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Sermon Transcript

Courage..it is something that God can give you when you’re called to take on the challenges in front of you. Join Dr. Marty Baker in 1 Samuel 11 as we look at the story of Saul, how God moved in and through him as a leader, and discuss how God can move in you today.

In 1985, I attended a lecture by Dr. Duane Gish at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA. Dr. Gish held a B.S. in chemistry from UCLA (1949), and a Ph.D. in chemistry from UC Berkeley (1953). The debate I attended by this Christian thinker was one of 300 he did in his lifetime.

This debate aimed to show the scientific weaknesses of the evolutionary position concerning the origin of our cosmos and the scientific strengths of a biblical view. After he presented his evidence verbally and with corresponding slides, he opened the floor for questions from all the science students and their professors. No one raised a hand.

After a few moments, a professor sitting behind me coaxed one of his doctoral students to engage Dr. Gish on a particular topic. Within a few minutes, Dr. Gish dismantled the young man’s erroneous thinking and looked for other questions. There were none, and with that, the lecture quickly concluded.

Walking out of that lecture hall, I was awed by Dr. Gish’s mind and debate ability. I also admired the fact he willingly stepped into an intellectually hostile environment like this to speak about how science solidly supports a biblical view of our origins. He could have stayed home and continued to study and write books on the biblical rationale for creationism, but he did not. Many years before, the military awarded him a Bronze Star for exceptional courage in battle. In this debate, he willingly stepped onto a different kind of battlefield. What courage he possessed to illustrate how science can viably support the Creationist viewpoint of origins.

Do you have the courage to stand up and speak up for God when given the opportunity? Do you have the courage to speak against a foe pushing misguided or false thinking? Do you have the courage to push back against evil when you see it? Far too many saints virtue signal so they are seen as peacemakers, while others keep their heads down so as not to create any kind of confrontation, be it scientific, moral, or otherwise. Sometimes, however, God wants us to bravely step forward, as Jesus did when He cleared the Temple on two occasions, and say what needs saying so people are moved from falsity to truth, from evil to holiness, and from immorality to morality. And sometimes God purposefully places you in a situation to mess with your mettle to see if you will run toward the fight and not away from it.

Perhaps you have your finger on a situation you are facing right now. You have been silent for too long, and you know it. You have your reasons for your silence, but from what you will learn from Saul’s life today from First Samuel 11, God is not content with you being quiet with the gifts and abilities He has given you. No, at times, He will strategically place you in a complex context that will test whether you will be brave where evil is concerned or will slink away into obscurity.

For Saul, God messed with his mettle at a place called Jabesh Gilead. As we dig into what happened here historically and spiritually, let us make sure we wrap our minds around the central motif of this passage:

God Uses Tough Trials To Mess With Our Mettle (1 Sam. 11:1-15)

This motif arises from an analysis of the four rhetorical panels of the passage.

The Problem (1 Sam. 11:1-2)

After some unknown time after Saul’s public proclamation as king in First Samuel 10, a national crisis suddenly surfaced involving a small Israelite city located in the tribal land of Manasseh, just a few miles east of the Jordan River and about thirty miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee.

1 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.”

Nahash, whose name in Hebrew appropriately means “snake,” used his military to expand his despotic rule in the region. Up until this point, the Philistines had plagued Israel’s peace and stability. Now, it is Ammon, a nation located southeast of Gilead between the Jabbok and Heshbon Rivers.

The Ammonites were related to the Israelites through the incestuous relationship between Lot and his two daughters. After the divine destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 18-19), Lot’s two daughters got him drunk so he could impregnate them, and he did. The result was two sons: Moab, the father of the Moabites, Israel’s dreaded enemy, and Ben-Ammi, the father of the Ammonites (Gen. 19:36-37). Both were included in Israel’s national list of enemies (Isa. 11:14; Jer. 9:25-26; Ezek. 25:1-7) because of their initial hiring of the prophet Balaam to speak curses on the nation as they trekked toward the Promised Land (Deut. 23:3-6), and because of their opposition to God’s people. During the period of the Judges, the Ammonites wreaked havoc among the Israelites in their new land at various times from 1381 to 1081 B.C. (Jud. 3:13; 10:7-9, 17-18). They negatively influenced Israel by getting them to worship their god, Molech. His worship constituted the sacrifice of children by burning them alive to appease him (Lev. 18:21; 20:2-5; 2 Ki. 23:10; Jer. 32:35). Cross-border raids into Israel from the eastern side of the Jordan eventually motivated Jephthah to defeat them and bring much-needed peace to the area (1087-1081 B.C.).  Now, some 44 years later, the Ammonites were back at it again with the bloodthirsty, power-hungry desires of Nahash, the snake. Sound familiar?

