Day 151: 1 Samuel 11-12

Summary

The Bible Dept. Podcast
Episode: Day 151: 1 Samuel 11-12
Release Date: May 31, 2025

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Introduction to Day 151

In Day 151 of The Bible Dept. podcast, host Ted Day delves into the powerful narratives of 1 Samuel 11 and 12, exploring King Saul's early reign, his validation as Israel's leader, and the profound theological implications of these chapters. This episode offers listeners a rich analysis, connecting historical contexts, literary nuances, and timeless truths that resonate with contemporary faith journeys.

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Quick Synopsis: Saul’s Anointment and Validation

Ted begins by outlining the three-step process involved in establishing Saul as king:

1. Anointing and Public Recognition: Saul is chosen and publicly acknowledged as the leader of Israel.
2. Testing: Saul faces significant challenges that test his leadership and reliance on God.
3. Validation: Through his actions and God's intervention, Saul's kingship is affirmed.

In 1 Samuel 11, Saul's leadership is put to the test when the Ammonite king Nahash besieges Jabesh Gilead. The distress of the Israelites leads Saul to mobilize a massive force, demonstrating his capability to lead and protect God's people. The subsequent victory over the Ammonites serves as a validation of Saul's kingship, solidifying his position as Israel's leader.

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In-Depth Discussion

Anointed but Not God's Primary Choice

Ted emphasizes that Saul's selection as king, while divinely sanctioned, was not the first choice. He states at [00:57]:

“Saul is picked by God because of the stubbornness of the people, because they are donkeys. God finds a donkey herder.”

This highlights the complexity of divine selection, where human flaws and societal circumstances influence God's decisions.

The Siege of Jabesh Gilead

Ted recounts the events of 1 Samuel 11, where Nahash's oppressive demands threaten the Israelites. The elders of Jabesh Gilead's plea for assistance leads to Saul's decisive action:

[04:10] Ted Day: "When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came powerfully on him."

Saul's rallying of 300,000 men from Israel and 30,000 from Judah showcases his leadership and the people's trust in him. The defeat of the Ammonites not only saves Jabesh Gilead but also unites Israel under Saul's banner.

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Nerdy Nuggets: Deeper Insights

Understanding Nahash

At [07:57], Ted explores the significance of Nahash:

“Nahash is a son of the serpent. If you go all the way back to Genesis, there's this promise that God makes to Eve that there's gonna be offspring born to her, offspring born to the serpent.”

This connection to Genesis 3:15 signifies a recurring theme of conflict between divine promise and human opposition.

Symbolism of Gouging the Right Eye

Ted breaks down the gruesome demand made by Nahash to the Israelites:

“Gouging out the right eye… it’s both practical and shameful. Practically, it weakens the men militarily; shamefully, it serves as a constant reminder of the oppression.”

This dual impact serves both a strategic and psychological tactic against the Israelites.

Links Between Judges and Samuel

Drawing parallels between 1 Samuel and the Book of Judges, Ted identifies recurring motifs:

• Geographical Focus: Both books spotlight regions like Jabesh Gilead and Gibeah.
• Violence as Rallying: Similar instances of gruesome acts to unite or purge (e.g., Judges 19 and 1 Samuel 11:7).
• Unity in Leadership: Emphasis on collective action and togetherness.

These literary connections underscore the cyclical nature of Israel's history and leadership challenges.

Foreshadowing Through Genesis 3:15

At [13:45], Ted connects Saul and David's victories to the prophetic promise in Genesis:

“Good kings are gonna fulfill Genesis chapter 3, verse 15. Jesus has fulfilled Genesis chapter 3:15 for us.”

This theological insight highlights the messianic threads woven through the Old Testament, illustrating how earthly leaders prefigure the ultimate king, Jesus Christ.

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Timeless Truths: Living Out Divine Promises

Changing God's Answer vs. Changing His Mind

Ted imparts a crucial spiritual lesson at [02:39]:

“You can change God's answer. That doesn't mean that you've changed God's mind.”

This distinction encourages believers to understand that human actions can influence outcomes without altering God's eternal nature or promises.

Faithful Leadership and Divine Validation

Saul's journey from anointed leader to a validated king exemplifies the importance of obedience and reliance on God. His actions under divine guidance reinforce the principle that true leadership aligns with God's will and leads to collective well-being.

Believing in Prophetic Fulfillment

As Genesis 3:15 believers, Ted urges listeners to recognize and embrace the fulfillment of prophetic promises. This belief fosters a deeper appreciation of God's redemptive plan and encourages believers to live out their faith actively.

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Conclusion: Embracing the Journey

Ted wraps up the episode by encouraging listeners to maintain their commitment to daily Scripture reading:

“A decision to get a daily diet of God's word is a decision that will forever change your life. You'll never regret it.”

