The Chosen Key Word in this Chapter is “Deliverance” it comes from the Hebrew Word “teshuah” which means “salvation, deliverance.”
A brutal ultimatum from an enemy king gives Saul his first chance to prove himself as Israel’s leader. Welcome to Bible Life Basics Chapter Reviews, I am Chris and this is 1 Samuel 11.
Nahash the Ammonite besieges Jabeshgilead, and when the city offers to make a treaty, he responds with a horrifying condition, that he will only agree if he can gouge out everyone’s right eye as a reproach on all Israel. The elders of Jabeshgilead ask for seven days to send messengers throughout Israel seeking help before surrendering to this brutal demand.
When word reaches Saul, plowing in his field, “the Spirit of God came upon him,” and his anger burns fiercely. He cuts a yoke of oxen into pieces, sending them throughout Israel with a warning that anyone who does not follow Saul and Samuel into battle will have the same done to their own oxen, and “the fear of the LORD fell on the people,” so that they come out as one man, over three hundred thirty thousand strong.
Saul organizes the army into three companies and attacks the Ammonite camp in the early morning watch, striking them until the heat of the day, scattering the survivors so thoroughly that no two remain together. The people, thrilled with this decisive victory, ask Samuel to let them put to death those who had earlier questioned Saul’s ability to lead, but Saul refuses, insisting that no one should die that day, “for to day the LORD hath wrought salvation,” “teshuah” in Hebrew, “in Israel.” Samuel calls the people to Gilgal to publicly renew the kingdom there, and they offer sacrifices and rejoice greatly before the Lord.
Saul’s gracious refusal to punish his earlier critics, right after such a decisive military victory, shows real character at this early, promising point in his reign. His insistence that this day belonged to God’s salvation rather than personal vindication offers a glimpse of the leader he could have consistently been throughout his kingship.
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