Note how quickly the Israelites caved to his siege tactics. Even though they had just crowned Saul their king by divine approval through the prophet Samuel, and even though they had a rich history of God’s Ark protecting them by His miraculous moves, they folded like a proverbial lawn chair in a moment of fear. They did not offer prayers to the Lord. They didn’t remember they were under divine command not to form covenants with non-Jews (Ex. 23:32). They did not seek the counsel of the prophet Samuel. They did not even reach out to their new king, which shows they, like the bums at the end of chapter 10, did not think too much of Saul’s unproven ability as a farmer to take on seasoned troops of their enemy. So, they who were in no position to make a deal with Nahash sought one. Note to self: Never cower before an evil person, and most certainly, don’t attempt to make a deal with them. That’s like making a deal with the Devil; the outcome will never be in your favor.

How did Nahash respond? Read on and see:

2 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.”

Talk about brutal. His cruel condition was simple: Permit him (or his troops) to gouge out the eye of every male, and he would sign the deal.

Dr. Robert Chisholm, one of my former Hebrew professors, offers this insight on the text here:

In the scroll of Samuel found in cave 4 at Qumran, an entire additional verse is included at the beginning of 1 Samuel 11. It reads: “Nahash, king of the Ammonites, was oppressing the Gadites and Reubenites severely, and he was boring out every right eye, allowing no one to save Israel. There was no one left among the Israelites across the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not bored out. Seven thousand men had escaped from the power of the Ammonites, however, and had come to Jabesh Gilead.” Josephus was also aware of this tradition (Antiquities 6.68–71). The verse may have been omitted from the original text by accidental scribal error. If it is a reliable historical tradition, then Nahash is engaging in an aggressive imperialistic campaign in Transjordan, designed to bring the entire region under his rule[1]

This info tells us that the people of Jabesh-Gilead had sound reasons to be twisting in their tunics. The tribe of Gad was located just south of them in the Transjordan, and the tribe of Reuben was just south of them. If the men in these two tribes had lost their eyes to this snake, what hope did they have? The Lord was their strong tower (Psalm 46:1), but they failed miserably to turn to Him. Are you guilty as you stare down the Snake?

Why did Nahash want the right eye of the men? Archers and swordsmen were typically right-handed, meaning they were probably right-eye dominant. Removing the right eye would reduce their ability to shoot and fight precisely, making them useless on a battlefield and easy to control by a despot—a shrewd but sinister move. Sadly, the same brutality still exists in the region today. Is this not like your Adversary, the Serpent? He always looks for ways to make you powerless in the spiritual battle (1 Pet. 5:8) through compromise, disillusionment, discouragement, and so forth. Be wise concerning his ways. Stop for a moment and consider this question: Who is your Nahash?

Before these cowardly leaders of Jabesh-Gilead approved this radical, life-changing request of Nahash, they offered him what I call . . .

The Proposition (1 Sam. 11:3)

Here it is:

3 And the elders of Jabesh said to him, “Let us alone for seven days, that we may send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to deliver us, we will come out to you.”

Nahash had to know he would eventually win a siege battle; however, that would take longer than seven days. So, he must have thought, given his superior bargaining position with troops just outside the city walls, that a seven-day cease-fire could not hurt. So, he agreed. If these leaders could not find anyone to come and fight against this menacing army, then they would agree to let him remove all of their right eyes so they could become his defenseless subjects.

Once more, their request smells of cowardice. God wanted them to be courageous, but they failed, opting to ask other Israelites to take on this formidable foe instead. They didn’t pray. They didn’t ask for the Ark as Israelites had done previously when facing an enemy (1 Sam. 4:4). They didn’t even ask for their king to come to their rescue because they didn’t have faith in him. They sent men throughout the region, bemoaning their terrible predicament.

This spiritually and militarily jacked-up situation led to what I call . . .

