1 Samuel 11:5

SAUL'S REACTION TO THE THREAT OF NAHASH

"Now Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen; and Saul said, "What ails the people, that they are weeping"? So they told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh. And the Spirit of God came mightily upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled. He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, "Whosoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen."

The words of these three verses confirm in the most vigorous manner the prior existence of both phase (1) and phase (2) of Saul's being made king of Israel.

"Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen" (1 Samuel 11:5). He had obeyed Samuel's command for everyone to go home, and he was coming in from the field where he had been plowing.

"And the Spirit of God came mightily upon Saul" (1 Samuel 11:6). This is a confirmation of phase (1), his anointing by Samuel. This could not have happened otherwise.

"He sent throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers" (1 Samuel 11:7). How could Saul have done this, unless he had been selected king by the casting of lots at Mizpah? No critic has ever dared to answer that question. This could have happened only after Saul had been formally appointed king of Israel at Mizpah. Who were these messengers? They were most certainly from that group mentioned in the previous chapter, "Saul went to his home in Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts the Lord had touched." (1 Samuel 10:26).

"Whosoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel" (1 Samuel 11:7a). In these words, Saul wisely invoked the authority of the great prophet Samuel in his summons to all Israel. Critics, of course, love to do their act of rewriting the Bible on a verse like this. H. P. Smith rejected the words and after Samuel, "as a later insertion."[7] Bennett also called the words, "An addition; Samuel does not appear in this episode."[8] This writer is not willing to allow unbelieving critics the honor of re-writing the Bible to suit their theories. Of course, Samuel does appear in this narrative as the authority behind all that Saul was able to do in this episode.

"So shall it be done to his oxen" (1 Samuel 11:7). These are the words of a king, not those of some country bumpkin, who, for the first time, suddenly decided to rescue Israel. Thus, we have a triple confirmation here of both the preceding phases of Saul's designation as King of Israel. Nothing is any more unreasonable or unintelligent than the critical nonsense about the `early and late sources.' Again, in the words of Ewald, what we have here is nothing but the simple truth throughout these four chapters, with every single statement in them fitting exactly as in a jig-saw puzzle.