Deliverance in Israel (1 Samuel 11:1-15)

Okay, good morning. We're going to go ahead and get started. If you would take a seat.

We will be back into 1 Samuel, and it will be chapter 11, and we'll begin at verse one.

Before we start, let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, we thank you this morning for the great privilege of gathering together as your people, collectively.

We pray this morning, Lord, that as we look at your word and examine your word, that your

Holy Spirit would guide us and direct us and give us the illumination and understanding.

We also pray, Lord, that through the understanding of your word and through the grace that you give us and the empowerment of your

Holy Spirit, that we would understand and apply whatever truths that would apply, and then we want you to be glorified in all that we do.

So we give you thanks, Lord, and we ask that you'd guide us this morning, and we just praise you and thank you in Jesus' precious name, amen.

Well, the American military commanders traditionally have followed a standard procedure for planning their operations, which has proved pretty effective over many years.

The operation orders have five paragraphs, the most important of which are the first two, the situation and the mission.

All successful battles are carried out with the proper understanding of the situation and the grasp of the correct mission for the unit to perform.

It would have been important in our current text for King Saul to have evaluated the situation and the mission.

Having just been acclaimed king, he now faces two grave matters, both of which threaten the nation's existence.

The first was Israel's internal division. The tribes of Israel were physically divided, some in the north and some in the south, with most of the nation west of the

River Jordan, but some tribes were on the east bank. Even worse, the tribes were morally and spiritually divided, as is shown in the

Book of Judges. Saul's home in the land of Benjamin has been the cause of a brief civil war resulting in thousands of Israelite deaths.

In Judges 19 through 20, there was, we find that, there was great opposition to Saul as king by some worthless men.

They doubted his leadership and they despised him. We find that at the end of chapter 10, verse 27.

So unless Saul could unite the tribes and work out a means of effective coordination with Israel, he had no hope to survive against its enemies.

These outside enemies of Israel were the Philistines to the west and the

Ammonites to the east. Both of them were fierce and well -armed foes.

The twin problems presented situations that Saul faced.

His mission then was to first heal the petty grievances that divided the

Israelites. And then he had to secure and bring those men together and plan a battle against the

Ammonites. Behind Saul, however, it was the

Lord that would deliver his people. The words deliver and delivered occur three times in this chapter.

So let's begin with verse one, first three verses. Now Nahash the

Ammonite came up and besieged Jabesh -galid. And all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, make a covenant with us and we will serve you.

But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, I will make it with you on this condition that I will gouge out your right eye of every one of you.

Thus, I will make it a reproach on all Israel. The elders of Jabesh said to him, let us alone for seven years that we may send messengers throughout the territory of Israel, excuse me.

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. 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. So as we begin this, we see the

Ammonites, they were the descendants of Lot. They were actually born from the youngest, out of the youngest daughter's lineage and they were born out of incest.

The daughters having a relationship with their dad, their father,

Lot, they got him drunk, had the relationship and out of that we have

Moab, which to this day are the Moabites. And then the younger was

Benami. He is the father of the sons of Ammon to this day, both of which the tribes were enemies of Israel.

In Genesis 19, we note that Lot was weak and sometimes sinful and immoral.

He believed and trusted in Jehovah as did Abraham by faith. That is why we find in 2

Peter 2 .7, this text. And if he rescued righteous

Lot, oppressed by sensual conduct of unprincipled men, for by what he saw and heard that righteous man while living among them.

So as we think of Lot, this was a weakness and a sinful time for him.

And yet he was saved in the same manner as was Abraham by faith.

So as we continue, Moab and their kingdoms, as I mentioned, were longstanding enemies of Israel.

So as we begin, we find Nahash, the king of the Ammonites.

After besieging Jabesh -Gilead, he plotted against the people.

The intent of this king, who was very wicked, was to shame the Israelites by threatening them and trying to devise a diabolical scheme which would demand the people of Jabesh to gouge out their right eye.

This was a practice actually in the Near East by the pagan nations.

When they conquered somebody, they often would mutilate them in some form.

The name Nahash means snake, very appropriate for this man.

The men of Jabesh offered to make a treaty with him. The terms of the treaty were actually generous.

They offered to become the servants of Nahash. Nahash didn't want to negotiate.

He didn't want anything to do with that. So then he refused and posed this grisly option for them to carry out.