The Polarization (1 Sam. 11:4-10)

For Saul, it was just another day of hard work in his father’s fields around the mountain town of Gibeah. God, however, was about to mess with his mettle by testing him in the fire of a foe named Nahash.

4 Then the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and spoke these words in the hearing of the people, and all the people lifted up their voices and wept.

Note how the messengers did not look for Saul at all, even though this was the town of the new king. This shows how little faith they had in the one God promised to use to take on their enemies (1 Sam. 9:16). All they did was share the bad news about Jabesh-Gilead, and everyone then erupted in uncontrollable and loud crying and screaming. No solutions, just straight emotion. No courage, just caving.

All of this changed in a moment. In a flash, the people were challenged to move from immobilization to polarization, from being mentally and spiritually frozen to mentally and spiritually fired up, and it all changed with the courage of their new king, Saul.

5 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.

Talk about dangerous and demanding work. Plowing in the hard dirt of Gilead was not for the faint-hearted and physically challenged. Saul must have been quite the man. As he walked into town, he couldn’t help but hear all the loud commotion. Naturally, he wanted to know what happened, so the people gave him the bad news.

At that precise moment, instead of becoming fearful, like everyone else, he became fearless:

6 Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul mightily when he heard these words, and he became very angry.

When the Spirit of God descends upon a person, He equips them to do things beyond their pay grade to employ D.C. language. To prove this point, all you have to do is read through the book of Judges and note how ordinary people, when empowered by the living God, did extra-ordinary things to bring salvation to others as they dealt with evil head-on (Jud. 3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 13:25; 14:6). In an instant of righteous anger over an evil foe seeking to bring death, disfigurement, and degradation to many of his Jewish brothers and sisters, Saul went from the man who hid among the baggage as they sought to make him the king, to being fired-up to fight the foe. Where did this courage come from? God. Sure, Saul had to rise to the occasion, but as he stepped forward based on the evil evidence at hand, God empowered him to be a force to be reckoned with. Zechariah’s statement about this hundreds of years later is so true:

6 Then he answered and said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,'” says the LORD of hosts. (Zech. 4).

When God descends on you, He sends you to take on evil, be what it may, whether it is speaking to a school board about what constitutes actual sex and gender or becoming a whistleblower regarding the criminal activity you see at your place of employment.

How did King Saul motivate the fearful people to be fearless? In a most ancient fashion:

7 And 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 fell on the people, and they came out as one man.

Saul left Israel with a word picture from a slain yoke of oxen he had just plowed with they would never forget. Either you come and fight with me, or you will wind up like these oxen. Please do not overlook the fact Saul asked them to come and fight after him and Samuel. This showed that he did not want to be a king like all the nations but one who listened and followed the prophet of God. So far. So good. But, from what we know of the rest of the book, it would not last because Saul’s character flaws would eventually get the best of him. Yet, at least he started well.

What was the result of Saul’s challenge? The Lord caused the people to fear him, and not Nahash, and all of this resulted in them coming out in droves to become soldiers:

8 And he numbered them in Bezek; and the sons of Israel were 300,000, and the men of Judah 30,000.

The courage of the one became the courage of the many. It is the same with you. If you will be courageous for God in standing up to evil, you will, by definition, inspire others. The revival fire can break out all over our land if you will not buckle but be brave. What is bravery? Let us remind ourselves:

  • A ship in the harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for. (John A. Shed)
  • Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear. (Franklin D. Roosevelt)
  • Courage is fear that has said its prayers. (Gen. George Patton)
  • No matter how difficult it seems at the time, it’s easier to do the right thing than spend a lifetime regretting that you didn’t. (Robert O’Malley, Marin Corps-Vietnam War, Medal of Honor recipient)
  • Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway. (John Wayne)

I think it is time to saddle up because Nahash is no longer outside the city walls of our nation; he has breached those walls and is attacking everything we hold sacred, from what constitutes a family to whether the life of the unborn should be protected or not.

In regal fashion, Saul next sent some runners to Jabesh-Gilead folks with some much-needed intel. Salvation was coming.

