Bible Study 1 Samuel 11
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1 Samuel 11 · WEB

Saul Rescues Jabesh Gilead

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Then Nahash the Ammonite came up and encamped against Jabesh Gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, "Make a covenant with us, and we will serve you."
2Nahash the Ammonite said to them, "On this condition I will make a covenant with you: that all your right eyes be gouged out; and I will lay it as a disgrace on all Israel."
3The elders of Jabesh said to him, "Give us seven days' respite, that we may send messengers to all the borders of Israel; and then, if there is no one to save us, we will come out to you."
4Then the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and spoke these words in the ears of the people; and all the people lifted up their voices and wept.
5Behold, Saul came following the oxen out of the field; and Saul said, "What ails the people that they weep?" Then they told him the words of the men of Jabesh.
6God's Spirit came mightily on Saul when he heard those words, and his anger burned hot.
7He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the border of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, "Whoever doesn't come after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen." The terror of Yahweh fell on the people, and they came out as one man.
8He numbered them in Bezek; and the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.
9They said to the messengers who came, "Tell the men of Jabesh Gilead, 'Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have deliverance.'" The messengers came and told the men of Jabesh; and they were glad.
10Therefore the men of Jabesh said, "Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you shall do with us all that seems good to you."
11On the next day, Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the middle of the camp in the morning watch, and struck the Ammonites until the heat of the day. Those who remained were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.
12The people said to Samuel, "Who is he who said, 'Shall Saul reign over us?' Bring those men, that we may put them to death."
13Saul said, "No man shall be put to death today; for today Yahweh has worked salvation in Israel."
14Then Samuel said to the people, "Come! Let's go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there."
15All the people went to Gilgal; and there they made Saul king before Yahweh in Gilgal; and there they sacrificed peace offerings before Yahweh. Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly there.
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Summary

Nahash the Ammonite besieges Jabesh Gilead and demands to gouge out every man's right eye as a condition of peace. The Spirit of God comes powerfully on Saul, who rallies all Israel with a decisive display of leadership. His army delivers Jabesh Gilead in a brilliant three-pronged dawn attack. After the victory, Saul graciously spares his earlier detractors, attributing the salvation to God. The kingdom is confirmed and celebrated at Gilgal.

Themes

  • The Spirit empowering leadership in crisis
  • Courageous, decisive military action
  • Mercy and generosity in victory
  • The confirmation of God's chosen king through action

Key verses

  • 1 Sam 11:13 — “No man shall be put to death today; for today Yahweh has worked salvation in Israel.”
  • 1 Sam 11:6 — “God's Spirit came mightily on Saul when he heard those words, and his anger burned hot.”

Context & background

Jabesh Gilead was a town in Transjordan (modern northern Jordan), on the eastern side of the Jordan River. The Ammonites were a neighboring people whose territory was east of the Jordan. Bezek, where Saul mustered his army, was in the central hill country of what is modern Israel. Gilgal, where the kingdom was renewed, is near ancient Jericho in the Jordan Valley (modern West Bank). The bond between Saul and Jabesh Gilead formed here will reappear at the end of the book, when the men of Jabesh Gilead honor Saul's body after his death on Mount Gilboa.

Cross-references

  • 1 Sam 31:11-13 — The men of Jabesh Gilead remember Saul's kindness and honorably bury his body.
  • 2 Sam 2:4-7 — David honors the men of Jabesh Gilead for their loyalty to Saul.
  • Judg 6:34 — The Spirit "clothed" Gideon similarly to empower him for battle.
  • Num 10:9 — God promises to hear Israel's cry when threatened by an enemy.
  • Prov 24:17 — "Don't rejoice when your enemy falls" — Saul models this generosity in verse 13.

Check your reading

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  1. Observe

    What brutal demand did Nahash the Ammonite make of Jabesh Gilead?

  2. Observe

    What method did Saul use to mobilize all Israel for battle?

  3. Interpret

    How does this portrait of Saul at his best set up his later tragedy?

  4. Interpret

    What does Saul's response in verse 13 ("today Yahweh has worked salvation in Israel") reveal about his character at this moment?

  5. Apply

    What does it mean that Saul was plowing a field when his call to action came?

  6. Apply

    When you experience a victory or success, what is the most God-honoring response?

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