He emphasizes the transformative power of consistently engaging with the Bible, urging believers to continue their journey with dedication and anticipation of God's unfolding story.

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Key Takeaways

• Establishing Leadership: The process of anointing, testing, and validating is crucial in understanding divine appointments.
• Symbolism and Prophecy: Biblical narratives are rich with symbols and prophetic threads that interconnect the Old and New Testaments.
• Faithfulness in Action: Obedient leadership under divine guidance leads to collective victory and validation.
• Living Prophetic Promises: Embracing and fulfilling prophetic promises enhances one's faith and aligns with God's redemptive purposes.

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Notable Quotes

• Ted Day [02:39]:
  “You can change God's answer. That doesn't mean that you've changed God's mind.”

• Ted Day [07:57]:
  “Nahash is a son of the serpent.”

• Ted Day [13:45]:
  “Good kings are gonna fulfill Genesis chapter 3, verse 15. Jesus has fulfilled Genesis chapter 3:15 for us.”

• Ted Day [14:42]:
  “We are Genesis 3:15 believers.”

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Final Encouragement

Ted Day concludes with heartfelt encouragement:

“If you're like, yo, why'd you give us two chapters today, but then four chapters tomorrow?… You’re not reading multiple stories at once. But I try to keep chunks together as much as I can.”

He reinforces the importance of perseverance in the Bible reading plan, assuring listeners that their commitment will lead to profound spiritual growth.

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Join us next episode as we continue our journey through 1 Samuel, uncovering more divine insights and timeless truths to enrich your faith walk. Stay committed, and let Scripture transform your life.

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For more resources and to join the daily reading plan, visit thebibledept.com.

Transcript

[Dr. Manny Arango]

Hey, Bible nerds. This is Dr. Manny Arango, and I'm your host for the Bible department podcast powered by Arma. This podcast follows a Bible reading plan we created to help you read the entire Bible in a year. You can head to the show notes or thebibledepartment.com to download our reading plan.

[Ted Day]

And join the Journey.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

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[Ted Day]

Seriously.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

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[Ted Day]

Here's the best part.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

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[Ted Day]

Have paid for themselves. Our church plant is growing, and it's because we chose the right partner.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

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[Ted Day]

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[Dr. Manny Arango]

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[Ted Day]

When the right people hear about your church family. Welcome to day 151. We are in First Samuel, chapter 11 and 12. Just two short chapters, all narrative based. If you have not done the reading, you wanna stop the video, stop the audio, Go do the reading. If you have done the reading, let's dive in. All right, the quick synopsis here is that Saul has been an anointed king. He's been chosen to be king. He is most likely not God's pick, but he is the consolation.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Okay?

[Ted Day]

And if there's one thing that we want to drive home as. As just a. As a timeless truth. I know typically I. I leave the timeless truth for the end. But. But it's this. You can change God's answer. That doesn't mean that you've changed God's mind.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Okay.

[Ted Day]

You could change God's answer, doesn't mean that you change his mind. And so there's a difference between God saying yeah and yeah. All right, so you can wear God down. Right. And so Saul is not God's pick.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

Saul is picked by God because of.

[Ted Day]

The stubbornness of the people, because they are donkeys. God finds a donkey herder. That's the context. I want us to now realize there's a three step process for the establishment of a king.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Okay?

[Ted Day]

The first is that a king is anointed and then publicly recognized. That's number one. Number two, kings are tested, and then three, there's the validation of that king. Okay, so there's this three step process, anointing and public recognition, testing and then validation of the kingship. Almost like confirmation. Validation of the kingship. So Saul has been selected as king, anointed as king, publicly recognized as king. But what we're going to find in chapters 11 and 12 is the testing of King Saul and then the validation of that Kingship. So chapter 11 begins, and here's the word Nahash or Nahash, the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh Gilead. We've seen Jabesh Gilead before, and we've seen this word Nahash before. And all the men of Jabesh said to him, make a treaty with us already. We already know this is not good and we'll be subject to you. But Nahash, the ammonite replied, I will make a treaty with you only on the condition that I gouge out the right eye of every one of you and so bring disgrace on all Israel. The elders of Jabesh said to him, give us seven days so that we can send messengers throughout Israel. If no one comes to rescue us, we will surrender to you. So when the messengers came to Gibeah, the other key city that we've seen before of Saul, and reported these terms to the people, they all wept aloud. Just then, Saul was returning from the fields behind his oxen, and he said, what is wrong? Okay. Why are they weeping? They repeat it to Saul, the message. When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came powerfully on him. He burned with anger. He took a pair of oxen, cut them into pieces, and sent the pieces by messengers throughout Israel, proclaiming, this is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not follow Saul and Samuel. Then the terror of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out together as one huge detail. Together as one. When Saul mustered them at Bezek, the men of Israel numbered 300,000 and those of Judah 30,000. And. And of course, they fight against Nahash in the Ammonites and they defeat the Ammonites.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Okay?

