National (In)security - 5 of 6

If you missed our first four sessions of National (In)security, please go back and start at the beginning:

• Session one - Further Context
• Session two - Seeing and Believing
• Session three - The (In)security of idolatry
• Session four - The King and I

Otherwise, let's get ready to begin today's study. Find a quiet space. Sit down and take a few breaths. We have some difficult topics in this one, so prepare yourself. Today's session should may take about 90 minutes.

Ready? Let's begin.


Section one. The Anointing of the One Asked For.

We are going to backtrack a little today, and begin with Chapter 9 - which we touched on previously - because we need to take a closer look at the patterns and events and people as the story shifts focus again to another major character Saul, and all of this will help us understand the issues and impact of later events.

Let's begin by reading 1 Samuel 9:1-4, then click back here.

What do we find out in these first few verses about the next major character to arise in the sacred text, this young man named Saul? Immediately the father-son issue is addressed. Who is Saul's father: Kish, a mighty man of valor. The Hebrew here is literally: "gibbor hayil", which plainly means 'powerful person', but typically is used of great military men (as seen in Joshua 1:14 and a few other places) but it also references a wealthy person, describing the social standing and economic power of the person, as it does for Boaz in Ruth 2:1.

Did you notice the pattern right at the beginning of this passage of scripture? Let me give you a hint: compare these few verses to 1 Samuel 1:1-2.

Just as with Samuel's story begins with his father Elkannah, a certain man of substance living among the tribe of Ephraim, so Saul's story begins with his father Kish, a man of some standing of the tribe of Benjamin. As we shall see, Kish's interaction with Saul is conspicuously absent in the text, just like Elkannah's interaction with Samuel was left out of the text. Thus, we witness agin this motif running throughout Samuel of the possibility of absent fatherhood.

What do we notice right away about the description of Saul? Scripture goes out of its way to emphasize that Saul is a "choice and handsome young man", which suggests that Saul is a young person just emerging into adulthood, and he has "beautiful-people"-like good-looks. This is important for the development of the plot in 1 Samuel. This is also typical of how scripture introduces some of its heroes, as it did for Joseph (Genesis 39:6) and Moses (Exodus 2:2), and as it will for later heroes David (1 Samuel 16:12) and Esther (Esther 2:7).


Let's also take note at this point of the Hebraic similarities of the biblical description of the names of Samuel and Saul. in 1 Samuel 1:20, Hannah names Samuel and says, "Because I have asked him for the LORD." Although literally, Samuel means "His name is God" or possibly "heard by God". It is actually Saul which literally means, "asked for" or "the one asked for". Thus, as Keith Bodner notes, if Samuel is the answer to Hannah's request for a son, Saul is the answer to the people's request for a king like the nations. But, kingship seems a tricky thing here in our sacred scriptures at this point, and it doesn't happen right away. There are some more interesting paths to travel in our text. So let's move on in Saul's search for his father's donkey's and his initial meeting with Samuel the seer.

Read 1 Samuel 9:5-25, then return here.

The first utterance of people in sacred scriptures is most-times a defining moment for that individual (choose thy words carefully, says the wise one), and certainly in 1 Samuel it does just that later for David, but now let's focus on Saul. What do we find here with Saul's first utterance? He seems to be a young and handsome man, but uncertain about pursuing his own way, more concerned about what others are thinking about him, especially at this point his father. For some of you who have read through these passages of scripture before, this might strike you as surprising. Here we have Saul, who is portrayed at first as this handsome and sensitive young man, concerned about his father, and full of uncertainty about himself. Take note, because this sensitivity and uncertainty will be the primary battle within our young friend and king-to-be, Saul. Yet Saul seems far from being heroic at this point, and in fact his servant seems the most heroic and informed person, next to Samuel. This is in contrast to his master, Saul, who seems rather clueless. Another contrast between Saul and his servant is that the servant makes a decision and drives the action, while Saul waffles around and is ready to go home without having accomplished his mission of finding the donkeys.

So, Saul and his servant inquire of some young women at the well as to the seer's whereabouts. This well scene should resonate with us, as many times in scripture important things happen when men approach women at wells: Genesis 24, Genesis 29, Exodus 2, and John 4.

Yet what the young girls have to say might disturb you if you have read further into the scriptures and the history of the people of Israel before the exile in Babylon. The girls say that the seer has come to their town for a festive sacrifice in a high place. As I said, those who have read further into the old testament might be shocked by this: a sacrifice on a high place. Sacrifices on or at high places are condemned in later Israelite history. In fact, 2 Kings 23 praises kings who destroy high places.

This present instance, which has the famous and illustrious figure of Samuel involved in this sacrificial festival and meal in a high place, might seem scandalous. But nonetheless, it is what it is, and we are confident that YHWH is the focus of the worship festival here in a high place, and not the Ba'als or Asherah's of later worship festivals in high places.

Thus, Saul and Samuel finally get together, and we find out that God has revealed to Samuel that Saul is the one "asked for", and that Saul is YHWH's choice to be king of Israel. Note the continuing "unknowing" or cluelessness of Saul, as this becomes a huge issue later in the story. Saul's first exchange with Samuel is the question, "Where is the house of the seer?", and of course, Samuel the seer is right in front of him!

Yet God has all ready told Samuel this is the one, and to anoint him king, right? Well, that is what the English translation gives you, but if you kept with that you would not get the nuance of precise meaning here. In verse 16, YHWH tells Samuel to anoint him ruler over His people Israel, but the words there in the hebrew are 'mashach' for 'anointed' and 'nagid' for 'ruler' or 'king'. Literally, mashach is anointed or smeared with oil, from which we get the transliterated word "Messiah", which is applied to many in scripture, especially David as he reflects the coming Messiah Jesus. 'Nagid', however, is not the word for king. The Hebrew word for king is 'melekh'. 'Nagid' is ranges in meaning from 'cheiftain' to 'overseer' or also 'prince' or 'crown prince'. We noted this in a previous study that this kingship/monarchy in Israel emerges not all at once, but slowly in several steps from anointing by God and his prophet to acclaim by some but not all of the people to inauguration of the king's reign by all.

