1 SAMUEL LESSON 11
We will begin this lesson in I Samuel 11:1 "Then Nahash the
Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabesh-gilead: and all the men
of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve
thee."
Jabesh-gilead is a city in the land of the half tribe of
Manasseh. "Nahash" means serpent. This should let us know, that he was
an evil man. The Ammonites felt that Israel had taken land belonging
to them. It seems, the men at Jabesh were willing to make a treaty
with Nahash, and were even willing to go into servitude, if that was
what it took to avoid a war with them.
I Samuel 11:2 "And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, On this
[condition] will I make [a covenant] with you, that I may thrust out
all your right eyes, and lay it [for] a reproach upon all Israel."
Nahash's name fits him very well. This is a very cruel thing to
do to any one person, much less all the people. The poking out of
their right eyes would make all of Israel look bad in the sight of the
countries around them. I would doubt if anyone would allow their eye
to be poked out without a fight.
I Samuel 11:3 "And the elders of Jabesh said unto him, Give us
seven days' respite, that we may send messengers unto all the coasts
of Israel: and then, if [there be] no man to save us, we will come out
to thee."
It appears, they are not aware that Saul had been anointed king.
They will look for someone to save them first. The seven days would
give them time to search for help throughout Israel. It is strange, to
me, that this evil Nahash waited the seven days. God had to move on
him to make him willing to wait.
I Samuel 11:4 "Then came the messengers to Gibeah of Saul, and
told the tidings in the ears of the people: and all the people lifted
up their voices, and wept."
Gibeah was the home of Saul. Up until this time we have not heard
much of the kingship of Saul. The people wept, because it appears
they, too, did not think of Saul as being someone who would save them.
I Samuel 11:5 "And, behold, Saul came after the herd out of the
field; and Saul said, What [aileth] the people that they weep? And
they told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh."
Their weeping had been so loud, that it found the ears of Saul.
It appears that, Saul had been working in the field, and came home at
the end of the work day. He did not, even now, consider himself king.
I Samuel 11:6 "And the spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard
those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly."
This is the very same statement that was made, every time the
power of God came upon Samson. Saul was a weak man, but the power of
God in Saul made him a mighty warrior. He was very angry, when he
heard they were going to poke out the right eyes of the men at Jabesh.
I Samuel 11:7 "And he took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in
pieces, and sent [them] throughout all the coasts of Israel by the
hands of messengers, saying, Whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and
after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the
LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent."
These were the oxen that Saul had been plowing with. He killed
them, and cut them in little pieces, and sent them throughout Israel.
He threatened to do the same thing to their oxen, if they did not come
and help him fight these wicked Ammonites, and especially this
serpent, Nahash. The fear of the LORD caused all the armies of Israel
to come, and fight these Ammonites. Saul and Samuel would lead the
battle.
I Samuel 11:8 "And when he numbered them in Bezek, the children
of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty
thousand."
Bezek was in the land of Issachar. Saul is the acting commander-
in-chief of the army. He numbered the people, to make sure they had
all come. This is one of the first mentions of the tribe of Israel
separate from the tribe of Judah. All together the army had 330,000
fighting men.
I Samuel 11:9 "And they said unto the messengers that came, Thus
shall ye say unto the men of Jabesh-gilead, To morrow, by [that time]
the sun be hot, ye shall have help. And the messengers came and shewed
[it] to the men of Jabesh; and they were glad."
The messengers, that the elders had sent for help, would take the
message back, that help was on the way. By noon the next day, they
would be there to help fight against the Ammonites. Saul will have his
first opportunity to lead his people in battle. The messengers made it
back through to the elders with the good report.
I Samuel 11:10 "Therefore the men of Jabesh said, To morrow we
will come out unto you, and ye shall do with us all that seemeth good
unto you."
The men of Jabesh stall for a little more time, by telling these
Ammonites they are going to give up the next day.
I Samuel 11:11 "And it was [so] on the morrow, that Saul put the
people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the host in
the morning watch, and slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day:
and it came to pass, that they which remained were scattered, so that
two of them were not left together."
Saul did not even wait, until noon the next day. He separated the
men into 3 groups, and all of them attacked the Ammonites at once from
three different directions. There was a great slaughter of Ammonites.
It seems, there was just a small remnant left.
I Samuel 11:12 "And the people said unto Samuel, Who [is] he
that said, Shall Saul reign over us? bring the men, that we may put
them to death."
We remember that, the sons of Belial had complained about Saul
ruling over them. The people are so delighted with the outcome of this
battle, they want to kill everyone who thinks Saul should not be king.
They bring their suggestion to Samuel. Possibly, they remember that
Saul would not punish them before, when they said this.
I Samuel 11:13 "And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to
death this day: for to day the LORD hath wrought salvation in Israel."
Saul stops them from killing any of the Israelites. This is a day
they should thank God for giving them this great victory. It is not a
day for killing their own people. Saul places all the praise on the
LORD for saving them. He is a modest man at this point. He is fully
aware, it is the power of God working in him, that brought the great
victory.
I Samuel 11:14 "Then said Samuel to the people, Come, and let us
go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there."
The sanctuary was at Gilgal. This is a day of rejoicing before
the LORD, and a day of formally accepting Saul as their king. With
this victory behind them, everyone would want him to be king.
I Samuel 11:15 "And all the people went to Gilgal; and there they
made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal; and there they sacrificed
sacrifices of peace offerings before the LORD; and there Saul and all
the men of Israel rejoiced greatly."
Saul is, now, their recognized king. All of the ceremonies were
witnessed by the LORD in Gilgal. The sacrifices were celebrating the
peace, after this great battle they had just been in. Saul had already
been made king by the LORD. He had already been anointed by Samuel.
This was a celebration of him accepting the office of king, and the
people accepting him. This was a time of celebrating victory over the
Ammonites.
1 Samuel 11 Questions
1. Who brought his troops, and camped against Jabesh-gilead?
2. Where is Jabesh-gilead located?
3. "Nahash" means ___________.
4. Why did the Ammonites hate Israel?
5. What were the men of Jabesh-gilead willing to do, to avoid war
with the Ammonites?
6. What condition did the Ammonite make?
7. Why did he want to do such a terrible thing?
8. How much time did they ask Nahash for, before the battle?
9. If they could not find a man to save them, what would they do?
10. Where was Saul at this time?
11. Did they come and tell Saul?
12. What did the people do, when they were told of the terrible fate
awaiting Jabesh-gilead?
13. Where had Saul come in from, when he heard the weeping?
14. The _______ of God came upon Saul.
15. His ________ was kindled greatly.
16. Saul was a weak man, but became powerful by the power of _______
within him.
17. What did he do with a yoke of his oxen?
18. What did he threaten to do to those, who did not come and help him
fight these Ammonites?
19. How many of Israel came to fight?
20. How many of Judah came?
21. What message did they send back to Jabesh-gilead?
22. How did the men of Jabesh-gilead stall the Ammonites another day?
23. When did Saul attack?
24. How had he divided his troops?
25. Who won the battle?
26. What did the people tell Samuel, they wanted to do with those
opposed to following Saul?
27. What was Saul's answer to this request?
28. Samuel told the people to come with him to ________.
29. What do they do in Gilgal?
30. He was already anointed as king, what is the celebration, here,
for?
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