Good Monday to you my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
This past Saturday marked 14 weeks since those brutal, unexpected, attacks by Hamas terrorists against some Israeli Kibbutz communities which were celebrating a Jewish holiday. Almost daily, graphic news flows out of the middle east telling us of the retaliatory strikes of warring factions. Amazingly this very same violence and barbarism has been part of the story of Israel since Old Testament times, and today let’s rejoin the story of Israel selecting their first King, Saul, the son of Kish.
I left you yesterday in Mizpah as the people shouted, for the first time in Israel: “Long live the king”. (1 Samuel 10:24) Never before had those words been shouted by Israelites, the people of God. Of course, there was no written job description, no protocol, no formal expectations of what Saul would do, so it appears after the celebration quieted down, Samuel sent everyone back to their homes to continue their lives.
This interesting statement tells us what newly named King Saul did: “Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, accompanied by valiant men whose hearts God had touched.” (1 Samuel 10:26) Now I don’t know how many ‘valiant men’, but we are all familiar with people anxious to join any new movement, jump on the bandwagon of anything that looks exciting. Surely Israel naming a King for themselves for the first time could be viewed by some opportunists as a great chance to get in on the ground floor of a significant new movement.
But did you notice God Himself evidently was motivating these men to rally alongside Saul. WHY? We remember Saul had hidden himself when Samuel was leading the selection process at Mizpah. (1 Samuel 10:22) So it seems God rallied courageous men to bolster Saul’s courage by going with Saul back to his home in Gibeah. Can you imagine the conversation they had as they walked along the road together talking about what this idea of a Kingship would really mean for Saul and for Israel?
By the way, my “Walking with Jesus” friends, my technology partner has added a new feature to the written version of “WWJ”. If you’ll simply touch or put your icon on the Scripture address in parenthesis, your tablet or phone or computer should bring up that Scripture for you to read, and you can even select any version of the Bible! I hope that helps you gain even more Biblical understanding as we continue our journey together. Now, back to our story with King Saul. . .
Saul’s town of Gibeah was only two miles north of the town of Jerusalem in those days. In fact, both were small towns, about the same size then. 1 Samuel 11:6 tells us Saul, evidently returned to working his father’s family fields while he waited for some instruction from Samuel or God as to what this kingship would require of him. Suddenly a terrifying message came to Saul from a messenger. The record of 1 Samuel 11:1-3 tells us a terrorist attack was happening in an Israelite town about 50 miles to the northeast from Gibeah.
The town was called Jabesh Gilead and was actually on the EAST side of the Jordan river. You may recall when Joshua and the Israelite people had left the desert and prepared to cross the Jordan into the Land of God’s Promise, two and 1/2 Israelite tribes asked to remain on the EAST side of the Jordan river because of the availability of very good grazing land for their flocks. (Numbers 32) Jabesh Gilead was one of many towns that were formed as the tribes of Reuben, Gad and 1/2 the tribe of Manasseh remained on the EAST side of the Jordan river while the rest of Israel crossed over and occupied what is today Israel.
The terrifying news which Saul heard that day, as he returned from working his fields, is very similar to the shocking news you and I heard about the terrorist attacks in Israel on Saturday October 7th. In Saul’s day, a wicked terrorist named Nahash, from the land of Ammon, which was a neighbor of these Israelites who had remained on the EAST side of the Jordan river, came with other terrorists, to attack that small town of Jabesh Gilead.
The terrorists agreed they would NOT kill the people on one condition: “that we gouge out the right eye of every one of you and so bring disgrace on Israel.” (1 Samuel 11:2) The response of the leaders of Jabesh Gilead was perhaps similar to what some said in the Kibbutz communities as they waited, hoping Israelite troops would come to their defense. The record says: “The elders of Jabesh Gilead said to Nahash and his men, ‘Give us seven days so we can send messengers throughout Israel; if no one comes to rescue us, we will surrender to you.” (1 Samuel 11:3) It is important that we understand something significant here. Those 2 1/2 tribes who remained on the EAST side of Jordan river, when all the other Israelites crossed into the Land of God’s Promise, always wondered if they had been rejected and forgotten by their fellow Israelites.
But when Saul heard this report from the messengers who had come running to him from Jabesh Gilead, the record makes this profound statement: “When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came upon Saul in power…” (1 Samuel 11:6) Suddenly Saul knew exactly what to do in the face of this terrorist attack. He needed to rally the Israelite men willing to risk their lives to defend this helpless village Jabesh Gilead.
The verses which follow describe how Saul sent the urgent word across the land and very soon a huge number, 330,000 men from across Israel, responded to Saul’s call, offering to go with Saul to defend the Israelites under attack in this village. The remainder of the 11th chapter of 1 Samuel is a remarkable description of how Saul led his first army and they rescued Jabesh Gilead and destroyed the terrorists attacking them.
That historic event concludes with this statement: “Then Samuel said to the people, ‘Come, let us go to Gilgal and there reaffirm the kingship.’ So, the people went to Gilgal and confirmed Saul as King in the presence of the LORD...” (1 Samuel 11:14,15) Gilgal, you recall, was a very significant place in Israel’s history. A large pile of rocks there had been taken up from the dry Jordan riverbed when God miraculously stopped the flow of the Jordan so Joshua and the Israelites could cross over into the Land of God’s Promise.
It was there, perhaps close to that memorial pile of rocks, Saul was confirmed as Israel’s first king, having led Israel’s men in defending one Israelite town from a terrorist attack. A great celebration took place there, I presume lasting several days, so let’s pause and reflect on what happened that day and how it relates to what’s happening in Israel today?
Do you see my friends that the Spirit of God led Saul in responding to this unprovoked attack at Jabesh Gilead? Do you see how God rallied a huge number of Israelite men willing to give their lives to defend their fellow Israelites under attack? Now pause a moment and consider that you probably are not under terrorist attacks, but you very well may be under attacks of the dark kingdom and are you confident God is watching over you and God is always ready to defend you with His great power? Let’s ponder that with this worship song…
Today’s Scripture: 1 Samuel 11.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
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Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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