This was the evidence of his wickedness and his hatred for the tribe of Israel.

But as we think about the request of the people of Jabesh, they did this in verse four.

"'Then the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul "'and spoke to all the people.'

"'They asked for several days, a week, "'that they would try to gain help from Israel.'

And of course, Nahash was so arrogant and so wicked, he didn't think there would be any help for these people.

But the sad thing, and illustrates to us, was the condition of these men.

They didn't know that there was a king appointed over Israel, King Saul, and they didn't realize that there was a judge,

Samuel, that they could summon for help. They didn't know this, and these were the elders of Jabesh.

So we see that this time and period, the Israelites were in bad place.

Many of them were still idolaters. Many of them did not practice or even attempt to obey the law of God.

In fact, they hated it. They hated to be under this burden rather than serving the true king of Israel, Jehovah God.

Even after the election by lot at Mizpah, Saul didn't begin his formal reign as king.

Instead, he returned to his father's house in Gibeah and to his former occupation in the agricultural ranch that he had.

So we read in verse five, "'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. "'Then the

Spirit of God came upon Saul mightily "'when he heard the words, and he became very angry.'"

So we see here, Saul, he's carrying out the work of agriculture, and he's coming back from the field behind two oxen.

He hasn't yet started his reign. Now, most commentators agree that the reason for him not starting his reign over Israel was because the monarchy was entirely a new form of governing over Israel.

That was, he was waiting for the proper time. He didn't want to start his reign and start taking over the country of Israel and the people of Israel to rule over them until the right moment.

And now is the time. Israel, God's people, God's chosen people are being threatened by an enemy tribe.

So Saul now has to take the reign and form an army of the

Israelites. They're divided, they're not in any way coming together, and this is one of Saul's major problems.

What does he do? Verse seven, he took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of his 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 upon the people and they came out as one man.

So as Saul did this, he's taken two oxen, he's cut them up and sent pieces throughout

Israel. Then with the threat, if they don't come to him as one and when he was summoned them, he would do the same to their oxen.

That was actually a pretty moderate threat to the people of Israel because the threat was this.

The oxen were quite expensive and quite valuable in the agricultural area of Israel.

So they depended upon their oxen for their livelihood.

So the threat was if they didn't respond to his call, he would destroy their oxen.

So they came, they responded as one man. Verse eight, he numbered them in Bezek.

And some of Israel were 300 ,000 and the men of Judah 330 ,000.

So now he has an army of 330 ,000 men, warriors, men that now wanna fight against the enemies of Israel.

So I'd like to try to give us a picture of where we are in this map that we have.

Okay, so Amen. Okay, so Bezek is the place where they're going to battle.

Jabesh Gilead is where Nahash has threatened the men of Jabesh.

So as we consider that, then the people meet at Bezek.

That's where the battle is gonna be carried out. So this was a strategic plan that Saul is bringing together.

It's gonna require some strategy. These Ammonites are vicious warriors.

And the people now are coming as one. So Saul's gotta devise a plan in which he can overtake this enemy.

Saul being this newly elected king now is going to show the

Israelites his might. So we look to him to see how he's gonna respond on behalf of God's chosen.

He was first, two things. He was angered and this anger caused him to want to rally the people.

He wanted to build an army quickly. So he cuts up the oxen, sends it throughout

Israel. That brought the fear of the Lord. Now, this is the important part.

As we consider Saul and what he's done, how did it begin?

Verse six, the spirit of the Lord God came upon Saul mightily

Now we have Saul being directed by God's Holy Spirit. He's empowered by God's Holy Spirit.

Now we know in the Old Testament, this was temporal. God would do that on occasion.

Then he would remove his spirit upon their disobedience or for any reason that God chose.

Here, now Saul has confidence. Why does he have confidence? Well, he was anointed by Samuel, the judge of Israel.

He was anointed and then he was inaugurated. The people of Benjamin by lot chose him as their king.

Here's a man now who knows that he's serving God. He was appointed by Samuel and approved by Israelites.

So he's taken the reign. He is now being transformed by God so that he can carry out this task and do it in a way that they'll defeat their enemy.

Now, this cutting up of the oxen and sending them throughout

Israel, there was an occasion back in Judges chapter 19 in which a man did the same to his concubine and sent her throughout

Israel to arouse the Israelites. That was the only other occasion that we had for this type of incident.

