a dramatic way to call people out of passivity), and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen.” Then the dread of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out as one man. 8 He numbered them in Bezek; and the sons of Israel were 300,000, and the men of Judah 30,000. 9 They said to the messengers who had come, “Thus you shall say to the men of Jabesh-gilead, ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will have deliverance.’ ” So the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh; and they were glad. 10 Then the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.” 11 The next morning Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp at the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. Those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.”

Look at how the folks of Jabesh Gilead respond to the news that Saul will come to their aid.

Though it’s not specifically stated, at some point, the men of Jabesh Gilead contacted representatives of Nahash the Ammonite.

What’s fascinating is their message.

There’s an ambiguity to their message.

Notice, they repeat verbatim part of the phrase that they initially made to Nahash.

And Nahash takes the bait.

Why would the men of Jabesh Gilead respond with such a provocative statement?

It’s because their leader, under the power of the Holy Spirit has come to their aid.

The work of the Holy Spirit in Saul was evident to all, including the men of Jabesh Gilead.

This truth was what gave them confidence.

The NT equivalent to this is Paul’s statement in Philippians 1 where he shares that when the believers heard about Paul’s imprisonment and the advance of the Gospel, other believers were encouraged to share the Gospel without fear (cf. Php 1:14).

God’s Spirit worked in God’s man in such a way that others clearly recognized to produce an incredible victory; look at what happened next.

1 Samuel 11:12–13 “12 Then the people said to Samuel, “Who is he 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 accomplished deliverance in Israel.””

Saul’s humility is incredible and such a breath of fresh air in comparison to Saul’s impending actions and attitude.

Saul does not insist on his honor.

Instead, he graciously defers to the Lord’s victory.

Brothers and sisters, when we’ve seen the Lord at work through us, our response is to humbly give the Lord the glory for the work that He’s done through us because He’s done it all!

1 Samuel 11:14–15 “14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come and let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal (SW of Jabesh Gilead), and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. There they also offered sacrifices of peace offerings before the Lord; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.”

Brothers and sisters, look at how the people responded to God’s Working.

They were joyful over what they had seen the Lord do!

Clearly, they were joyful over what the Lord did on account of the fact that they offered sacrifices.

This was their way of identifying that they recognized that the Lord was responsible for this victory.

Brothers and sisters, when we see the Lord working, we have every reason to celebrate what He’s done (Wednesday service).

1 Samuel 12:1–5 “1 Then Samuel said to all Israel, “Behold, I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me and I have appointed a king over you. 2 “Now, here is the king walking before you, but I am old and gray, and behold my sons are with you. And I have walked before you from my youth even to this day. 3 “Here I am; bear witness against me before the Lord and His anointed. Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? I will restore it to you.” 4 They said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man’s hand.” 5 He said to them, “The Lord is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day that you have found nothing in my hand.” And they said, “He is witness.””

Samuel was trustworthy and, by extension, so was the Lord Whom Samuel represented.

What Samuel is doing is setting the foundation for the Lord’s trustworthiness in what he’s about to share.

1 Samuel 12:6–18 “6 Then Samuel said to the people, “It is the Lord who appointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. 7 “So now, take your stand, that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord which He did for you and your fathers. 8 “When Jacob went into Egypt and your fathers cried out to the Lord, then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron who brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place. 9 “But they forgot the Lord their God, so He sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the army of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. 10 “They cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned because we have forsaken the Lord and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth; but now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, and we will serve You.’ 11 “Then the Lord sent Jerubbaal and Bedan and Jephthah and Samuel, and delivered you from the hands of your enemies all around, so that you lived in security. 12 “When you saw that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ although the Lord your God was your king. 13 “Now therefore, here is the king whom you have chosen, whom you have asked for, and behold, the Lord has set a king over you. 14 “If you will fear the Lord and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the command of the Lord, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God. 15 “If you will not listen to the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the command of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you, as it was against your fathers. 16 “Even now, take your stand and see this great thing which the Lord will do before your eyes. 17 “Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call to the Lord, that He may send thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that your wickedness is great which you have done in the sight of the Lord by asking for yourselves a king.” 18 So Samuel called to the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.”

Recounting the Lord’s faithfulness that will become the basis of Samuel’s encouragement to fear and serve the Lord.

What Samuel has done here is remind the people of God’s trustworthy faithfulness that continued into the present.

The people have also been reminded that the Lord has complete power to faithfully act that can prompt the people to trust Him more.

In effect, what we have here is God is faithfully trustworthy and has the power to faithfully act.

I wish we had time to reflect on this but I would encourage you to prayerfully read over 1 Samuel 12:14 and consider God’s kindness in the face of the people’s sin.

What is going to be the effect of these efforts?

1 Samuel 12:19–25 “19 Then all the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, so that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil by asking for ourselves a king.” 20 Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. 21 “You must not turn aside, for then you would go after futile things which can not profit or deliver, because they are futile. 22 “For the Lord will not abandon His people on account of His great name, because the Lord has been pleased to make you a people for Himself. 23 “Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and right way. 24 “Only fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. 25 “But if you still do wickedly, both you and your king will be swept away.””

The people recognized that they needed the Lord in the face of their sin.

Brothers and sisters, though we may not have sinned in the ways that the Israelites did, or we may have, the truth is that when we see evidences of God’s trustworthy faithfulness, our sin awareness is aroused!

We become keenly aware of our sin.

It’s like God’s trustworthy faithfulness is like a spotlight that shines on our heart.

Additionally brothers and sisters, we need to do what the Israelites did when they become keenly aware of their sin.

We seek the Lord.

Specifically, we pray and confess that which God’s trustworthy faithfulness has spotlighted.

Look at how Samuel encourages the people in his concluding statement.

First, Samuel acknowledges that sinful failures can be so disappointing that one is discouraged from seeking the Lord (cf. 1 Sam 12:20).

Additionally, he emphasizes the importance of continuing to receive Scriptural instruction from trusted, godly leaders (cf. 1 Sam 12:23).

Third, Samuel points to the goal of such instruction: transformed living (cf. 1 Sam 12:24).

Fearing the Lord - humbly recognizing God’s authority and receiving His instruction.

Loyal and truthful service to the Lord.

Finally, Samuel gives the people a warning.

NAC - Who is Samuel indicating would be responsible if the people would be swept away?

The people.

The people were their own worst enemy, on account of their sin.

Brothers and sisters, in the face of victory, we need to humbly be reminded that our sin nature makes us our own worst enemy to faithfulness to the Lord.

Brothers and sisters, this is why the NT describes the Christian life in terms of warfare.

We don’t fight against a physical enemy.

We fight against our sin nature for faithfulness to the Lord.

But the Lord has given us what we need to combat against ourselves, our worst enemy, to faithfulness.

Seek the Lord.

Seek Scriptural instruction from godly leadership.

Conclusion: Brothers and sisters, we have seen the failure of one group to seek the Lord and how it led to their initial acceptance of defeat.

Then, we saw how the recognition of the working of God’s Spirit in the king gave everyone confidence in the ensuing battle that led to a celebration of God’s faithfulness.

The example of God’s faithfulness led to an example of God’s trustworthiness as demonstrated through God’s chosen prophet, Samuel. It turns out that God has many examples of faithfulness, even in the face of Israel’s sin.

God’s trustworthy faithfulness exposes sin but is no excuse for defeat. Instead, it’s every reason to confess sin, seek the Lord and Scriptural instruction from godly leadership.