Today, the Lord Has Worked Salvation - 1 Samuel 11
The struggle with reading passages like 1 Samuel 11 is that it’s difficult to immediately see the relevance for our lives. Why should you or I care about the first king in Israel saving his people from an evil Ammonite king? It is an interesting story, but getting beyond that is difficult, especially since we live thousands of years after these events took place. We’re concerned about things like Tuesday’s election, the economy, our family, right?
But even passages like this one are relevant to us today. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable, even the passages that seem to have no bearing on my life. But as we walk through this passage a theme will emerge, and that theme is salvation.
Verse 13: “...today the Lord has worked salvation in Israel.” You see there’s a clear parallel that you and I must consider: Just as the people of Israel were dependent upon their king to save them, so you and I are dependent upon a king to save us.
We’re totally dependent upon Jesus for our salvation! We must rely on Jesus Christ.
In many ways this passage brings us back to the basics of our faith because we’re reminded first, that we face a common enemy (vv. 1-4), second, that Jesus saves us (vv. 5-11), which are, lastly, truths we must never forget (vv. 12-15).
Last week, we read that Saul was officially crowned king in Israel. Perhaps you remember how unique of a situation that was because Samuel announced Saul, but Saul was hiding among the baggage.
But Saul wasn’t anointed king in Israel for no reason at all. Samuel tells Saul exactly why he’s going to be king. 1 Samuel 10:1, “And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies.”
Based upon what we just read, that’s exactly what happened, right?
We face a common enemy (vv. 1-4)
At the beginning of chapter 11, we’re introduced to the man who was threatening God’s people: Nahash. Nahahs was the evil, incredibly arrogant Ammonite king.
Remember all the “ite” nations that surrounded Israel? The Ammonites, the Hittites, Perrizites. At this particular time in history, the Ammonites were powerful. And we know they were powerful because of how the men of Jabesh-gilead responded. As soon as Nahash arrived on the scene they were begging him for a treaty.
Nahash was willing to make a treaty with them under one condition, “that he gouges out all their right eyes.” Obviously, this would have been an incredibly cruel act, but there was a degree of thoughtfulness behind it.
If the men in Israel were missing their right eyes they’d be unable to fight against him. They wouldn’t be able to fight with a sword and shield or shoot a bow. They would never be able to revolt against him.
But Nahash’s desire to gouge out their eyes was more than just a strategic decision to incapacitate the fighting men in Jabesh-gilead. He wanted to humiliate them. He wanted to embarrass them. He said that he wanted to “bring disgrace on all Israel.”
But not only is Nahash evil, he’s incredibly arrogant as well. It’s almost humorous because the men of Jabesh-gilead asked him if they could have some time to find someone to save them before his attack - and Nahash agreed. He gave them some time.
Look at verse 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.”
Do you remember just how arrogant, manipulative, and mean Mr. Potter was from the movie, It’s a Wonderful Life? You don’t often think of mean bullies as a wheelchair bound disabled man, but that’s exactly who Mr. Potter was.
George Bailey’s life and business are thrown into turmoil when his airheaded Uncle Billy misplaced $8,000. That loss was going to ruin George financially, socially, and legally.
If you remember, Mr. Potter found the money and kept it because he knew it was going to destroy George’s family business which was the only thing holding him back from taking over the town. Mr. Potter got a lot of sick pleasure out of watching George’s life being thrown into chaos. When George was at his absolute lowest, he went to Mr. Potter for help but Mr. Potter cruelly turned him down suggesting that he was worth more dead than alive because of insurance money.
Nahash was a lot like Mr. Potter. He enjoyed watching the people of Israel be thrown into despair. Much like Mr. Potter, Nahash reveled in Israel’s hopelessness and sadness. We’re told in verse 4, that when they received the news, “all the people wept aloud.” Which of course, helps us understand why Nahash would say, “sure, I’ll put my attack on hold so you can find someone to defend you.”
He was completely convinced that no one could save them. He enjoyed the chaos.
To put it simply, Nahash was evil. He wanted the people of Israel to suffer. He wanted to disgrace them.
In many ways, Nahash was the enemy of the people of Israel but wouldn’t it be safe to say that there was a spiritual enemy that was behind all of this. Is it too far-fetched to say that Satan himself was prompting Nahash?
It actually makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it? Because the devil has always wanted to destroy God’s people. This is precisely what God was talking about in Genesis 3 when he said, “I will put enmity between you [Satan] and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Satan has always and will always seek to destroy God’s people. He wanted to destroy Israel and now he wants to destroy the church. He wants to destroy the bride of Christ and see it burned to the ground.
