48. B.C. 1095 to 1091

B.C. 1095 to 1091

Chapter I

Timeline View:

1. The misconduct of Samuel’s sons, his own advanced age, and the seemingly unsettled state in which the government would be left at his death, were the ostensible grounds on which the elders of Israel proceeded in resolving to demand such a change in the government as would give them a human king, “to rule them like the nations.” Every nation must have some great central principle on which it can unite as one community. This was particularly necessary in a nation, which, like that of Israel, had a strongly marked sectional division into tribes, whose interests were not always in agreement. Now, this principle had been very efficiently and very beautifully supplied by the theocracy, with its invisible but ever-present Divine King, and the sacred symbols and services. But the right working of this constitution depended on a continued obedience in the people, which they had not manifested, and an appreciation of the system, of which they seem to have been scarcely capable. In short, the principle of this form of government was too refined for them; and, notwithstanding its very numerous concessions to their weakness, they too often failed to comprehend it as their principle, and to act up to its requirements. Hence arose internal disorders and confusions, which, although really owing to the shortcomings of the people, yet seemed in some degree imputable to the practical inefficiency of the central principle, and created the desire for something less sublime and remote—something visible, tangible, common—suited to the apprehensions of an unintellectual people. Hence the demand for a king, and for the forms and institutions of a human monarchy, which might form a more sensible state-principle than the theocracy offered.

2. When the elders made their application for this great change in the government to Samuel at Ramah, they found him strongly opposed to their wish. With becoming dignity, he vindicated the purity of his own administration, and challenged any one to charge him with corruption or wrong-doing; he reminded them that they had already a King, whose power and resources were illimitable, and under whom obedience only was necessary to render their welfare secure; he placed before them, in the most vivid manner, the exactions and services to which they would be subject under human kings, and from which they were now so happily exempt; and, in short; it was his desire that they should rather strive to bring the national character up to the requirements of their present state-principle, than bring down the principle to a lower standard of character. But the elders had made up their minds on the subject, and persisted in their demand. As, therefore, the demand was made in a becoming manner, which referred the whole matter to the Lord through his prophet; as Moses had foreseen and provided for such a contingency; and as it was more than probable, that, in their present temper, the people would set up a king for themselves, unless indulged in their wish, Samuel was at length authorized to yield to their desire, although under a protest.

3. We have now, therefore, to contemplate a new phase of the Jewish history, in which the government was not a pure theocracy, nor a simple monarchy, but a combination of the two. The Lord was still the Supreme King; and the human monarch was to be appointed by him, and the line of succession determined or changed at his pleasure. The king was to wield the ordinary administrative powers of royalty, and its signs and symbols of dignity and honor; but his real position was that of a vice-king—the minister, regent, or representative of the Divine King, whose counsel was to be sought, through the sacred oracles, on all occasions of importance, and whose directions, when given, were to be implicitly followed by the sovereign. It must, therefore, be understood that the responsibility of the Hebrew kings to the Lord, was not merely the responsibility under which every one is placed to God for the exercise of the powers entrusted to him; but also the more immediate and particular responsibility of a delegated or representative ruler to the Supreme King of the state which he governs. This was the theory of the Hebrew monarchy, as, by anticipation, it had been settled long before by Moses (Deu 17:14-20); and we shall find in the sequel that the character of the kings, whether good or had, was determined by their observance or neglect of this fundamental principle. The kings themselves were but too much disposed to forget the fact of their dependence upon the Invisible King.

4. Saul, the son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, had wandered about for three days seeking the strayed asses of his father. Fatigued with the unsuccessful search, he was disposed to abandon it and return home, when, finding himself near Ramah, where Samuel lived, he resolved to consult one who was renowned in all Israel as a man from whom nothing was hidden. Instructed in the Divine designs regarding Saul, the prophet received him with honor. He assured him that the asses which he had sought were already found, and invited him to stay with him until the next morning. Saul was in fact the man on whom the Divine appointment to be the first king of Israel had fallen. A hint of this high destiny, produced from the astonished stranger a modest declaration of his insufficiency. But the prophet gave him the place of honor before all the persons whom—foreknowing the time of his arrival—he had invited to his table. As is still usual in summer, Saul slept on the flat roof of the house; and was called early in the morning by Samuel, who walked forth some way with him on his return home. When they had got beyond the town, they stopped, and Samuel then anointed Saul as the person whom God had chosen to be “captain over his inheritance;” and gave him the first kiss of civil homage.

Kiss of Civil Homage

In token of the reality of these things, and to assure the mind of the bewildered young man, the prophet foretold the incidents of his home ward journey, and, in parting, desired his attendance on the seventh clay following at Gilgal.