[Ted Day]

Now Saul is confirmed as king. Okay, so it's Gonna say this in verse 15. So all the people went to Gilgal and made Saul king in the presence of the Lord. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings before the Lord and Saul and all Israel held a great celebration. So you may be asking, wait a second, didn't they just make Saul king? Like, didn't I just read about that? Why are they making him king again? Well, there's a three step process whereby a king is anointed to be king, publicly recognized as king, tested and then validated as king. Their kingship gets validated by the fact that they pass the test. Okay, so Saul passed the test. So Saul's kingship doesn't get off to a bad start. Saul is not immediately a bad king.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Okay?

[Ted Day]

Saul is. This is great. This is a phenomenal start. All right, so we'll get into chapter 12 in a little, in a second. So that's context, okay? That if you're confused as to why Saul's getting anointed as king or presented as king or being made king again, it's because it's a three step process in the making of a king. Now let's get into some nerdy nuggets. First of all, who was Nahash? Well, this is why I love Logos Bible study software. Because as soon as I. This is chapter 11, verse one, first word, Nahash. All I've gotta do is click on that word Nahash and open up like my lexicon. And I'm just gonna. Just click on the strongs. And here we go, nahash. Oh, no. Strongs5175. Okay, serpent, snake, viper. That is a poisonous reptile which may represent several species, sea serpent, sea monster, creature at home in the water. This may refer to the mythological dragon or normal crocodile. So that's Nahash. Okay, Bronze serpent. Representation of a serpent made of bronze, later to become an idol among the sons of Israel. Wait a second, so you have an Ammonite king named serpent? Ah, you can't make this up. This is a Genesis chapter three, verse 15 story.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Okay?

[Ted Day]

Nahash is a son of the serpent. If you go all the way back to Genesis, there's this promise that God makes to Eve that there's gonna be offspring born to her, offspring born to the serpent. That there's gonna be enmity or strife between the offspring. So we have Saul, the son of the off, the son of the woman, and we have Nahash, son of the serpent. And they're gonna have conflict. Okay, so Genesis 3:15 is actually the greater context that this story finds itself in. Okay, next, back to nerdy nuggets gouging out the right eye. Number one, this is both practical and shameful.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Okay?

[Ted Day]

Number one, it's practical because this makes the men militarily unable to oppose his rule. So you're making the men weak. You're weakening the military power of the men so that you, as a foreign oppressor, can dominate. Number two, it's just shameful. It's a way to rub it in their face with a physical deformity to remind them that you were the one that has done this.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Okay?

[Ted Day]

Now here's where I'm gonna throw a bit of a curveball. This whole chapter, First Samuel, Chapter 11, is deeply, deeply connected to the end of the book of Judges, okay? Remember, the darkest, most twisted, vile, evil part of Judges is Judges, chapter 19 and 21. Okay? Lots of just, I can't even believe what I'm reading type content in Judges, chapter 19 and 21. Now, there are a bunch of connections, okay, between 1st Samuel 11 and Judges, chapter 19 and 21. Number one, Jabesh, Gilead and Gibeah are focal points, just geographically. Okay? That's number one. Number two, Judges, chapter 19, verse 29, and 1st Samuel, chapter 11, verse 7. Both talk about cutting people or animals into pieces in order to rally Israel. It's kind of the smoking gun, to be totally honest. So first Samuel, chapter 11, verse 7. King Saul cuts up oxen, sends them out in order to rally Israel together.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Okay?

[Ted Day]

Something very, very, very similar happened in Judges, chapter 19. Number three, Judges, chapter 20, verse 13. In 1st Samuel, chapter 11, verse 12, have a massive focus on death. Number four, Judges, chapter 20, verse 1, 8, and 11 focus on unity. And the word that's used here in First Samuel, chapter 11, verse 7, is together as one.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Okay?

