The king of Ammon,
Nahash, was approached by the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead, east of the Jordan
in the hills of Gilead.
They had refused to
help Israel deal with Benjamin, which cost them 600 lives, but their remaining
virgins were given to Benjamin so they could start again.
Anyway, now the same
community was caught up in an unholy alliance with Ammon. The king agreed to
make that alliance in return for poking out the right eyes of every soul in
Gilead.
They asked for 7 days respite
and turned to Israel for help. News reached Saul well within that time,
confirming that they had a great communication system in place.
Saul was incensed. He
immediately hacked his oxen into 12 and sent the portions to the tribal elders,
urging them to send men to march with him into battle.
330,000 men turned up.
Ammon was put to the sword.
Then Israel hailed
their king at Gilgal, the traditional cornerstone of the Promised Land.
Samuel was not so ecstatic (chapter 12)
Rather than celebrate the
coronation of Saul, Samuel chided Israel for choosing a man over God and made
it very clear that it was done under protest.
He revisited all the things
that God had already done for them and let them know how disappointing it was
to now turn against their God.
He then invoked God’s retribution
and a great storm arose, which had the people on their knees, confessing the
folly of their ways.
But it was all in
vain. Saul was king and that was that. God would not repent. Thus, he relented,
and committed to making it work.
Saul dropped the ball (chapter 13)
Saul selected 3,000
men and left 1,000 with Jonathon at Gibeah. However, his son was a bit
impulsive and attacked the Philistines at the Geba garrison.
Next thing 30,000
chariots were assembled against Israel.
Saul was still in
Gilgal. It had taken two years, but he finally did as Samuel commanded and went
to wait for the prophet, the prescribed 7 days.
At the end of those
days he grew restless because the Philistines were closing in, so at
more-or-less the 11th hour he sacrificed to God.
Samuel made his
Shakespearean entrance and asked what Saul had done.
He had violated the domain
of the king and of the priest. That separation of powers was critical to their
constitutional architecture.
It would not be the last
time that Saul would cross the line, but having done so, Samuel predicted that
he would eventually be cut off. His realm would end.
It was a painful
lesson. Samuel had come to brief Saul on his reign, but left disappointed with
Saul. The rift would never heal.
Saul then darkened and
retreated to Gibeah without resolving the Philistine threat that continued to
grow before a shaken king.
The Philistines
gathered in vast numbers with swords, but having denied Israel any blacksmiths,
the Jews could only sharpen their plowshares and axes.
Only in David’s time
would they master iron-age technology, but until then they had to rely on the Philistines to sharpen their iron tools and weapons.
In his exile, David spied out the ways of the Philistines. Israel was at a great disadvantage until they closed the technological gap.
In his exile, David spied out the ways of the Philistines. Israel was at a great disadvantage until they closed the technological gap.
Jonathon didn’t get the memo (Chapter 14)
While Saul was sulking
with his 600 men and some contrivance of a priest that was the son of Ichabod,
Jonathon hit back again.
This time he trusted
God and together with his armor-bearer, walked in a ravine below the Philistine lines.
His deal with God was
simple, “if they say they will come to us, we won’t budge, but if they say we
must come to them, we will go, for then God has delivered them into our hands”.
Their arrival in the Philistine
camp drove about 40 men to kill themselves, but before long the Philistines
were driven by a madness to slay each other.
Jewish warriors poured
out of the hills to join the fun.
The Philistines were
pursued and many fell, but Saul then tried to claim the initiative.
It exposed his
ineptitude. In a not so wise moment he said that anyone who ate anything until the
battle was done for the day, would be cursed.
Jonathon never got the
memo and ate some honey. His eyes were opened. He saw his father for what he
was and knew that he had weakened Israel.
But Saul would have
none of it and, by process of lot, deduced that Jonathon had disobeyed him.
However, when he dared to hurt Jonathon, the people stood in his way.
So Saul started to
regress. The people were willing to follow, but their king made haste to
confirm Samuel’s worst fears.
It remains a mystery
to this day why God chose Saul at all, except perhaps to illustrate that a man
who looks impressive externally may not be as impressive in the heart.
It is in stark
contrast to the youngster that followed, who was slight, but with a heart after
the heart of God. His kingdom would never end.
(c) Peter Missing @ bethelstone.com
