1 Samuel 11:1-15: Saul Leads Israel to Victory

1 Samuel 11:1-15: Saul Leads Israel to Victory

We’ve been working our way passage by passage through the book of 1 Samuel, and today the next passage we come to is 1 Samuel 11:1-15. It says,

¹ Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead, and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.” ² But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “On this condition I will make a treaty with you, that I gouge out all your right eyes, and thus bring disgrace on all Israel.” ³ The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days’ respite that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you.” ⁴ When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people, and all the people wept aloud. ⁵ Now, behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen. And Saul said, “What is wrong with the people, that they are weeping?” So they told him the news of the men of Jabesh. ⁶ And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled. ⁷ He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!” Then the dread of the Lord fell upon the people, and they came out as one man. ⁸ When he mustered them at Bezek, the people of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. ⁹ And they said to the messengers who had come, “Thus shall you say to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have salvation.’ ” When the messengers came and told the men of Jabesh, they were glad. ¹⁰ Therefore the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.” ¹¹ And the next day Saul put the people in three companies. And they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together. ¹² Then the people said to Samuel, “Who is it that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, that we may put them to death.” ¹³ But Saul said, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has worked salvation in Israel.” ¹⁴ Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom.” ¹⁵ So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the Lord, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

May God bless the reading of his Word.

Let’s pray: Father, we’re gathered around this text of Scripture today because we want to hear from you. And we want to hear from you because we want to know you more and love you more and be more conformed to your image. So, please, bless our efforts and glorify your name. It’s in Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

One of the phrases that’s become quite popular in recent years is the phrase “toxic masculinity.” And, to be clear, I do believe there’s a such thing as “toxic masculinity.” There are people who promote qualities in men such as dominance and hyper-aggressiveness and a disposition toward violence. They also openly encourage men to treat women like their own personal property and exploit them sexually and take advantage of them in almost every way imaginable. So, “toxic masculinity” does exist.

Yet that phrase is often weaponized and used to refer not merely to these distortions of masculinity I’ve mentioned but to many of the main character traits associated with masculinity in general. As a result, I believe it’s fair to say that masculinity itself is under attack in our society and has been for a number of years. We live in a society in which men are quite frequently discouraged from being men and from exhibiting the character qualities the Bible says men should exhibit. These include embracing the responsibilities of adulthood, being steadfast in their convictions about what’s right, and taking the initiative to make an impact on the world around them in a positive way. These qualities also include men stepping up and embracing their calling to be leaders in their families, churches, and communities.

It seems like many men are so afraid of being accused of “toxic masculinity” or some other weaponized label that they just kind of shy away from what God’s called men to be and do. They’re so afraid of doing something wrong that they often don’t end up doing much of anything. Instead of being determined in their pursuit of worthy goals, they’re timid. Instead of being faithful, they’re reluctant. Instead of being courageous, they’re fearful. And instead of taking initiative in their lives, they’re passive.

To be candid with you, it feels like a lot of young men especially in society are like a plane that’s aimlessly taxiing around the airport and, in some cases, even moving down the runway but that never quite gets airborne. As I once heard it said, they’re essentially boys who shave. And I think we’re seeing the results of that in our society right now. I’m convinced one of the reasons our society is in a state of decline is because men aren’t—number one—embracing the responsibilities of adulthood and—number two—stepping up as leaders in their families, churches, and communities. So, there ends up being a huge leadership vacuum and a crisis of leadership in society.

And that’s why I appreciate today’s main passage so much of 1 Samuel 11:1-15. In this passage, we see a man named Saul—who was formerly timid, reluctant, fearful, and passive—now becoming the leader God had called him to be.

If you remember back to the previous passage, when Samuel gathered the Israelites together in order to announce Saul as their king, Saul actually tried to hide. 1 Samuel 10:20-22 told us, ²⁰ Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. ²¹ He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its clans, and the clan of the Matrites was taken by lot; and Saul the son of Kish was taken by lot. But when they sought him, he could not be found. ²² So they inquired again of the Lord, “Is there a man still to come?” and the Lord said, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.” Saul was so fearful and so reluctant to serve as the leader of God’s people that he actually hid himself among the baggage.

