In Search of a King Part 9

Warfare is a common theme in the Scriptures.

We are in a battle.

We have an enemy.

1 Samuel 11:1–3 ESV

1 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.”

1 Samuel 11:1–2 ESV

1 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.”

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Across the Jordan River, some forty miles northeast of Saul’s home in Gibeah, there was a crisis: “Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead

Remember there is an ancient enemy who seeks to subjugate and humiliate the people of God.

Nahash = Snake

i.e. that is

Craig S. Keener and John H. Walton, eds., NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016), 478.

The enemy seeks powerful.

The enemy seeks to make the people of God laughable.

1 Samuel 11:2 ESV

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.”

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gouge out the right eye. In the ancient Near East, losing a battle sometimes resulted in physical mutilation. In the present context, submission to mutilation is presented as a precondition for avoiding battle. The purposes of blinding the vanquished varied like: Samson was blinded by the Philistines to humiliate and incapacitate him ();

Where did Satan leave Adam and Eve? Standing naked in paradise running for cover from the presence of God.

The reputation of God is linked to the life of His people.

Revelation 14:1 ESV

1 Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.

If satan can disgrace the people of God he ultimately assaults the character of God.

We bear his name! That is why the snake wants to humiliate the people of God because they are inextricably linked to God of the people.

The enemy seeks to leave the people of God cripple.

Gouge Out the EYE

Now you understand when you fought in these times you would hold a shield in your left hand, and most people are right handed, and the sword in your right hand, and you would protect your left eye with the shield and the right eye was the eye that you saw with. Well, if you gouge out your right eye, you can't fight anymore. You’d be useless in battle.

When you are completely out of options where do you turn for salvation.

The groundwork of our redemption begins when we stop trusting in ourselves and look for salvation somewhere else.

Remember there is a King who responds to the call of his people.

1 Samuel 11:3–5 ESV

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. 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.

1 Samuel 11:3–4 ESV

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.

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1 Samuel 11:3–6 ESV

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. 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.

1 sam 11 3-

Compassion - He cares about the plight of his people.

There is another important moment in this text!

1 Samuel 11:6–9 ESV

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.

1 Samuel 11:7–9 ESV

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.

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Consecration - He is filled with the Spirit of God.

Sometimes the most holy thing you can do is get angry.

Believe that God works salvation through His anointed king.

1 Samuel 11:10–15 ESV

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. 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.

Credit the Lord alone for salvation.

1 Samuel 11:13 ESV

13 But Saul said, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has worked salvation in Israel.”

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Commit yourself to the king and rejoice in his salvation.