Day #100

Sermon - Audio
1 Samuel 9-12 - Audio
1 Sameul 9-12 - Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

1 Sam 9

• 9.2: Saul’s name means “Asked (of God)”—Saul lives up to his name because the people asked God for a king and received Saul. The problem, of course, is that they got the king they asked for—one like all the other nations had, not the king God wanted for them.
• 9.2: Our introduction to Saul shows us only his external qualities, his good looks etc. (notice that some sages say that the reason that the girls have such a drawn out conversation with Saul in vss. 12-14 is that they want to keep looking at him). This emphasis on the outward is a bad sign since Hannah in 1 Samuel 2.9 “It is not by strength that one prevails…”
  
• 9.3: When we are introduced to Saul his a donkey wrangler. This most likely reflects that he is from a rebellious tribe (Benjamin) and will rule over a rebellious people (Israel).
• 9.9: The mention of a seer now being called a prophet reflects a change in work. A seer did his/her work before the monarchy and did not take on a role as a spiritual leader. With the coming of the monarchy prophets spoke God’s word to the king and the people. In doing so, they acted in a new role as spiritual leaders.
• In 9.16 God says that he will anoint Saul to be leader over his people. To be anointed means to be separated for a task by God and divinely empowered by him to carry out that task.
  
• In 9.17 we are told that Saul will govern or rule over the people of Israel. This word has strong connections with the idea of restraint or control. God is saying that the work of the king is to restrain or control the people. We can imagine that this restraining or controlling was especially in the area of restraining the people from sin. Do you allow people whom God has placed over you in your spiritual life to restrain you or do you rebel against those who God has put in place to help govern your life of faith?
• 9.24 The leg or thigh of a sacrificed animal was usually reserved for the priest, in giving it to Saul, Samuel was anticipating Saul’s anointing.

1 Samuel 10-11

• 10.1: Saul is anointed as king using a flask of oil. A flask is a weak, temporary container. It symbolized the weak and temporary nature of Saul’s reign. In 1 Sam 16.13 we find that David is anointed from a horn—a strong, long lasting vessel.

• 10.1: God anoints Saul as a prince over Israel. It is worth noting that David is anointed king.
• 10.2: Saul reflects judges such as Barak and Gideon in that he needs signs to be assured of God’s word. Samuel, the greatest prophet of the day anoints him as king, but it is clear that Saul needs more so three signs are given him. The need for signs is a sign of weak faith.
  • The significance of the three signs 1. that God has chosen a ruler from the least of the tribes 2. That Saul is worthy of tribute 3. That God’s Spirit will come upon him to empower him for kingship

• 10.7: Samuel tells Saul that after the three signs that he is to do whatever seems fitting to him to declare his kingship (“do whatever your hand sees fit to do, for God is with you”). But in spite of the signs and the instructions Saul does not declare his kingship, even when he has a direct opportunity to do so with his uncle. This forces Samuel to call the people together to declare Saul as king. For Saul, it is another instance of faithlessness. Even the signs don’t propel him forward to take on the task God has given him.
• 10.27: Saul does nothing to those who oppose his kingship. The sages say he should not have put up with this disrespect to his authority. It was a time when strength was called for. It may well have been another instance of his not really believing God that the kingship was his.

• 11.1The king who attacks Jabesh-Gilead is Nahash—his name means “snake”.

• 11.2The demand for the right eye may have referred only to the warriors of the town. To take their right eye would make them ineffective in battle.

• 11.4: Nahash gives 7 days because he is convinced no one will come to rescue Jabesh-Gilead which will humiliate not just the city but all of Israel because they could not stand up against him.
• 11.5: Jabesh–Gilead is closely connected with Saul. He has relatives there. To defeat that town would humiliate Saul and if Saul could not muster a force to defend the town his kingship would be dead before it began.

1 Samuel 12

• Samuel gives his farewell address to the people. In the address he makes it clear that what matters is not having a king to protect you, but having God to protect you. A king is worthless if God is not involved.
• Samuel points out that he has never taken anything from the people. How different a king will be!
• Notice that Samuel’s sons are also cleared of wrong doing in these verses. They weren’t as committed to the people as Samuel, but neither were they evil.
• The people ask for a king because they are afraid of attacks from the east and west—and unlike their fathers who cried out to God to rescue them, they want a king to save them. In many ways in getting Saul they get a king just like them, because he doesn’t really trust God either (see notes above).
• The name Bedan, according to the sages, is a shortened form of a name meaning from Dan and so it refers to Samson.
• The prayer for the miracle of rain in the wheat harvest is a prayer for rain during the dry season. Also, the prayer will bring destruction on the crops since they are drying in the fields. Rabbi Arabanel says that this miracle was to answer the unasked question of the people, ‘If a king is evil why did God grant our request?” The answer is that God will sometimes give a person who they ask for even if it is bad for him/her. The proof is sending rain in the summer when it is harmful to the crops and therefore the people.