Yet here in 1 Samuel 11, we read about Saul courageously stepping up and leading the Israelites to victory over their enemies. That’s the main idea of this passage. Saul leads the Israelites to victory over their enemies. And my hope—as we work our way through this passage—is that God would use this to encourage especially the men of our church to do what I outlined a few moments ago and be determined instead of timid, faithful instead of reluctant, courageous instead of fearful, and to take the initiative to be the leaders God’s called us to be in our families, church, and communities instead of being passive.  

Now, you may remember from the past couple of weeks that the circumstances in which Saul was made king were admittedly less than ideal. The mentality and motive that led the Israelites to insist on having a king weren’t at all pleasing to God. Yet, there are nevertheless some good principles for leadership we can extract from this passage, and I’d like to identify five of them this morning—five principles for leadership.

So, look with me first at verses 1-2. It says, ¹ Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead, and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.” ² But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “On this condition I will make a treaty with you, that I gouge out all your right eyes, and thus bring disgrace on all Israel.”

So, this wasn’t exactly the best situation for the people of Jabesh. In fact, it was nothing short of a crisis. The Ammonites were determined to humiliate them in an incredibly brutal way. By the way, this is the first time we’ve encountered the Ammonites in 1 Samuel. In contrast to the Philistines, who were primarily to the west of Israel, the Ammonites were to their east. And the Ammonites—led by Nahash—now besiege the Israelite city of Jabesh.

We then read in verses 3-4, ³ The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days’ respite that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you.” ⁴ When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people, and all the people wept aloud.

Now, the first question that comes to my mind when I read these verses is, “Why did Nahash, the Ammonite king, allow the people of Jabesh to send messengers to the rest of Israel?” The previous verses just told us that Nahash had besieged the city—implying that he had the city surrounded. So, why did he allow messengers to leave the city in order to seek help from the other cities of Israel?

Yet I think verse 2 actually gives us a clue as to why Nahash would do that. Verse 2 told us that the reason Nahash wanted to gouge out the right eyes of everyone in Jabesh was because he desired to “bring disgrace on all Israel.” Nahash wanted to put to shame not just the city of Jabesh but the entire nation of Israel. So, here in verses 3-4, he allows messengers to leave Jabesh in an effort to get help from their fellow Israelites—presumably with the thought that this will help him bring disgrace on the whole nation. He’s apparently quite confident either that help won’t come or that any help that does come will be no match for his army.

And we see that the people of the Israelite city of Gibeah actually have a similar assessment of the situation. It says that “When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people, and all the people wept aloud.” They didn’t see any way they’d be able to deliver Jabesh from the Ammonite army. 

Verse 5 then tells us, “Now, behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen. And Saul said, ‘What is wrong with the people, that they are weeping?’ So they told him the news of the men of Jabesh.” So, we see here that Saul—even after being proclaimed king in the previous chapter—apparently went right back to working the fields at his home in Gibeah. We find him here “coming from the field behind the oxen.” That’s another indication of his reluctance to be king.

Yet all of that changes in verse 6. It says, “And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled.” So, from this point on in the chapter, Saul’s going to be a different man. And what was it that made the difference? “[T]he Spirit of God rushed upon [him.]” In verse 10 of the previous chapter, we read that the “Spirit of God” had already “rushed upon” Saul soon after his initial encounter with Samuel, resulting in Saul prophesying. It says that, “When they came to Gibeah, behold, a group of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them.”

And now, here in our main passage, the “the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul” again. And this is actually one of the features of the Holy Spirit’s ministry in the Old Testament that’s important for us to understand. In contrast to the Spirit’s ministry to Christians in this New Testament, where the Spirit takes up permanent residence in our hearts and never leaves us from the moment of our conversion onward, the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament only came upon certain individuals usually only for a certain amount of time and in order to empower them for a certain task. And that’s what the Holy Spirit does with Saul in this passage. He rushes upon Saul in order to empower Saul for what he’s about to do.  

