Strong Exhortation to Commitment

1 Samuel 11:1-15
    1 Then Nahash the Ammonite came up and encamped against Jabesh Gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a covenant with us, and we will serve you.” 2 And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, “On this condition I will make a covenant with you, that I may put out all your right eyes, and bring reproach on all Israel.”  3 Then the elders of Jabesh said to him, “Hold off for seven days, that we may send messengers to all the territory of Israel. And then, if there is no one to save us, we will come out to you.”
    4 So the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and told the news in the hearing of the people. And all the people lifted up their voices and wept. 5 Now there was Saul, coming behind the herd from the field; and Saul said, “What troubles the people, that they weep?” And they told him the words of the men of Jabesh. 6 Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard this news, and his anger was greatly aroused. 7 So he took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not go out with Saul and Samuel to battle, so it shall be done to his oxen.”  And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent. 8 When he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. 9 And they said to the messengers who came, “Thus you shall say to the men of Jabesh Gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have help.’ ” Then the messengers came and reported it to the men of Jabesh, and they were glad. 10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do with us whatever seems good to you.”  11 So it was, on the next day, that Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch, and killed Ammonites until the heat of the day. And it happened that those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.
    12 Then the people said to Samuel, “Who is he who said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, that we may put them to death.”  13 But Saul said, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the LORD has accomplished salvation in Israel.”
    14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal. There they made sacrifices of peace offerings before the LORD, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

When Israel left Egypt, they numbered over six hundred thousand (Numbers 1:46, 26:51); now they managed to gather half that number together.  But even those had to be confronted with dire consequences before they would join their brothers to fight the enemy.  They had walked far from the LORD in the days since they entered their promised land, and had been defeated by their sin along the downward spiral path they had take with the period of the judges.  Now they had a king, Saul, and he was moved by God’s Spirit to slice up oxen and send across the land to threaten the same for all Israel who would not join in the fight for God’s honor in fighting for His people.  It worked.  Sometimes fear must be first instilled to awaken a sober assessment of responsibility and obedience to prime the pump of men’s hearts.  Saul then faced the enemy with warfare tactics given by God’s wisdom to split into three groups to fight the Ammonite enemies who mocked the LORD’s people.  They were thoroughly routed to the point where there was not more than one Ammonite together who survived and fled the battle.  They were defeated and scattered.  Then the people of God wanted to kill those who were opposed to the king when he was coronated, but Saul showed mercy and let them live, knowing they were God’s children also.  Therefore they went all together to Gilgal and renewed the scattered and divided kingdom under their recently appointed ruler.  We learn here how a ruler can unite people for a common cause, namely survival and to honor God’s name in His people.  How that plays out in a nation which is not a theocracy is not the same, for this example is more aligned with the universal and unseen church which is the totality of all who are truly all His in Christ.  We support each other and stir each other to do good (Hebrews 10:24-25) as we live and meet together, sometimes needing to strongly challenge or exhort as Saul with the message the divided oxen sent to the people.  We need to be reminded of our commitment to each other as unto our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.