[Ted Day]

Unity. And then lastly, number 5, is that Judges, chapter 19, verse 22, 20, verse 13, and First Samuel, chapter 10, verse 27. Let's see. 1 Samuel, chapter 10, verse 27. But some scoundrels said that word. That is not a common word. Some scoundrels said, how can this fellow save us? They despised him and brought him no gifts. But Saul kept silent. So Saul's called a scoundrel. Just in the verse before chapter 11 starts. And if you don't remember that word, scoundrel, we can go back to Judges, chapter 19, verse 22 says this. While they were enjoying themselves, some of the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they shouted to the old man who lives in the house. So that wicked men is that word scoundrels and then we have it again in chapter 20, verse 13 of Judges. Chapter 20, verse 13 of Judges. Now turn those wicked men of Gibeah over to us that we may put them to death and purge this Israel, this evil from Israel. Same Hebrew word, different English words. These are all literary links to link us back to the story of Judges. Those are just a ton of nerdy nuggets again. The book of Judges and the book of Samuel are very, very, very connected to each other. I gotta give you one nerdy nugget from Samuel chapter 12. You probably wouldn't be able to see this on your own or recognize this on your own. Actually, we can start reading verse 16. We'll stop at 18. Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes. What great thing is it not? Wheat harvest now. Okay, wheat harvest. I will call on the Lord to send thunder and rain and you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the Lord when you asked for a king. This is Samuel speaking, not Saul. Samuel. Then Samuel called on the Lord and that same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the Lord and of Samuel. So you may be thinking to yourself, what's so special? It's thunder and rain. Well, you have to really understand geography and understand seasons to get this. But rain never happens in wheat harvest season. Never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never. Okay, so this is a hundred percent miracle reign. Okay? This is defying all the rules of nature. And if I were to add one more, just like nerdy nugget. So Saul defeats Nahash in 1st Samuel, chapter 11, but this is about to foreshadow another king that's gonna defeat another serpent. And this is so subtle, so easy to miss this. And I need you to see this, that good kings are gonna fulfill Genesis chapter 3, verse 15. Genesis chapter 3, verse 15 is crushing the head of the serpent. We have a serpent here. His name is Nahash. His name means serpent. But if we keep reading, we're gonna read that David kills a giant who's covered in scales. Okay, The Bible is gonna depict the armor of Goliath as scaly by attacking and then decapitating Goliath's head. Okay, so both Saul and David are going to fulfill Genesis chapter 3:15. Okay, so both 1st Samuel 11 and 1st Samuel 17 are going to use Genesis chapter 3, verse 15 language to talk about these heroes or these kings defeating enemies that are being depicted as serpent like or snake like enemies. That's something that I thought maybe you're probably not going to be able to see. And Jesus is obviously going to pick this up in the New Testament. And we are called to be Genesis 3:15 believers. That's a timeless truth that our job in. In. In the world at large is to subdue the serpent, is to live out the fullness of Genesis, the promise. Live out the fullness of the promise of Genesis, chapter 3, verse 15. Because good kings always fulfill Genesis 3:15. And Jesus has fulfilled Genesis 3:15 for us. And our job is to live out the abundance, the blessing, the reality of Jesus, of doing the stake on our behalf.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

Family, the wait is over. My brand new book, Crushing Chaos, is out now and available everywhere. Books are sold. Literally. Today I walked into a Barnes and Noble and I signed a bunch of copies at a physical location. So you can grab this book at a physical Barnes and Noble or you can go to a Books A Million or Amazon or anywhere books are sold and grab a copy. If you enjoy reading the Bible from an ancient perspective, if you understand that the beauty of scripture is actually knowing it in context, then you'll love this book. And if there's any chaos in your personal life, I think that reading the Bible from an ancient perspective can actually help to crush the chaos in your life. I think this book is going to be a New York Times bestseller. I really do. I think we wrote a good one. I think you should get a copy.

[Ted Day]

Ted Day.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

All right, back to the episode.

[Ted Day]

Okay, that's First Samuel, chapter 11 and 12. Tomorrow we've got four chapters. Okay, so double the reading from today. We got chapters 13, 14, 15 and 16 tomorrow for day 152. If you're like, yo, why'd you give us two chapters today, but then four chapters tomorrow? It's so that what you're reading is kind of fits, you know, like chapter 11 and 12 fit together thematically. And so I didn't want to break up the narrative, and then I want to do the same thing tomorrow. So sometimes it's uneven amounts of reading, but the goal is that you're not reading multiple stories at once. But I try to keep chunks together as much as I can. So that explains kind of the uneven nature of the Bible reading plan. So tomorrow's day 152. Hey, if you're on a streak, don't break it. I'll see you right here tomorrow. I'm so, so, so proud of you. A decision to get a daily diet of God's word is a decision that will forever change your life. You'll never regret it. I'll see you right here tomorrow as we tackle day 152. Love you guys. Peace.

[Dr. Manny Arango]

Thanks so much for joining us on the Bible Department Podcast. You can find us online and learn more about the [e-mail] and on Instagram hebibledepartment. If you enjoyed this episode and want to dive deeper into the Bible, you can get free access to our library of [e-mail] we'll see you back here tomorrow.