So, make sure you keep in mind, as we go through the rest of this passage, that it was the Holy Spirit who enabled Saul to exhibit the leadership qualities we’re about to see. And by the way, the same goes for us today. Speaking to everyone—yet, as I said, especially to the men here this morning—we need to lead according to the guidance and in the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s only as we’re led and empowered by the Spirit that we can do anything that’s of any value for anyone.

And that brings us to the first principle for leadership we see in Saul, which is that good leaders take an interest in the welfare of those they lead. In verse 6, the Holy Spirit arouses within Saul righteous anger at the way his fellow Israelites in Jabesh are being threatened and humiliated. This anger, of course, comes from Saul’s concern for the welfare of the people of Jabesh. Although Saul could have simply ignored what the people of Jabesh were going through and reasoned to himself that Jabesh was pretty far out there toward the edge of Israel’s border anyway, he instead was deeply concerned about their welfare.

Likewise, good leaders today are concerned not merely about their own advancement or even their own welfare but are instead deeply concerned about the welfare of those they lead. As we’ve already seen in recent weeks, Jesus tells his disciples in Matthew 20:25-28 that true greatness consists in serving other people. And that’s the mentality good leaders have. This leads them to be responsive to the needs of those around them and to actively work to address problems rather than ignoring problems—just as Saul does in our main passage.

And we see how Saul does this in the subsequent verses. Look at verses 7-8: ⁷ He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!” Then the dread of the Lord fell upon the people, and they came out as one man. ⁸ When he mustered them at Bezek, the people of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand.  

So, Saul certainly has an interesting recruitment method for getting people to enlist in the miliary. He cuts oxen into pieces, sends the pieces throughout Israel, and threatens to do the same to the oxen of anyone who doesn’t report for duty. I just feel bad for the UPS guys who had to deliver those pieces of Saul’s oxen. It’s not like they had ice or refrigerated trucks back then, so that must have been a very bloody and smelly job to have. Nevertheless, Saul’s recruitment method proves very effective as 330,000 men from Israel and Judah assemble “as one man.”

We then read in verses 9-11, ⁹ And they said to the messengers who had come, “Thus shall you say to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have salvation.’ ” When the messengers came and told the men of Jabesh, they were glad. ¹⁰ Therefore the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.” ¹¹ And the next day Saul put the people in three companies. And they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together. So, Saul leads the Israelites to victory over the Ammonites. And it’s indeed a decisive victory, “so that no two of [the Ammonites] were left together.”

This illustrates a second leadership principle, which is that good leaders demonstrate courageous initiative. Saul saw an issue that needed to be addressed and took the initiative to address it. And he did so quite courageously. Even though Saul had presumably never led anything very significant prior to this in his life and therefore had every reason to feel inadequate and unqualified, he courageously leads a huge army into battle. It’s a pretty remarkable jump to go from leading a yoke of oxen in a field to leading 330,000 men into battle. Yet instead of being passive or reluctant, Saul steps up and rises to the occasion and does what needs to be done. And I pray the Lord raises up more men—and especially Christian men—to do the same in our society.

In addition, we also see a third leadership principle in these verses, which is that good leaders employ practical wisdom. You know, sometimes people think that it’s somehow more “spiritual” not to have a plan but instead to simply “trust God” to work out the details without ever trying to think through those details yourself. And while there’s certainly a place for being obedient to any clear direction God gives you—even if you don’t know exactly how he’s going to provide everything that’s needed—it’s also important to recognize that there’s tremendous value in employing practical wisdom. That’s why we have an entire book of the Bible devoted to practical wisdom—the book of Proverbs. And here in these verses, we see Saul employing practical wisdom by organizing his army into three companies and attacking the Ammonites while the Ammonites are asleep. So, Saul leads in a way that’s thoughtful and strategic.

Now, before we go any further, I’d like to address something in these verses that isn’t necessarily related to leadership but that I personally find to be a very intriguing topic. In verse 10, the people of Jabesh deceive the Ammonites by telling them, “Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.” Obviously, they have no intention of actually turning themselves over to the Ammonites but are instead simply trying to trick the Ammonites into letting their guard down. So, we might wonder, was that a morally appropriate thing for them to do? And what about us? Is it ever morally permissible for us to tell a lie?

