Day 67: 1 Samuel 11- Vertical hope

Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead, and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.” 2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “On this condition I will make a treaty with you, that I gouge out all your right eyes, and thus bring disgrace on all Israel.” 3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days' respite that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you.” 4 When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people, and all the people wept aloud.
 
5 Now, behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen. And Saul said, “What is wrong with the people, that they are weeping?” So they told him the news of the men of Jabesh. 6 And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled. 7 He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!” Then the dread of the Lordfell upon the people, and they came out as one man. 8 When he mustered them at Bezek, the people of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. 9 And they said to the messengers who had come, “Thus shall you say to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have salvation.’” When the messengers came and told the men of Jabesh, they were glad. 10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.” 11 And the next day Saul put the people in three companies. And they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.
 
The Kingdom Is Renewed
12 Then the people said to Samuel, “Who is it that 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 worked salvation in Israel.” 14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the Lord, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
 
 Meditation
Headlines are changing by the hour and most of them are not good news. Do you long for deliverance? Which way are you looking? For true deliverance we must align our hope vertically and anchor in the Lord.
 
The situation for Israel was dire as the Ammonites were bullying to subjugate them, threatening to put out their eyes to disgrace them. (1-2) The elders of Israel sent messengers throughout Israel and the Lord annointed Saul with His spirit for the task. Israel fell behind Saul "as one man” and won the day. (3-11)
 
Interestingly, the elders did not look to the Lord for deliverance.  After rejecting God as king (8:7) the Lord graciously gives victory and hosts a kingdom renewal ceremony of Saul. (12-15) The horizontal hope of Israel was a short-term gain but would not sustain. And neither will ours.
 
We identify with the need to be delivered AND with the poor wisdom of looking horizontally for hope.  The heart issue we share reveals a common enemy, sin. In God’s grace He anointed a greater King than Saul with His Spirit, Jesus Christ, so we do not have to wait until tomorrow for God’s deliverance. (as 9-11) When our hope is anchored in Christ alone we experience the already renewal of His Kingdom.
 
We are hopeless on a horizontal level and must anchor vertically for deliverance. When we do we will join God’s people in “rejoicing greatly” (15) in the rule of the King of Kings.
 
Richly Dwelling
-Where are areas of your life where you are longing for deliverance? Be specific when considering current health situations, economic struggles, sin issues, and uncertainty of the future.
 
-You are looking for hope horizontally and what you look to will not deliver. Where is your horizontal hope landing?
 
-What does it look like for you to place ALL your hope on Jesus? How does this free you from a burden on the one hand and free you to renew His Kingdom on the other?
 
Key Verse
3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days' respite that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you.”