So in verse seven, he took the yoke and he cut it up and sent it out. So then we have now the men of Israel, 330 ,000.

Ready to go to war. In verse nine, we read, they said to the messengers who had come, thus you will 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. So now

Saul is telling them exactly what God's gonna do.

He's gonna deliver them. They're gonna defeat this wicked enemy. They are gonna take care of Nabash's army.

They'll destroy him. He was confident and even told them the timing that they would be delivered, but he's using the word delivered.

So as we think of this, God has empowered him to take on this awesome task and to carry it out on behalf of the

Israelites. Verses nine through 11.

They said to the messengers who had come, thus you'll 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. Then in verse 10, then the men of Jabesh said, tomorrow we will come out to you and you may do with us whatever seems good to you.

The next morning Saul put the people in the three companies. Before we go there, notice that now the people of Jabesh have gone to Nahash and they've assured him, tomorrow we'll come to you.

You can do whatever you want to us. So Jabesh at this point, he was confident that he was gonna mutilate these people to disgrace

Israel. He had no fear of Israel coming against him. So he lacked any fear at all.

So now as we think of this plan, this is what Saul does to plan this strategic attack.

Verse 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. Now the mid morning watch would be anywhere between two in the morning and six in the morning.

So that was very strategic, first of all. The Ammonites would most likely be asleep.

They may have guards, but they weren't prepared for battle and an attack is gonna be launched before they're even awake.

So that was part of the strategic plan. The second part is that he is going to divide the people in three companies.

So he's got 330 ,000 men, warriors, and he divides them into three companies.

That's a good strategy because they would have been overwhelmed. They could have attacked from different sides and then had an onslaught come to finish the battle.

So as we think of his strategy, it was well done to overcome this enemy.

Verse 12, excuse me, verse 11. The next morning

Saul put the people in three companies and they came in the midst of the camp at the morning watch and struck down the

Ammonites until the heat of the day. Those that survived were scattered so that no two men were left together.

So this wasn't just a mild victory. He scattered the whole tribe of the

Ammonites so that there was not even two together. He defeated them. It doesn't give us the count.

It doesn't tell us how many survivors there may have been. The point of this text is that God delivered his people from this wicked enemy and they weren't shamed.

God was glorified. As we think of the essence of this promise that tell the people of Jabesh that they'll be delivered by the heat of the day, he was confident, not in himself, but his confidence was in the

Lord. The Holy Spirit had come upon him. He carried out this strategy.

He planned the attack. He told them beforehand, by the heat of the day, you'll be delivered.

And that's exactly what happened. So as we look at this, there's a massive pointing.

Everything points to one thing, God's sovereignty. So as we think of God's sovereignty, look at what he did here.

He took a man that was basically a farmer. He looks for donkeys, can't find the donkeys.

Find Samuel, he didn't know who Samuel was. Samuel is told by God that this is going to be the one to anoint king over Israel.

You're gonna appoint him prince over my people. God is the king. He appoints him.

Then Saul doesn't do anything for a period of time. He continues in the agricultural world of his farm for his father, waiting for the right time.

When the time came, the Lord anointed him. The Spirit of God came upon him in power and his anger was stirred up.

Then he was ready for battle. He carried out this plan, defeated the enemy of Israel and we'll see that he gives glory to God.

Then verse 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.

So do you remember back in chapter 10, the last verse, these worthless men, these were men that didn't follow

God, they were followers of Satan. They mocked

Saul, they didn't bring him a gift and they just mocked him. He didn't do anything then and watch his response now.

Verse 13, but Saul said, not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the

Lord has accomplished deliverance in Israel. Think about the restraint that Saul showed here.

He not only didn't want to take revenge, but he recognized that the

Lord had delivered Israel. There was no need to carry out this vengeance against these men at this time.

He did so to bring glory and honor to God, which it did.

Not another man shall be put to death this day. He wanted the focus to be on their deliverer,

Jehovah. That's what he wanted. He knew that that's how they were delivered from this enemy because he couldn't have done it.

He knew that and he knew that Samuel knew that as well.

So as much as we know, most commentators think that Samuel also followed

Saul in battle. So they were together and all of Israel knew that these were leading them now.

This was their judge and this was their king now leading them in victory over their enemy.

Verse 14, then Samuel said to the people, come and let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there.