 This is something that’s been intensely debated for centuries among theologians, but, fortunately for us all, I’ve managed to figure out the right answer and am going to share it with you in less than five minutes. Just joking, of course. In fact, I’d actually just like to share with you an extended quote from an ethicist who I think has written very insightfully about this question.

He writes, “Deception is an act of war, and the same distinctions that we make between murder and killing must be made between lying and lawful deception. The sinful forms of deception are those which introduce a state of civil war and animosity into communities that ought to be at peace….When someone bears false witness against his neighbor [which is what’s prohibited by the ninth commandment], he is introducing a state of…animosity where there ought to be peace….”

“But in the course of a just war, deception is not a problem at all. When the Israelites pretended to retreat in the second battle of Ai, this was not a violation of the ninth commandment. When Moses told Pharaoh that he wanted him to let the people go, the request was to let them go for a three-day festival. Neither was this a violation of the ninth commandment. When David pretended to be mad in a foreign court, he was deceiving the king but not breaking the ninth commandment….[Rahab’s] deception concerning the spies was not a violation of the ninth commandment, and, as James teaches us, it was [involved in] her justification. And when the Hebrew midwives misled Pharaoh on why they were not committing infanticide, neither were they breaking the ninth commandment. In fact, God expressly blessed them for what they did. So, assume a just war, lawfully conducted. Is it a [sin] for a tank commander to drive around in a camouflaged tank, telling the enemy pilots he is a bush when in fact he is not a bush? Is it a sin for an undercover operative, crossing a border, to say nothing when the security guards look at his false passport? Should he say, ‘Thanks for the questions, guys. I have been looking for an opportunity to come clean’? Of course not.”

So, ordinarily, of course, God expects us to tell the truth. God is a God of truth, and Christians should therefore be a people of truth. There are countless commands in the Bible to that effect. Yet I do believe there are exceptions to that in certain very extreme cases—such as in a just war or in a situation very similar to a just war such as someone intending to murder or do serious physical harm to someone else. Just as most of us would agree that killing is morally justified in the course of a just war, I believe that deception is likewise justified in the course of a just war and in other similar circumstances. So, there you go. Hopefully you find that helpful—or, at the very least, hopefully that’ll make for some interesting Community Group discussions this upcoming week.

Yet, returning to the situation in 1 Samuel 11, there are a couple of additional leadership principles that Saul exemplifies. Verses 12-13 describe what happens in the aftermath of Saul’s incredible victory over the Ammonites. We read, ¹² Then the people said to Samuel, “Who is it that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, that we may put them to death.” ¹³ But Saul said, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has worked salvation in Israel.”

So, Saul refuses to get revenge on those who opposed his appointment as king in the previous chapter. And in that we see a fourth leadership principle, which is that good leaders are gracious toward their opponents. Instead of demonizing their opponents, getting even with their opponents, or using the same dirty tactics against their opponents that their opponents might use against them, good leaders are gracious, principled, and honorable even toward those who fall far short of those standards themselves.  

We also see in these verses that good leaders give glory to God. Even though Saul had plenty of opportunity to boast in his victory, he instead says in verse 13 that “today the Lord has worked salvation in Israel.” The glory for Israel’s victory belonged not to Saul but to God—and Saul acknowledged that clearly and publicly. Likewise, good leaders are quick to give credit where credit is due. And that means directing people’s attention ultimately to God. Glorifying God is the ultimate purpose of our lives and should therefore be the ultimate goal of our leadership.

We then read in verses 14-15 about the Israelites renewing the kingdom with Saul as their king. Whereas it seems that Saul was merely announced as king in the previous chapter, he’s now officially “made king”—in the words of verse 15—and firmly established in that role, having earned the confidence of all the people.

