Saul's reign gets off to a difficult start, to say the least. Nahash the Ammonite besieges the town of Jabesh Gilead and refuses to make a treaty with the people unless he can gouge out the right eye of each person to bring shame on Israel. The elders of the town ask to be allowed seven days to send out messengers, at the end of which time they will surrender if no one has come to save them. Nahash is either so rubbish at sieges that he could do with reading a few more medieval fantasies, or so confident that no one will come that he thinks he can have some fun taunting the townspeople, because messengers do reach Saul.
Saul has been proclaimed king but he's obviously still figuring out what that means, because when the messengers arrive he is returning from the fields with his oxen. When he hears the news the Spirit of the Lord comes upon him and he burns with anger, butchering the oxen and sending the pieces throughout Israel with the warning that this is what will happen to anyone who does not follow him. We so often see anger as a negative emotion, and I'll admit it wasn't great for the oxen, but sometimes we need to get angry about things because that's when we'll do something about them.
The people of Israel gather and Saul sends messengers to proclaim to the people of Jabesh Gilead that they will be delivered the following day. The men of the town decide to play Nahash at his own game and tell him that they will surrender tomorrow, but that night Saul and the Israelites attack the Ammonite camp and slaughter them until the heat of the day. We're told that the Israelite army consisted of three hundred and thirty thousand men, making it rather unlikely that the Ammonites wouldn't have seen them coming and joined them in battle, and so we should probably take this story with a generous pinch of salt, remembering that history is usually written by the victors.
Saul has seen off the first challenge to his reign in remarkable style, and the people now call for those who doubted him to be put to death, but Saul says that no one will die for the Lord has rescued Israel. So far he's shaping up to be a strong and gracious leader. Saul is reaffirmed as king and there is a great celebration, but as there are beginnings so there are endings. Samuel tells Israel that he has listened to all they have said and given them a king, but he is old and has judged for a great many years, and so this is to be his farewell.
Samuel calls on the people to testify in the presence of the Lord that he has been a good and honourable man, and reminds them of all the righteous acts the Lord has done for them and their forefathers. He then warns them against rebelling against God, and calls upon the Lord to bring thunder and rain to show them what an evil thing they have done in asking for a king. Talk about putting a dampener on things! The people are afraid at this, but Samuel comforts them by saying that he will continue to pray for them and the Lord will not reject them, as long as they serve God faithfully and remember all he has done for them. No matter how badly we have screwed up, we can always put things right because God loves us and he wants the best for us. I know I've said it before, but I think it's the most important message in the whole of the Bible.
Saul decides to build on his initial military success by choosing three thousand men, two thousand of whom he leads himself and one thousand of whom he puts under the leadership of his son Jonathon. Given that Saul is supposed to be thirty when he becomes king, we must assume that either Jonathon is incredibly young, or the events told here happen later in Saul's reign, or someone has got the numbers wrong. A note in my Bible says that his age is only given as thirty in some late manuscripts of the Septuagint, not in the Hebrew, so the latter seems a reasonable assumption.
Jonathon takes his men and attacks a Philistine outpost, inciting them to war. This may seem like a rookie error, but Saul uses the opportunity to rally the rest of Israel to him, and so it was probably a calculated move, although he may have overestimated his men because they are terrified and begin to scatter. Meanwhile, Samuel has promised to come to Saul to make an offering, but when he does not arrive Saul takes it upon himself. When Samuel does eventually show up he rebukes Saul, telling him that he has disobeyed God and as a result his kingdom will not endure, but instead the Lord has sought a man after his own heart and appointed him leader.
The prophecy is the least of Saul's worries for the moment though, as finds himself in pretty dire straits. He only has six hundred men left and not one of them has a weapon. Jonathon sneaks over to the Philistine outpost with his young armour-bearer, in the belief that God will act on their behalf, declaring that nothing can stop the Lord from saving. He suggests they walk towards the Philistines, and proposes that if the men call them up, then it will be a sign that God will deliver them. The Philistines do call them up, intending to teach them a lesson, but Jonathon and the armour-bearer kill twenty men and send the army into disarray. Saul and his men take advantage of the confusion and march against the Philistines, and so Israel is rescued once again.
The story takes a different turn here, as we are told that Saul declared before the battle that any man who ate before he had avenged himself on his enemies would be cursed. This causes great distress among the people, but Jonathon did not hear this command and so eats some honey. One of his fellow soldiers tells him of his father's declaration, but Jonathon only replies that his father has made trouble for the country as the men would have fought better with something to eat. There are further food problems after the battle, as the men pounce on the plunder they have taken, butchering the livestock and eating it without draining the blood. Saul says the men have broken faith and calls them to slaughter their ox, building an altar on which I presume the ox are burnt as an offering. It seems Saul has suddenly begun to favour piety over practicality.
I had assumed that the Philistines had already been defeated at this point, but it seems that some remain as Saul now suggests going down to the Philistine camp to plunder and kill. The priest recommends that he consult God and he does, but God does not answer him. Saul assumes that this is the result of some sin committed by one of his men, and so he draws lots until he identifies Jonathon, who confesses that he ate some honey. Saul says he must put him to death, but the men intervene, saying that he has brought deliverance with God's help. Saul relents without argument, and the Israelites withdraw back to their own land. We are told in summary that Saul continues to inflict punishment on his enemies but his seems that his successes are only temporary as there is bitter war with the Philistines throughout his reign.
Samuel may have handed in his notice but he's still hanging around, and now he tells Saul that God wants him to attack the Amalekites and completely destroy everything that belongs to them. Saul summons his men and attacks the Amalekites, killing all the people but taking the king and the best of the livestock. The Lord then speaks to Samuel, saying that he is sad to have made Saul king because he has disobeyed him. When Samuel confronts Saul, he says that he did obey the Lord, but Samuel points out that God had told him to destroy everything. I have dealt elsewhere with the difficulty of reconciling such an instruction with a loving God, so for now all I will say is that I think the point we need to take away here is that God requires complete obedience.
Saul begs Samuel to forgive his sin, but Samuel says that Saul has rejected the Lord and so the Lord has rejected him as king. I think the "as king" bit is significant, as it suggests that Saul the man is not past the point of redemption even if Saul the king is. Saul again asks Samuel to come back with him so he can worship the Lord, who he now refers to as "your God". I think that's significant too, as it suggests that Saul recognises God but not his own relationship with him. How many of us find ourselves in that position, feeling as though God is for someone else but not for us? Samuel relents and goes back with Saul, taking this opportunity to finish the job Saul started by killing the Amalekite king, but this is the last Saul sees of him. Saul mourns for Samuel and the Lord grieves over Saul, and so we must leave this story in a dark and uncertain place.
No comments:
Post a Comment