In today’s Scripture, Saul faces a different situation (compared to yesterday’s). First, it was internal enemies: Israelites who didn’t accept his leadership. This time, it’s an external enemy: the king of Ammon, a neighboring country that had long been hostile to Israel and was now looking to pick a fight.
The name “Nahash” is the exact same word that is translated as “the serpent” in Genesis 3:1. This man wasn’t just a “son of Belial” — he was the epitome of Belial, in the flesh! Nor was his threat idle. In the Dead Sea Scrolls edition of 1 Samuel 11, the verse with which our text opens is preceded by a few verses that didn’t make it into our edition: “King Nahash of Ammon was violently oppressing the people of the tribes of Gad and Reuben. He put out everyone’s right eye and brought terror and fear on the people of Israel. Not one Israelite man was left in the territory east of the Jordan River whose right eye Nahash failed to put out. But seven thousand men fled from the Ammonites and came to the town of Jabesh in the territory of Gilead.”
That explains why Nahash moved against that particular town in 1 Samuel 11:1. So, with a major “terrorist” threatening his people, what did Saul do? First, according to verse 6, the Spirit of God came upon him, and then he took action to fight back against the external threat.
When your enemies threaten you, do whatever the Spirit of God leads you to. That way, success is guaranteed. You can’t defeat the Devil in your own strength!
John H. Roller
Extended Scripture: 1 Samuel 11–12