5. On the day and at the place appointed, Samuel assembled a general convocation of the tribes for the election of a king. As usual, under the theocracy, the choice of God was manifested by the sacred lot. The tribe of Benjamin was chosen; and of the families of Benjamin, that of Matri was taken; and, finally, the lot fell upon the person of Saul, the son of Kish. Anticipating this result, he had modestly concealed himself, to avoid an honor which he so little desired. But he was found, and brought before the people, who beheld with admiration his comely and dignified person—for be stood taller, by the head and shoulders than any of the people. A physical superiority over the great body of the people, so manifest, and so highly appreciated in ancient times, procured a willing recognition of the king offered to them. Many persons in the great tribes, however, were dissatisfied that this election had vested the royalty over Israel in the smallest of the tribes, and in a person of so little consequence, even in that tribe, as Saul. They therefore held proudly aloof, and the new king was allowed to return, with a very humble attendance, to his home in Gilead. Saul, although sensible of the neglect, wisely “held his peace” for the time; and it ultimately appeared that the different tribes could more readily unite around a monarch in his neutral position, than would have been possible to them had a member of one of the more powerful tribes been chosen. Judah would have been reluctant to submit to a king of Ephraim, and the proud and fiery Ephraimites would not willingly have received a king from Judah. Perhaps, therefore, the choice which appears so strange at the first view, was the only one by which a civil war could have been averted.

6. Soon after these things, the Ammonites, under their king Nahash, took the field on the other side of the Jordan, and laid siege to the important town of Jabesh-Gilead. Being forced to capitulate the inhabitants could obtain no better terms than that every man should have his right eye put out. To this hard condition they agreed, unless relief should come within seven days. Messengers were immediately dispatched to Saul, who had contentedly resumed his usual avocations in Gibeah, and, when the tidings were brought to him, was returning quietly from the fields with his herd. Instantly the spirit of a king was roused within him; and he felt the duties, and claimed the powers of the Lord’s anointed. He imperatively summoned the warriors to his standard; and speedily found himself at the head of a very large force, with which he crossed the Jordan, and by a forced march arrived before Jabesh, in time to save the inhabitants from their enemies, who were defeated with great slaughter. This splendid achievement manifested in Saul the qualities which, in these times, were most sought for in a king, and raised him so high m the estimation of the people, that Samuel deemed it proper to call another assembly at Gilgal, to confirm him in the kingdom. Here those who had hitherto manifested discontent, were obliged, by the force of popular opinion, to join in a general and more formal recognition of the new king. It was then that Saul began really to reign.

7. Of the large force which had been collected, Saul retained only three thousand men, with whom be proposed to make war upon the Philistines, who held in possession many strong places in the south, and kept the neighboring inhabitants in such subjection that they had been deprived of their weapons, and could not even get their implements of husbandry sharpened without going to the Philistine garrisons. Hence, in all the force, Saul and his eldest son, Jonathan, were the only persons who possessed a sword or a spear. The operations against the Philistines were commenced by Jonathan, who, with the thousand men whom his father had placed under his command, cut off the Philistine garrison at Geba Interpreting this as a declaration of war, the Philistines delayed not to bring into the field a vast force, which comprehended six thousand horsemen and three thousand chariots of war. Saul, on his part, had summoned all the tribes to send their levies to Gilgal. This they did in sufficient numbers; but while they remained there waiting for Samuel, who had appointed to come and offer sacrifices, great numbers of the men slunk away, being appalled at the formidable aspect of the Philistine army. Saul was confessedly in a difficult position, and his obedience to the principle of the theocracy was severely tested. It failed; for, becoming impatient at the delay of Samuel, he called for the victims, and himself offered the sacrifices. By this act he not only seemed to make a claim to exercise the priestly office, as kings did in other countries, but gave indications of the dispositions which in the end proved his ruin. He was a brave and able commander; but he too often forgot that, in his political capacity, he was but the vassal of the Divine King; and he did not always execute the orders he received, but made exceptions according to his own views. Just as the sacrifices had been offered, Samuel arrived, and strongly testified the Divine displeasure at this disobedience, which he declared had manifested the unfitness of Saul to be the founder of a race of kings. He then quitted the camp; and Saul, hiding his concern, numbered his force, which he found dwindled away to six hundred men. Not daring to encounter the Philistine host with this handful of men, he marched with them to his own town of Gibeah.

8. The main body of the Philistines remained at Michmash; but they frequently sallied out in parties, and ravaged the country without opposition. At length a bold plan was formed by Jonathan, who communicated it only to his armourbearer, and the two secretly withdrew themselves from the camp. They found means to ascend a steep cliff, where the enemy least of all expected an attack; and early in the morning they fell upon the advanced guards of the Philistines. Some were slain by the sword, and the others thrown into such consternation, that they slew one another, mistaking friends for foes. As soon as Saul got intelligence of what had happened, he took advantage of the confusion into which they were already thrown, and fell upon the Philistines with such fury, that they were soon utterly routed. That the pursuit of the enemy might not be retarded, Saul, in the heat of the chase, proclaimed death to any one who should taste food before the night. Ignorant of this, Jonathan, happening to taste some wild honey, had well nigh fallen a sacrifice to the rash vow of his father, but was saved by the interposition of the people.

Soldiers Ready to Fight