"*** Samuel06 ***"
"Samuel gathers Israel to Mizpah Now the prophet Samuel sent a command throughout the land, for all the Israelites to assemble at Mizpah. Israel rebuked by the Lord for asking for a king When all Israel had gathered Samuel said to the people, Jehovah the God of Israel says, I brought Israel up out of Egypt and delivered you from the power of all the kingdoms that oppressed you. But you have now rejected your God who saves you and have said, Set a king over us. Now, present yourselves before me, tribe by tribe. The Lord chooses Saul from among the people The tribes of Israel presented themselves"
"before the Lord and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. Then Samuel had the tribe of Benjamin come forward clan by clan, and Saul the son of Kish was chosen. Saul hides in fear of people But afterwards Saul could not be found. Samuel inquired of the Lord and was told, He has hidden himself among the baggage. So they ran and brought him out. As he stood among the people he was a head taller than any other man. Samuel explains the rights and duties of a king Samuel said to the people, Here is the man the Lord has chosen as king. There is no one like him in all Israel. The people shouted, Long"
"live the king Samuel then explained to the people the rights and duties of the kingship, and wrote them in a book. Then he dismissed the people. Some support Saul but others despise him Saul also returned home to Gibeah, accompanied by valiant men whose hearts God had touched. But some troublemakers said, How can this fellow save us? and they despised Saul and brought him no gifts. The Ammonites besiege the city of Jabesh Now the Ammonites had been seriously oppressing the Israelites in Gilead, east of the Jordan. They had gouged out the right eye of each one of them. No one was left whose"
"right eye had not been gouged out, except the 7000 men of the city of Jabesh, and now the Ammonites had laid siege to the city of Jabesh. The men of Jabesh said to the Ammonites, Make a treaty with us and we will be subject to you. But the Ammonites replied, We will only make a treaty with you on the condition that we gouge out the right eye of each one of you. The elders of Jabesh said, Allow us seven days, if no one comes to rescue us we will surrender to you. Messengers from Jabesh reach Saul in Gibeah When messengers from Jabesh reached Gibeah, Saul was returning home from the fields,"
"walking behind his oxen. He asked, Why are you weeping? Then they told him what the messengers from Jabesh had said. Saul cuts his oxen into pieces and sends them throughout Israel to summon men to fight When Saul heard these words, the Spirit of God came upon him in power and he burned with anger. He took two of his oxen and cut them into pieces and sent the pieces throughout Israel proclaiming, This is what will be done to the oxen of any man who does not follow Saul and Samuel. Plowing with oxen near Jerusalem. Saul leads 370,000 men of Israel into battle 300,000 men of Israel turned"
"out, and 70,000 men of Judah, all prepared for battle. Then Saul, accompanied by Samuel the prophet led the men of Israel toward Gilead and crossed the Jordan. Saul slaughters the Ammonites The next day Saul separated the men into three divisions, and during the last watch of the night they attacked the camp of the Ammonites and slaughtered them until the heat of the day. Those who survived were so scattered that no two of them were left together. Some want to kill those who despised Saul Then some said to Samuel, Bring the men who said, How can this fellow Saul save us? We will put them to"
"death. But Saul said, No one shall be put to death this day, for Jehovah has rescued Israel. The people celebrate and reaffirm Saul as king Samuel the prophet said to the men of Israel, Come, let us go to Gilgal and there reaffirm the kingship. So all the people went to Gilgal and confirmed Saul as king. They sacrificed offerings before the Lord and held a great celebration. Samuel the prophet testifies of his own honesty as judge Then Samuel said to the people, Now you have a king as your leader. As for me, I am old and grey and have been your judge from my youth until this day. Here I"
"stand. Testify against me in the presence of the Lord and his anointed king. Whose ox or donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe? If I have done any of these things I will make it right. The people replied, You have not cheated or oppressed us in any way. Samuel warns the people and the king to follow Jehovah Samuel said to them, Very well then, hear me while I recount all the good things done by Jehovah for you and your fathers. Samuel then repeated all that the Lord had done for Israel since he brought them up out of Egypt. Then he said, Here is"
"the king the Lord has set over you. If both you and your king follow Jehovah, it will be well. But if you do not, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers. The miracle of rain in the dry season Now watch this great sign that the Lord is about to do before your eyes. Is it not the season of wheat harvest? I will call upon Jehovah to send thunder and rain as a sign that it was an evil thing you did in his eyes when you asked for a king. Samuel then called upon the Lord and that same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. All the people stood in awe of the Lord and of Samuel."
"Samuel comforts the Israelites but warns against idolatry Then the people said to Samuel, Pray for us that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins by asking for a king. Samuel replied, Far be it from me that I should sin by failing to pray for you, or by not teaching you what is right. But fear not, for the sake of his great name Jehovah will not reject his people. Only do not turn away from him to useless idols which cannot save you, but serve him with all your heart. If you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away."
