April 6th
1 Samuel, 11
Saul rescues Jabesh Gilead
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. 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.
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. 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. 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. 6: And the Spirit of
God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled
greatly. 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. 8: And when he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men
of Judah
thirty thousand. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.
14: Then said Samuel to the
people, Come, and let us go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there. 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.
1 Samuel, 12
Samuel speaks to Israel
1: And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened
unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you. 2: And now, behold, the king walketh
before you: and I am old and grayheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and
I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day. 3: Behold, here I am: witness against
me before the LORD, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose
ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose
hand have I received any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore
it you. 4: And they said, Thou
hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any
man's hand. 5: And he said unto
them, The LORD is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day,
that ye have not found ought in my hand. And they answered, He is witness. 6: And Samuel said unto the people,
It is the LORD that advanced Moses and Aaron, and that brought your fathers up
out of the land
of Egypt. 7: Now therefore stand still, that I
may reason with you before the LORD of all the righteous acts of the LORD,
which he did to you and to your fathers. 8:
When Jacob was come into Egypt,
and your fathers cried unto the LORD, then the LORD sent Moses and Aaron, which
brought forth your fathers out of Egypt, and made them dwell in this
place. 9: And when they forgat
the LORD their God, he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host
of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king
of Moab,
and they fought against them. 10:
And they cried unto the LORD, and said, We have sinned, because we have
forsaken the LORD, and have served Baalim and Ashtaroth: but now deliver us out
of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee. 11: And the LORD sent Jerubbaal, and Bedan, and Jephthah, and
Samuel, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and ye
dwelled safe. 12: And when ye
saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said
unto me, Nay; but a king shall reign over us: when the LORD your God was your
king. 13: Now therefore behold
the king whom ye have chosen, and whom ye have desired! and, behold, the LORD
hath set a king over you. 14:
If ye will fear the LORD, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel
against the commandment of the LORD, then shall both ye and also the king that
reigneth over you continue following the LORD your God: 15: But if ye will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel
against the commandment of the LORD, then shall the hand of the LORD be against
you, as it was against your fathers. 16:
Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the LORD will do before
your eyes. 17: Is it not wheat
harvest to day? I will call unto the LORD, and he shall send thunder and rain;
that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done
in the sight of the LORD, in asking you a king. 18: So Samuel called unto the LORD; and the LORD sent thunder
and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel. 19: And all the people said unto
Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the LORD thy God, that we die not: for we
have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king. 20: And Samuel said unto the people,
Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following
the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart; 21: And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain
things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain. 22: For the LORD will not forsake his
people for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you
his people. 23: Moreover as for
me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you:
but I will teach you the good and the right way: 24: Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your
heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you. 25: But if ye shall still do
wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.
In today's
Bible reading we read of Saul going to war to rescue Jabesh-Gilead and then we
read of Samuel addressing to Israel.
We read that Nahash the Ammonite came and camped against Jebesh-gilead. So the
men of Jabesh said to Nahash make a peace treaty with us and Nahash said Ok but
the treaty will be based on the point that you will blind yourselves in one
eye, all of you. So the elders said ok but give us 7 days to ask for help from
our brethren but if we are left without aid then we will agree. When the
messengers came to tell the people of Israel this demand they fell into
weeping. When Saul came from leading the herds he asked what the matter was.
And when he heard the demands of the Ammonites the Spirit of the Lord came on
him and he was very angry. Then Saul took two oxen and cut them into pieces and
sent then to the four corners of the land and said those who do not come to
help will be destroyed like these oxen. And the fear of the LORD fell on the
people and they came to follow Saul as one man. When Saul numbered them he
found they were 300,000 men at arms of Israel
and 30,000 of Judah.
Then he sent a message to the men of Jabesh saying that tomorrow when the sun
is hot you will have help. So Saul came and divided the army into three
companies and fell on the Ammonites and slew them. They were scattered before
the sun became hot so that there were not two Ammonites together. Then after
the victory the people said who said that Saul should not be king bring him and
we will execute him but Samuel said no there will be no executions today
because the LORD has given us a great salvation in Israel today. Then Samuel led the
People to Gilgall and there they made Saul king of Israel. Then Samuel made a great
speech to Israel.
He said l have listened to you request for a king and l have anointed Saul
king. He said l am old and grey headed. He said witness against whether l have
ever taken anything from you at all. Then Samuel recounted all the deeds of the
Lord. Then he said now that the LORD has given you a king – If you will fear
the LORD and serve him only then he will reign over you. But if you rebel
against the Lord then he will be against you. Then he said stand still and God
will show you that what you have asked for is a very great wickedness in asking
for a king. Then the Lord sent rain and thunder and the people were afraid of
the LORD and Samuel. Then he said Fear the LORD and follow him but if not then
he will consume you and your king. How very different this covenant was with
the Lord and Israel
to the covenant in which the christian enjoys Gods blessing. The covenant with Israel
was two sided. God promised to bless them if they followed him but cursed them
if they forsook him. However the Christian is blessed not on the basis of his
personal obedience but on the basis of Christ’s obedience. He is not dealt with
on the basis of Law but by Grace. Christ said, I will never leave thee, nor
forsake thee. Heb 13v5 and again, I am with you always, even unto the end of
the world. Amen. Matt 28v20
Steve
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