Dealing with the Devil

The Bible has unrivaled wisdom and richness within its pages, and through it we gain divine insight we ought take to heart.  My eyes were recently opened to an incredible parallel all Christians do well to consider.  The children of Israel demanded a king, and according to God's direction the prophet Samuel anointed Saul of the tribe of Benjamin king.  God gave the people what they desired and asked for, yet many of them were displeased with God's choice.  For years people continued living autonomously as if they did not have a king when they actually had a king.  Saul was God's anointed, and their refusal to submit to him lead to unnecessary trouble.

1 Samuel 11:1-3 says, "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."  When Nahash came up to besiege Jabesh Gilead, notice they did not send word to their king.  It seems it did not even enter into their minds to send messengers to king Saul:  instead they asked for conditions of surrender before a brutal enemy whose terms were to put out all their right eyes!  And they agreed to it!  They asked they be permitted seven days to send messengers to see if help and salvation was even possible.  They did not seek the LORD, nor did they send word to king Saul.  The men of Jabesh Gilead pledged to serve a oppressive, abusive enemy who would reproach them with blindness instead of seeking help from their sovereign.

When Saul heard of the dire situation the men of Jabesh Gilead were in, he was filled with the Holy Spirit and very angry.  1 Samuel 11:7-10 reads, "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."  The men of Jabesh Gilead did not hold out hope for any help of deliverance from Nahash the Ammonite, but king Saul took immediate action to rally the entire nation to rush to their aid.  They went from dreading having their right eyes gouged out by a cruel master to being saved the following day.  God helped Saul and the 330,000 men of Israel to destroy Nahash and scatter his army.

The chapter concludes in 1 Samuel 11:12-15:  "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."  King Saul had already been anointed and crowned king over Israel years before, but the people hadn't yet made him king over them.  Saul was God's chosen king over Israel but Saul had not been submitted to as king.  There was great rejoicing when the people had victory over their enemies by surrendering to their God and king.  The men of Jabesh Gilead went from making a deal with the devil to saying to Saul, "You may do with us whatever seems good to you."  Nahash came to blind and oppress, and Saul came to deliver and save.

What a wonderful parallel this is of Jesus who is the anointed Messiah of God, the KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS.  He rules over all, yet many have not chosen to surrender to His rule.  Oppressed by Satan and self they look for help and deliverance without hope, and by God's grace Jesus came to seek and save.  Saul sacrificed his oxen as a warning to those who did not swiftly come to aid the fight against Nahash, and Jesus shed His own blood to atone for the sins of the world so all who trust in Him can be forgiven and saved from eternal damnation.  Jesus opens our eyes to see, and all who surrender to Him as Sovereign find joy and peace beyond compare.  After Saul died on Mt. Gilboa, it was the men of Jabesh Gilead who recovered his body which was displayed on the wall of Beit Shean and gave him a proper burial.  Jesus Christ is risen from the grave, and He lives to intercede for us, to raise us up to new life and usher us into His glorious, eternal kingdom.

How important it was for the men of Jabesh Gilead to surrender to their king who desired their good rather than making deals with the devil who wanted them destroyed.  Christian, is it time for you to renew the kingdom as Israel did, who for a long season had lived as if they didn't have a king at all?  Let us seek our Saviour Jesus Christ instead of making vain attempts to save ourselves or willingly submit to what will destroy us body and soul.  Let us say to Jesus, "You may do with me whatever seems good to you."  We who have been delivered by Jesus ought to display the undying loyalty to Him always more than the men of Jabesh Gilead honoured Saul.  They were loyal to their deeply flawed king after his death, and we ought to love and delight in our risen Saviour in whom is no fault.  It is in surrender and submission to Jesus Christ we find victory, perfect peace and with open eyes behold the beauty of His grace.