So, the five leadership principles we’ve learned from Saul are that good leaders take an interest in the welfare of those they lead, demonstrate courageous initiative, employ practical wisdom, are gracious toward their opponents, and give glory to God. And again, let’s remember that it was the Holy Spirt who enabled Saul to exhibit these qualities. The Holy Spirit took a man who we just saw in the previous chapter hiding in the baggage and—in this chapter, at least—made him into a capable and courageous leader. And God can do the same with any of us here today.

And if you’ll allow me again to speak especially to the men of our church—and even more to the younger men—I encourage you to think about how you can grow into the kind of man and leader that God would have you be. More specifically, think about how you might apply the leadership qualities Saul exhibits in this chapter to your own life as you seek to be a godly leader primarily in your family and also perhaps in the church or in your workplace or in another sphere of society.

For example, with regard to the first leadership principle, instead of being concerned primarily about your own comfort or advancement, will you take an interest in the welfare of those you lead and put their welfare above even your own welfare?  Instead of ignoring problems that come to your attention, will you address them? Instead of turning a blind eye to injustices that take place, will seek to correct them?

In addition, with regard to the second leadership principle, will you take the initiative to lead your family in the ways of God even if your own father never modeled such leadership for you? That would involve leading your family to be actively involved in a local church and to have regular family devotions. Will you also take the initiative to resolve conflicts in a godly manner, discipline your children whenever discipline is needed, and have spiritually meaningful interactions with your wife and kids in the course of everyday life?

With regard to the third principle of practical wisdom, will you work hard to provide for your family, be diligent to make sure the family finances are wisely managed, and proactively protect your family not only from anything that might be physically harmful but also from what might be spiritually harmful as well—such as ungodly entertainment options or unrestricted access to the internet.

With regard to the fourth principle, will you lead by example in seeking to love your enemies, treat other people respectfully even when they treat you poorly, and act in an honorable manner even when you’re tempted to give someone the kind of treatment you think they deserve?

And finally, regarding the fifth principle, will you seek to glorify God in every aspect of your leadership and recognize that it’s only by his grace that you can make a godly impact and leave a godly legacy? So, to bring it all together, what’s your next step in becoming the man God’s called you to be? That might be something worth thinking about and even writing down.

And also for women—and particularly younger women—in light of what I’ve just said to the men here, one thing you might consider is how you can encourage and nurture these qualities in your husband if you’re married and your sons if you have sons.

Yet one thing that’s equally applicable for all of us in this room is to remember that every earthly leader will fall short in various ways of what God says a leader should be. As we’ll see in subsequent chapters of 1 Samuel, Saul will eventually fall woefully short God’s will for him. Yet there’s one Leader who perfectly exemplifies every aspect of godly leadership and who, unlike earthly leaders, will never let us down. That Leader, of course, is Jesus.

In 1 Samuel 11, Saul rescues the people of Jabesh from the Ammonites. Yet each of us faces an enemy even worse than the Ammonites—the enemy of sin. In reality, our sins enslave us and make us deserving of suffering God’s punishment for all eternity. And just like the people of Jabesh, we’re utterly helpless to extricate ourselves from our dire situation.

So, in his love, Jesus came to this earth as a man, lived a perfectly sinless life, and voluntarily suffered the agonies of the cross to pay for our sins. Jesus was crucified in our place and in order to suffer the punishment our sins deserved. Yet that’s not the end of the story—because, three days later, Jesus triumphantly rose from the dead and thereby defeated sin and death and every evil power. The victory Saul won over the Ammonites was only a pale shadow of the victory Jesus won through his resurrection. Whereas Saul’s victory brought earthly deliverance, Jesus’s victory secured eternal deliverance for all who put their trust in him. 

As a result, as Paul says in Romans 8:37, we’re “more than conquerors through him who loved us.” In other words, Jesus conquered sin and death, and—through faith—we share in his victory. His victory becomes our victory as we put our trust in him.

And one day, we’ll see the ultimate realization of the victory Jesus won as our physical bodies are transformed into glorified resurrection bodies and we’re ushered into God’s glorious presence and are able to enjoy him for all eternity. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:54-57, ⁵⁴ When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” ⁵⁵ “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” ⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.