9 And they said to the messengers who had come, “Thus you shall say to the men of Jabesh-gilead, ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have deliverance.'” So the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh; and they were glad. 10 Then the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.” (1 Sam. 11)

True, Saul acted like a brave king in a fearful time, and his bravery instilled bravery in his new troops, but I am amazed at how the people of Jabesh did not volunteer to join in the fight. They decided to remain behind the safe walls of their fortress. It is too bad they did not rise to the occasion. What about you? Are you acting like the people of Jabesh? I’m sure you have your reasons for keeping your head down, but as times smell of sunset, as Nahash the snake is working overtime to dilute and destroy churches, Christians, and our nation, it’s time to stand up and be counted.

His military prowess matched Saul’s courage as we consider the final movement of this historical narrative:

The Provision (1 Sam. 11:11-15)

Saul went from knowing how to plow a field with oxen to using his military to engage and defeat a relentless, ruthless foe. Take notes on this. The same Lord who equipped this man to do things beyond his pay grade is ready to equip you to say or do what you need to to take Nahash down.

11 And it happened the next morning that Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp at the morning watch, and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And it came about that those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

Using a three-fold pincer movement between 2 and 6 a.m., Saul caught the cocky troops of Nahash off-guard and completely routed them. In our vernacular, they never knew what hit them as these 330,000 motivated Israelite warriors outflanked, outfought, and outfoxed them.

Once victory was secured, the brave warriors wanted their pound of flesh from those who had previously questioned Saul’s military prowess.

12 Then the people said to Samuel, “Who is he that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, that we may put them to death.”

Saul’s character shone here when he replied:

13 But Saul said, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the LORD has accomplished deliverance in Israel.”

Did you get that? He just said that the victory belonged to the LORD, which meant there was no room for personal revenge. Today was a day of spiritual celebration for how God had worked in and through all of them, the king included. Again, this shows that Saul started so well. Humility and meekness dripped from this statement. It is just too bad he didn’t guard his heart as he remained Israel’s first king. But, at least he gave us a glimpse of how a person with character flaws can be used by God when he bows before God, seeking His empowerment.

Watching Saul’s progress, coupled with that of the people, moved the aged Samuel to do this:

14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come and let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal. There they also offered sacrifices of peace offerings before the LORD; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

Gilgal was where the Jews set up the twelve stones from the river bed of the Jordan that God had miraculously parted. These stones were a reminder that God was with them and had forged them into a new nation (Jud. 4:19-5:11). So, it was fitting for Samuel to ask everyone to assemble here at a place of victory based on God’s historical provision. It was also fitting for all of these brave people to pause and offer sacrifice in worship of the Lord who had empowered them to be victorious over evil.

God had messed with their mettle, and they came out hardened by courage to stand up to snakes like Nahash. And when that courage led to victory, they did what humble saints should do: they gave God the praise. Now it is your turn. God is testing your mettle with your version of Nahash. What will you do? And when, not if, God gives you a victory, will you take time to praise Him?

When the Berlin Wall came down, the one-time brutal East German dictator Erich Honecker asked for help. For years, he had been an avowed enemy of the Church, and he had personally harassed Uwe Holmer, a German pastor. Now that he was on the run, he wanted grace. He was driven from power, ousted from his home, and pushed out of a hospital onto the cold street, and at that point, he reached out to Pastor Holmer.

I’ll let a Christianity Today article pick up the rest of the story:

Holmer had to decide what he believed. He knew what the answer was.

“Jesus says to love your enemies,” he explained to his neighbors at the time. “When we pray, forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us—“we must take these commands seriously.” The evangelical minister accepted the deposed dictator into his home in January 1990 and cared for him and his wife Margot for two and a half months. The action shocked Germans, East and West. The 40-year division of the country had just collapsed, and as the Cold War came to a surprising end, the German people didn’t know how they should treat those on the other side. That is until a then unknown pastor offered one bold answer: forgiveness and hospitality. Bitterness, Holmer said, is “not a good starting point for a new beginning among our people.”[2]

Amazing. A snake was just overcome by the courageous actions of a saint. What will you do with your snake? Interestingly, biblical history tells us how Nahash the snake became a friend to King David (2 Sam. 10:2). I wonder how that happened. Yeah. I wonder.

 

[1] Robert B. Chisholm Jr., 1 & 2 Samuel, ed. Mark L. Strauss, John H. Walton, and Rosalie de Rosset, Teach the Text Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2013), 68–69.

[2] Daniel Silliman, “Died: Uwe Holmer, Pastor Who Forgave a Communist Dictator,” Christianity Today (10-2-23)

 

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