1 Samuel 11

CHAPTER 11

Saul Rescues the City of Jabesh (11:1–11)

1–3 Sometime after Saul was made king (1 Samuel 10:24), an Ammonite³⁸ ruler named Nahash attacked an Israelite city on the east side of the Jordan River called Jabesh Gilead.³⁹ To save their lives, the men of Jabesh offered to subject themselves to the Ammonites. But Nahash would agree only on the condition that he gouge out the right eye of everyone in Jabesh (verse 2).

The elders of Jabesh did not agree to these terms. However, they told Nahash that if no help came within seven days, he could take the city without a fight. Surprisingly Nahash agreed to wait; he evidently assumed that no one would come to rescue Jabesh.

The elders sent messengers throughout Israel (verse 3); they were either unaware that Saul was king or they thought he wouldn’t be able to help them. Israel was not united at that time; the tribes—and even individual cities—looked out mainly for themselves.

4–8 When the messengers from Jabesh arrived at Gibeah, Saul’s hometown, he was out working in his fields. Although he had been made king, he hadn’t yet received instructions from Samuel concerning what to do next (1 Samuel 10:9). In the meantime, Saul had gone back to work on his land.

The Benjamites of Gibeah all wept aloud (verse 4). They had a special reason for weeping: two thirds of them were descended from the four hundred virgins whom the Israelites had brought from Jabesh Gilead to be wives for the six hundred surviving Benjamites (see Judges 21:10–14). Some of those Benjamites must have returned with their wives to Jabesh and reestablished the city there. Thus the people of Gibeah and Jabesh were relatives; no wonder Saul was so eager to go to Jabesh’s rescue!

When Saul heard the news about Jabesh, the Spirit of God came upon him in power (verse 6), just as the Spirit had come upon Samson (Judges 14:6,19; 15:14). As had happened with Israel’s earlier judges, the Holy Spirit didn’t rest on Saul permanently but only empowered him for the specific task of leading Israel in the rescue of Jabesh.

The first thing Saul did was to cut up two oxen and then send the pieces all over Israel with the warning that if the Israelites did not send men to fight the Ammonites, their own oxen would suffer a similar fate (verse 7). Perhaps Saul borrowed this method of assembling the Israelites from the Levite who sent pieces of his concubine all over Israel (Judges 19:29).

In any event, the method worked. The Israelites sensed that God was behind Saul and that they had better respond. A huge army of Israelites assembled. The writer mentions that thirty thousand of the men came from the tribe of Judah (verse 8); it was from Judah that King David would arise to take Saul’s place as king.

9–11 When the men of Jabesh heard that help was on the way, they tricked the Ammonites into thinking no help was coming (verse 10). Early the next morning Saul attacked the Ammonite camp, and the Lord enabled him to win a great victory. The battle was the Lord’s; in this case the Lord was fighting against the injustice and oppression being inflicted by the Ammonites.⁴⁰ This battle confirmed in the people’s eyes that Saul had truly been chosen by God to be their king; now all Israel would unite behind him.

Saul Confirmed as King (11:12–15)

12–13 The Israelites supported Saul to such an extent that they wanted to put to death the troublemakers who did not accept Saul’s leadership (1 Samuel 10:27). But Saul would not permit it—especially not on the day the Lord’s victory over the Ammonites was to be celebrated. Notice that Saul gave the credit for the victory to the Lord: “. . . for this day the LORD has rescued Israel” (verse 13).

14–15 Samuel realized that the celebration of this victory would provide an opportunity to reaffirm Saul’s kingship in the presence of all the people—that is, all the fighting men who had taken part in the battle. Saul had already been anointed king (1 Samuel 10:1); he had already been chosen king by lot (1 Samuel 10:17–25); now he needed to have his kingship reconfirmed in a formal public ceremony.⁴¹ These three steps were needed to ensure that all Israel would be truly united under Saul’s leadership.

Samuel, however, was not just reaffirming Saul’s kingship; he was also reaffirming the Lord’s kingship. The people confirmed Saul in the presence of the LORD; they confirmed Saul as a king under God’s authority. They also reaffirmed their covenant relationship with God; God was Israel’s true King and Protector, and Saul was His servant.