I think all of us are aware of all the different ways the church, particularly in America, is under attack. There are all sorts of different attacks upon the church. Everything from feminism, the LGBTQ agenda, to the antiracism agenda - that’s just the tip of the iceberg, but all of those have orthodox Christianity in their sights.
These cultural influences want to see the church destroyed. But then we have to remember what the Scripture says, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
These things that we often characterize as cultural conflicts within the church are the devices and attacks of Satan himself. Satan has always stood against the people of God and his attacks have looked different over the centuries.
Satan does not want the gospel message to spread.
Is it Nahash or Satan that wants to bring disgrace upon the people of God? Satan has always been the foundational enemy of God’s people. And what he really wants is to keep you and me trapped and bound to our sin without any hope of salvation.
Jesus saves us (vv. 5-11)
Which is exactly what’s going on in our passage, right? The people of Israel are demoralized, defeated, and hopeless. They don’t think anyone can save them. Even when they went to Saul, their new king who they desperately wanted, they didn’t actually expect him to do anything.
But look at verses 5-6: “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.”
Now when it says that the “Spirit of the Lord rushed upon Saul,” it’s not necessarily referring to a salvific experience. It’s not saying that in that particular moment Saul was born again, and regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Rather, it’s referring to a supernatural empowerment. Suddenly, the Spirit gave Saul the abilities to accomplish the task at hand.
In fact, we’re told that the Spirit rushed upon Saul and his anger was greatly kindled. He was angry for his people. He saw just how dejected, demoralized, and hopeless they were and it made him angry.
Now Saul isn’t a type of Christ, but Saul shares the same office as Jesus Christ. They’re both kings. And of course, Saul’s kingship points us toward the kingship of Jesus Christ.
And just as king Saul was angry for his people Jesus was angry for his people too.
In Matthew 23, Jesus gives his seven woes to the scribes, Pharisees, and hypocrites!
In Mark 3:5, Jesus looks at the Pharisees “with anger” because of their hardness of heart, as they were more concerned with religious rules than with compassion for a man needing healing.
Mark 10:14, Jesus was “indignant” when the disciples tried to prevent children from coming to Him.
But the most obvious is when Jesus drove out the money changers and turned over tables declaring “Do not make my Father’s house a house of trade” in John 2:13-17.
The fact that the people were being taken advantage of and becoming discouraged and hopeless angered both Saul and Jesus.
Again, Matthew 23 Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.”
The reality is, our world does feel hopeless at times. How discouraging is it when we feel like the weight of the world is pressing down upon believers? The church’s voice in our world has been nearly silenced.
And the result is that confusion, sadness, discouragement, and hopelessness have become incredibly prevalent in our society. It’s no wonder that anxiety, depression, and suicide are at epidemic levels. People don’t think there is anything worth living for. People don’t believe there is any hope of salvation.
The Lord isn’t pleased with this, in fact, it makes him angry. Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly.”
But the discouragement of the people stirred up Saul’s righteous anger. He was going to do something. This farmer’s kid with no military experience was going to rally the people of Israel against Nahash.
He chopped up an ox and sent it throughout Israel and said, “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.”
The next thing you know, Saul rallied 330,000 men for battle. And then of course, Saul’s leadership in the actual battle is incredible. This military rookie made wise veteran decisions: He split them up into companies and attacked the Ammonite army during the morning watch which was somewhere between 3am and sunrise. And did you catch the message that was relayed to Jabesh-gilead in verse 9? “Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have salvation.’”
Saul saved Israel. This unexpected man from Gibeah, where a lot of bad things happened in the book of Judges, this man - saved his people.
Again, does any of this sound familiar? A man from a small town, who doesn’t seem to have all the necessary qualifications to be our Savior, is in fact, the man ordained and sent by God to save his people from their sins.
Do you remember what Jesus said in John 10, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
If you’re a believer here this evening, you’re not waiting on salvation like the people of Israel. You already have it. You possess it and must live in light of it.
Despite all the discouragement, frustration, hostility that is brought on by our own sin, the world and Satan - we still have hope! Christians should be the most hopeful, optimistic people in the world, not because we pretend like our trials don’t exist, or that our battle with sin isn’t real, but because we’ve already been saved. And one day, Jesus is going to make all things new.
There’s a bright hopeful tomorrow even in the midst of the frustrating, depressing today.
It’s for that reason, we shouldn’t be like the people of Israel moping about, crying, wondering who’s going to deliver us from the pain of this world. We already know the answer! Jesus has already delivered us! Amen?
