SAUL'S VICTORY AT JABESH-GILEAD
A. Saul's victory
1. (1 Sam 11:1-2) Nahash the Ammonite gives an ultimatum to an Israelite city
Now Nahash the Ammonite came up and besieged Jabesh-Gilead; 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 the right eye of every one of you, thus I will make it a reproach on all Israel."
Nahash the Ammonite: The name Nahash means serpent or snake. Nahash was the king of the nation of Ammon. ("When you saw that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon came against you, you said to me, 'No, but a king shall reign over us,' although the LORD your God was your king" 1 Samuel 12:12.) Nahash's family was in some way related to King David. Using genealogy found in 2 Samuel 17:25 and 1 Chronicles 2:16-17, Abigail was the mother to Amasa and was the daughter (or perhaps grand-daughter) of Nahash. Abigail was the sister or half-sister of Zeruiah, David's aunt.
The Ammonites: South and east of the Israelite settlements on the eastern side of the Jordan River dwelt the Ammonites and the Moabites. The borders of their territories are unknown, but the Ammonites appear to have lived north and the Moabites south of the Arnon River. The Ammonites were a fierce marauding tribe. The Moabites were a settled and civilized nation. The Ammonites and Moabites were the offspring of Lot and his two daughters. The two nations were generally in an alliance against Israel. Twice during the period of the Judges, the Ammonites "oppressed Israel" (Judges 3:12-14; Judges 10:11). The Israelite Judge Jephthah attacked and greatly slaughtered the Ammonites. (See Judges 11:1-12:7 for more details.)
It is very likely that Nahash wanted to avenge the disgrace his people had suffered at the hands of Jephthah. Seeing the time as a favorable one--with the reigning judge, Samuel, old in age and no formal kingship had been established--Nahash seized the opportunity to invade Israel.
Jabesh-Gilead: Jabesh in the area of Gilead (part of the half tribe of Manasseh) was located on the east side of the Jordan River. Bashan was located to the north and Moab and Ammon were situated to the south and southeast.
We will serve you: The folks at Jabesh-Gilead were willing to offer themselves as subjects and to pay tribute to the Ammonites. The reason for this offer was that they saw no likelihood of relief from their fellow Israelites who lived far away on the other side of the Jordan River. At this time, the Israelites were a weak, divided nation.
I will gorge out the right eye of every one of you: Nahash made this demand for multiple reasons. First, it was to bring glory to himself by humiliating the men of Jabesh-Gilead and ultimately Israel. Half-blinding the men of Jabesh-Gilead would bring reproach on all Israel by making Israel look weak and unable to prevent such a covenant. Second, it would make the men of Jabesh-Gilead unable to fight in war. Using only one eye to see, depth perception is greatly reduced. In hand-to-hand combat, the men would not be able to see men coming from their right side. Usually, men used a shield to protect themselves. They would hold the shield over the left side of their body and fight only using his right eye and arm. Additionally, the ability to accurately shoot arrows would be lost due to the loss of depth perception.
2. (1 Sam 11:3) The elders of Jabesh-Gilead answer Nahash
The elders of Jabesh said to him, "Let us alone for seven days, that we may send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. Then, is there is no one to deliver us, we will come out to you."
Let us alone for seven days: It is very probable that Nahash granted this request out of a foolish self-confidence. Knowing the broken state of the nation of Israel, Nahash thought it was impossible for Jabesh-Gilead to find help in such a short time.
That we may send messengers through the territory of Israel: Nahash probably allowed the messenger to go for two reasons. First, he was confident Israel's was not unified and could not save Jabesh-Gilead. Second, by allowing the messengers to go through all Israel, Nahash made his name big and his reputation feared throughout the land of Israel.
3. (1 Sam 11:4-5) Saul hears of the plight of Jabesh-Gilead
Then the messengers came out to Gibeah of Saul and spoke these words in the hearing of the people, and all the people lifted up their voices and wept. 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 messengers came out to Gibeah: As the messengers spread the news throughout all Israel, they came to Gibeah. Gibeah, located in the territory of Benjamin, was not far from Jabesh-Gilead. Although Scripture is silent on the exact course of the the messengers, it might have been that the messengers headed straight toward Gibeah, knowing that there only hope might be in the newly appointed King Saul.
Saul was coming from the field: Although Saul was anointed king, there was nothing for him to do. Israel never had an earthly king, and there was no protocol for Saul to follow to set up a bureaucracy. Thus, after being publicly anointed king, Saul went back home and went back to work in the field.
They related to him to word of the men of Jabesh: It is interesting to note that Saul was not the first person the messengers told when they came to Gibeah. There seems to have been no established system of government; otherwise, the king would have been first to know of the threat against Jabesh-Gilead, instead of hearing it second hand.
4. (1 Sam 11:6-8) Zealous for Israel's cause, Saul angrily gathers an army
Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul mightily when he heard these words, and he became very angry. He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of 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 feel on the people, and they came out as one man. He numbered them is Bezek; and the sons of Israel were 300,000 and the men of Judah 30,000.
The Spirit of God came upon Saul: The Hebrew for "came upon" describes a sudden and pervading impulse. Prevalent throughout the Book of Judges, this supernatural physical and mental vigor enabled Saul to act with extraordinary wisdom, valor and power to accomplish the difficult crisis which lie ahead of him.
He became very angry: Saul's anger was not out of personal offense or hurt, but it was Spirit-led. Scripture says we can "be angry and sin not" (Ephesians 4:26), but most of our anger is selfish. Saul's anger was out of a righteous concern for the LORD and His people.
He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces: It is very likely these oxen were the ones with which Saul was just plowing the field (verse 5). It is also very probable that Saul cut the oxen into twelve pieces, one for each territory of Israel. A similar act is done in the Book of Judges chapter 19 verse 29 when a Levite cuts up his concubine into twelve pieces and sends her throughout Israel after she had been raped (and subsequently dies) by the men of Gibeah. Considering both stories involve the city of Gibeah and the cutting up an animal/human into pieces and sending it throughout Israel, I do believe we are to connect these two stories. The outcome of both stories is the arousal of Israel to assemble and fight a war. Saul's actions are perhaps the redemption of his city (Gibeah) and tribe of Benjamin from the heinous crime it committed in the past.
By the hand of the messengers: These messengers are the same messengers who came from Jabesh-Gibeah.
Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel: It is interesting Saul includes Samuel in his decree to Israel. Samuel being well-known throughout Israel, probably gave more authority to Saul's words, considering he was newly elected and probably had gained little authority.
The dread of the LORD fell on the people: The arrival of hunks of freshly slain oxen meat seemed to have aroused the people of Israel to leave their homes and rally around Saul. The same Spirit of the LORD which had inspired Saul to rise to action was not giving strength and courage to the men of Israel to assemble to go to war.
Bezek: This village was in the tribe of Isaachar, in the plain of Jezreel, an open area well adapted for the assembling of a great multitude of people. It was within a day's march to Jabesh-Gilead.
The sons of Israel...the men of Judah: The separate numbering of Israel and Judah lead some commentators to believe that this part of First Samuel was written after the division of the nation of Israel into the northern and southern kingdoms. Others believe this is only an indication of Judah's tendency to isolate itself from the rest of Israel, which ultimately gave way to the later division of Israel. Regardless of the reason for the division, it is interesting to note that Judah (which also included the tribe of Benjamin) gave the same proportion of men for war as the other ten tribes.
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