"*** Samuel07 ***"
"King Saul chooses 3000 men for his standing army Saul was forty years old when he began to reign. He chose 3000 men for his standing army. 2000 remained with him at Gilgal and 1000 went with his son Jonathan. The rest of the men he sent back to their homes. Jonathan provokes the Philistines to attack Israel Jonathan took his men and attacked and destroyed a Philistine outpost at Geba, so the Philistines gathered to fight Israel. They camped near Gilgal at Michmash with 3000 chariots, 6000 charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as sand on the seashore. All the Israelite men again called out to fight So"
"the men of Israel were again called out by Saul to join him at Gilgal to fight the Philistines. The Israelite men flee and hide when they see the enormity of the Philistine forces However when the men of Israel came and saw the enormity of the Philistine forces, they fled, hiding in caves and thickets and among the rocks. Others crossed the Jordan to the land of Gilead. King Sauls obedience tested by the Lord Saul remained at Gilgal with his army of 2000 who were also seized with fear. He waited there seven days, for Samuel the prophet had commanded him of the Lord saying, After seven days I"
"will surely come to you, to offer sacrifice and instruct you as to what you are to do. Sauls men begin deserting him Saul waited seven days and Samuel did not come and his men began to desert him. Saul in great anxiety offers an unlawful sacrifice Finally Saul said, Bring me the burnt offering, and he offered the sacrifice him-self. Just as he finished, Samuel arrived and said to Saul, What have you done? Saul replied, When I saw that the men were deserting me, and that you had not come at the appointed time, I thought, The Philistines will attack any time and I have not sought the Lords"
"favour. I felt such anguish that I offered the burnt offering myself. Because Saul failed his test his kingship not to endure Samuel said, You have acted very foolishly. You did not keep my commandment from the Lord. If you had kept it, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time, but now your kingdom will not endure. The Lord has chosen another man after his own heart to rule his people, for you did not obey his commandment. Then Samuel departed. Only 600 men have not deserted Saul Saul counted the men who were still with him and they numbered about 600. Then he led"
"his men to join his son Jonathan. No steel weapons among the Israelites Now the Philistines had forbidden blacksmiths in the whole land of Israel for they did not want the Israelites to make swords and spears. The men of Israel had to go to the Philistines to have their ploughs, axes and other tools sharpened. Therefore as they prepared for battle, not one Israelite soldier had a sword or spear in his hand, only Saul and his son Jonathan. Jonathan and his armour bearer plan an attack on the Philistine outpost Raiding parties were being sent out from the Philistine camp at Michmash, and an"
"outpost of Philistines had pushed forward and secured the high pass at Michmash. Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armour, Let us cross over to the Philistine outpost on the other side of the valley. Perhaps Jehovah will act for us. His armour bearer replied, I am with you heart and soul. Jonathan asks the Lord for a sign Then Jonathan said, As we cross the valley we will let the Philistines see us. If they call out to us, Stay there until we come down to you, we will go no further. But if they say, Come up here, we will climb up to them, for that will be a sign that the Lord"
"has given them into our hands. So the two young men crossed the valley and showed themselves to the men at the outpost. The Philistines said, Look, the Israelites are crawling out of the holes they were hiding in. The sign is given And they shouted down to Jonathan and his armour-bearer, Come up to us and we will teach you a lesson. Jonathan said to his armour-bearer, Climb up after me. The Lord has given them into our hands. Jonathan and his armour-bearer kill about twenty men So Jonathan climbed up the cliff face using his hands and feet, with his armour-bearer right behind him. He"
"immediately attacked the Philistines who fell before him, and his armour bearer slew behind him. Together they killed about twenty men. An earthquake panics the Philistines Then came an earthquake that shook the ground, and a great panic struck the whole Philistine army. It was a panic sent by God. Sauls lookouts saw the Philistine army fleeing in all directions. Saul said to his men, Muster the forces. See who has left us. They did so and found Jonathan and his armour-bearer missing. Saul and his men go out to battle Saul said to Ahijah the high priest, Bring the ephod of God here. But"
"while Saul was still speaking to him the uproar in the Philistine camp increased more and more. Saul said to the priest, Stay your hand. Then Saul and all his men went out to battle. They found the Philistines in total confusion, striking each other with their swords. Israelites who had defected or hid also join the battle The Israelites who had defected to the Philistines rejoined the Israelites, and those who had hidden in the hills also joined the battle in hot pursuit. Jonathan inadvertently violates Sauls fast Now Saul had bound the army under an oath that day saying, Cursed be"
"any man who eats food before evening comes and I have avenged myself on my enemies. So none of the men tasted food. When the army entered the woods they saw honey on the ground, but no man put his hand to his mouth for they feared the oath. But Jonathan had not heard the oath of his father so he dipped his staff into the honey-comb and ate and his eyes brightened. Jonathan critical of his fathers oath One of the soldiers said to him, Your father bound us under an oath saying, Cursed be any man who eats food today. That is why the men are weak. Jonathan said, My father has troubled"
"the men. My strength was renewed by this honey. It would have been better if the men had eaten some of the spoil of their enemies. Would not the slaughter of the Philistines have been even greater?"