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
todays 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
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