Now, I'll bring that up again, please. Gilgal was the place where they would,

Samuel wanted them to be for this great celebration of the victory that God delivered them.

So they would have went from Bezach to Gilgal and that's where they would celebrate.

You can turn it off, thank you, Peter. Verse 15, so all the people went to Gilgal and there they made

Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. So you might think, well, he's already king.

He just led them in battle. Why would they say they would make him king there?

So we have to understand that Samuel called the people to Gilgal.

This was a famous sanctuary for Israel, for the Israelites. This was the one place where Samuel would go annually to judge

Israel. Then he would return to Ramah where his house was located.

So it was not too far as we saw from Jabesh, Gilead. It was situated in the lower

Jordan near Jericho. They could leave the field of battle and go to this sanctuary.

In verse 15, so all the people went there to Gilgal and were there made

Saul king before the Lord at Gilgal. This is not the anointing of Saul.

He was already anointed by Samuel back in chapter nine.

So we have to see what does this mean? Why did they appoint him king now?

The difference between Saul's election at Mizpah, it was met with opposition.

Not everybody was in full agreement that he should be king. The confirmation at Gilgal is much the same between the first proclamation of a king and then his coronation.

This was more of a coronation. Now he was recognized leader of Israel. Why? Because God raised him up and gave victory under this king's leadership, the king as well as Samuel.

But they knew it was God. God gets the glory. But now they're affirming him as one group of Israelites.

They're all together. They're all recognizing this is the man that God gave us. This is our king.

So then he was confirmed by all. They would bring peace offerings and there were tokens of joy and gratitude and they followed with a feast.

This was a coronation, a celebration, not only of the victory that their king had led them in, but also now we have this king.

They're the ones, by the way, that no longer wanted Samuel to lead them.

You remember back in chapter eight, Samuel was getting old and his sons had been crooked because they were judging over Bathsheba.

And so they demanded, they went to the elders and they demanded a king. We want a king like other nations.

So it isn't as if this was a group of people, the Israelites that were following God.

There were idolaters, they had idols, they were sinful and they weren't obeying

God. They did not wanna serve God. They wanted a king like all other nations. But here, now, this king, the

Lord came upon Saul and gave him victory. Now they're greatly rejoicing and they're celebrating as one nation.

Some of the principles perhaps that we might gain from this text is first of all,

God's sovereignty. It's God who is king of kings and Lord of lords.

It's God who is our mighty deliverer and rescuer. God is our salvation.

I'm glad, I wish they would have been able to do that song that they're gonna, worship team is gonna give us that song which we can too rejoice in as we lift it up to the

Lord. So first of all, we can find

God's sovereignty displayed. Another thing is the effects of the men of Jabesh.

They did not realize the resources that they had before them. First of all, they had the

Lord God Almighty. They didn't summon Samuel to seek the Lord for victory. If they had repented and turned to God and called upon Samuel to give them deliverance,

God would have done so under that repentant heart. This way, they look to Saul.

They recognize that God is their deliverer but they didn't realize the resources that they had.

They were sinful people at this time. As Christians, we know that we've got all the resources we need.

We have everything we need for life and godliness. God has given us the power over sin.

He has given us the ability to serve God. He's empowered us by his

Holy Spirit and he's also given us his word. That is the resources of the

Almighty God for his people. Here, we have a vivid display of how

God worked in the Old Testament to bring victory and to be glorified through that, knowing that he was their deliverer.

He was their savior. So as we close, I'm gonna close a little early.

I just want us to remember that as we look at these texts, it's more than a historical book.

All scripture is profitable for reproof, correction, instruction and righteousness so that man of God may be fully equipped for every good work.

So we have to understand as we look at scripture, there's more to it than just an historical event.

Yes, we see God delivering the Israelites. We see him defeating these wicked enemies of Israel.

And yet most of all, we see him lifted up as King of kings and Lord of lords.

God, who is our deliverer. So let's close in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word.

We thank you, Lord, that you are sovereign God. You have not only provided the way of salvation through your son, our

Lord Jesus Christ, and his perfect sacrifice on the cross, but you have also, for all those who turn to him, to you in repentance, you have indwelt us by your

Holy Spirit and given us your divine word. We give you thanks and praise for what you reveal of your glory throughout your word.

And we pray that you would continue to be glorified in all that you do.