So now we have a message of glorious hope to share with a world that doesn’t see any way out! They just believe they are trapped in their sin, that there’s no hope for victory, but of course, that is a lie straight from the pit of hell.
You’re not trapped and the victory has already been won! There is salvation and it comes in and through the person of Jesus Christ. I hope that this gives you peace even in the midst of uncertainty.
Obviously, our presidential election is on Tuesday. Undoubtedly, there is a lot riding on it. It feels like the future of our country hangs in the balance - and I do believe that’s true.
But you and I have an opportunity to be a people who face uncertainty with tremendous confidence. We know that regardless of what happens, “Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have salvation.”
When things are at their most stressful, climatic point, when the day is at its absolute hottest, you shall have salvation.
A truth we must never forget (vv. 12-15)
These glorious truths are things that must always stay on the forefronts of our minds. We must always remember that it’s the Lord who works salvation. He saves us.
It’s interesting, because whether the people of Israel realized it or not, they too were dependent upon the Lord. After all, it was the Spirit of the Lord that rushed upon Saul and gave him the confidence and strategic thinking necessary to deliver the people of Israel from Nahash.
Saul didn’t really deliver the people, God had delivered them. And to his credit, Saul understood this point well.
It would seem that Saul is one of those people who acknowledge God, and even give God credit for his providence in their life without fully trusting and relying on him.
But the people wanted to give Saul all the credit. In fact, they wanted to put men to death who had ever doubted Saul’s ability to serve as king.
In 1 Samuel 10, after Saul became king, “...a group of worthless fellows asked, “how can this man save us? And they despised Saul.”
Saul’s supporters were ready to put these men to death after he led them to victory. But Saul said to the people in verse 13, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has worked salvation in Israel.”
Saul was merciful wasn’t he? He spared the lives of the worthless fellows and gave God the praise for delivering them from the hands of the Ammonites. But of course, they were gathering in Israel to remember that “the Lord had worked salvation in Israel.”
Which is why Samuel said in verse 14, “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.”
Samuel gathered the people of Israel together to remember how the Lord had saved them. We’re also told that they re-coronated Saul as king, which was a grand reminder of the duties and responsibilities of the kings in Israel. And their chief responsibility was to remember that they were subservient to God. We read about that in Deuteronomy 17.
The reality is, we so often forget! We forget what God has done! We forget the ways in which God has blessed us. We put our lives on autopilot and God simply falls off of our radar. Because sometimes it’s important to pause and reflect upon the things that we so often take for granted in our lives - like God’s goodness and faithfulness towards us.
For a period of time, Lauren and I kept moving one state further south. We lived in North Carolina for nearly four years, then we lived in South Carolina for nearly five years. And obviously, we grew up here, but whenever we would come back we had a new appreciation for mountains and the innate beauty of the Roanoke Valley, which was something that we didn’t really appreciate so much growing up here.
Keeping a healthy perspective is really important. Remembering why you appreciate someone or something is really important.
Which is a primary reason, I think why God gave us one day in seven for worship. Isn’t it an extremely healthy rhythm to pause and reflect upon God’s goodness, grace, and mercy towards us in Jesus Christ. We need that reminder.
Because if we’re not careful, everything will become about us. We’ll just constantly focus on ourselves.
We gather together on Sunday to do in many ways exactly what the people of Israel were doing in Gilgal. To remember our position and dependence upon God.
In many ways, we have a broad stroke picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ in this Old Testament passage.
As Luther wrote in the hymn that we sung last week A Mighty Fortress:
“For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; his craft and power are great, and armed with cruel hate.” We’re reminded that Satan wants to destroy the people of God and that we desperately need Jesus Christ to save us. And the mere fact that we are utterly dependent upon God for all things is something we can never forget.
If you’re a Christian there’s wonderful news: Jesus has already saved you. You don’t have to wait until tomorrow to experience salvation. You get to experience it right now.
And so are you living as if the victory has already been won, or are you living as if the victory is still to come?
As many of you know, George Bailey from It’s a Wonderful Life is shown by his guardian angel Clarence what life would look like in Bedford Falls if he had never been born. After he sees how terrible everything would be in his town without him, he snaps out of his depressive state and has a renewed sense of purpose and gratitude for his family and friends.
Don’t we do something similar each Lord’s Day? We gather to worship, remember, and renew our trust, faith, and allegiance to our Lord who’s already won the victory for us over our sin, death, and Satan.
Amen. Let’s pray.
