Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Samuel 11-13.

As we read this we see that this Book was a compilation of stories which had been passed down (that does not mean they were not written before they were compiled into this account, merely that they had been told separately).  The most obvious example of this is the fact that Samuel says in his farewell address that the people of Israel asked for a king when they saw Nahash moving against them.  Yet, there is no mention of this before Saul is anointed king.  This does not mean that it did not happen, just that those who told and/or wrote the account of how it came about that Saul became king did not see that it mattered to the events they were describing.

In any case, this actually lets us see in a clearer light both why some people wanted to execute those who initially rejected Saul’s kingship and why King Saul refused to allow that.  As I see it, King Nahash had started threatening the Israelites, primarily those east of the Jordan, but not only those.  The Israelites recognized that Samuel’s sons were inadequate to lead them against the threat, and asked Samuel to appoint a king over them.  The king would maintain the ability to address such threats when they arose, eliminating the need to build such an ability each time a new threat arose.  Not everyone saw the need for such a king (and even those who acknowledged Saul as king saw no reason to change how they acted).  When Nahash threatened Jabesh Gilead, Saul became angry, not just because of Nahash’s threat, but because, even though the people of Israel had recognized the threat he posed, none of them had gathered to provide Saul with a force to do anything about it.  However, when Saul sent out the call to muster, all of Israel responded, even those who initially refused to acknowledge Saul as king.  This is part of why King Saul was unwilling to allow those who initially rejected his kingship to be executed.  When it mattered, they rose to the occasion.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.