Did you notice the pattern here? This is a prophetic pattern that points to Jesus the Messiah, as we understand from the writings of the new testament: God anointed Jesus at his baptism with John the baptist, and during his ministry Jesus is acclaimed by many but not all as king. Then later, at His eventual return, Jesus will finally vanquish our enemies and every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. This is a pattern woven here and throughout scripture underlying the prophetic hope in Jesus.

Thus Saul is initially anointed as 'leader'. Saul has what sems to be the appropriate response in verse 21, almost the exact same words has previous heroes Moses and Gideon: "But I am only a Benjamite, from the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my clan is the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin!" Yet there is more to it, as Thomas Preston foreshadows at this point: Saul's sense of his own lowliness, his own un-worthiness, becomes a mental block that prevents him from psychologically ever becoming secure as king. Even though God eventually gives him a new heart, changes him into another man with the potential to rule God's people, Saul remains an insecure farm boy who accepts his role reluctantly at first and is riddled with insecurity. 1 Samuel 15:17 reveals it when it says: "Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel?" This establishes Saul as a very sympathetic character in sacred scripture. This makes Saul's life and fate even more tragic, considering all the potential and promise the sacred scriptures witness to in this young man Saul.

Now we come to Saul and Samuel at the sacred worship festival, so pay attention, this is where things get even more uncertain for our possibly even more confused friend Saul.

Note that Saul is given the seat of the guest of honor. Also, in verse 24, Saul is given the priestly portion of the sacrificial meal, which would have been evident by precise wording here and its resonance with Leviticus. Why is Samuel giving Saul and priestly portion? What must have young, sensitive Saul been thinking at this point? Even later in this whole episode, Samuel gives Saul the symbolic two loaves of bread, again confusing priestly imagery.

Why is all this imagery important to note? We need to pause to get some background, because this may impact what we think of some of Saul's actions later. In the surrounding Canaanite city-states of this time period in history, the leaders of these city-states were priest-kings. They held both the office of high priest and king.

Understanding this might help us see the uncertainty and confusion of Saul here at this meal, and then later when Saul offers sacrifices, once with no condemnation, the other with utter condemnation. Is Saul confused about what exactly his role is as leader of Israel and what is expected of him?


Let's finish this section with the anointing of Saul. Read 1 Samuel 9:26-10:1.

Thus we read that to add to his confusion, Samuel takes Saul aside - privately with just the two of them - and anoints him 'nagid', cheiftain/prince/leader over Israel. It is at this point that Samuel tells Saul about his upcoming extreme makeover, prophetic-style. And Saul falls hard in his extreme makeover, just like Gloria Brown:






Section two. To Be or Not To Be a Different Man, That Is The Question.


OK, let's read 1 Samuel 10:1-16, then return here.

Remember what we noted earlier about all the priestly motifs going on with Saul during his initial meeting with Samuel. Now, we go from priestly issues to prophetic issues, as Samuel instructs Saul and then Saul joins in with a band of prophets. Priest-Prophet-not-yet-King. Even with the initial person selected to be Israel's first monarch like the other nations, we get the prophetic pattern of who the eternal Messiah Jesus will be: Priest-Prophet-King.

It's interesting to note a few things in this passage. The key to the interaction with the prophetic group involves what scripture attests to in verses 6 and 9. Commenting on verse 6, Robert Alter says, ""you shall turn into another man. The drastic nature of this process is surely meant by Samuel to be startling; nothing less will do in order to transform this diffident farmer's son into a king than to be devastated by the divine spirit, violently compelled to radical metamorphosis."

Then P. Kyle McCarter has this to say regarding verse 9, "God changed his heart...", literally in the Hebrew, "God turned another heart to him." Compare the turning of Saul into another man in verse 6; the two expressions are about equivalent in importance. The metamorphosis into another man begins with a new heart, just as it does for the new people of God we become in Christ Jesus, as He gives us a new heart when we trust in Him and begin to follow after Him and His way. This is the breaking in of God's Reign in someone's life, giving them a taste of eternal life. Again, followers of jesus and readers of the new testament should feel the resonance in verse 7, which has the phrase "wondrous signs", which is the phrase used of the breaking in of God's Kingdom in the new testament book of Acts, and the phrase "signs and wonders" among the people of God.

Keith Bodner adds some questions to consider about this passage: "Why does Samuel command Saul to join the prophetic group? A reader might expect Saul's first activity as "leader" to be something in the military sphere. Evidently, a key component of this scene is the response of the people who have "previously known Saul." What do their words signify? Do they approve, disapprove, or is their reaction merely one of astonishment? Why does "Is even Saul among the prophets?" become a proverb (or perhaps a byword)? Why is the same prverb quoted in chapter 19?"

Another sad note at the end of this passage. It is to his uncle that Saul interacts with at the end of all of this, not with his father Kish. Kish has gone missing from the text and perhaps his sons life.

Finish reading chapter 10, 1 Samuel 10:17-27, then return here.

We will not linger on this passage, as we have all ready gone through it in a previous study. I do want to point out how controversial this is, because it's not entirely apparent to some. When the lots are cast, the tribe of Benjamin is chosen, and then from Benjamin, eventually Saul.

Remember context is so important. This choosing of someone from the tribe of Benjamin is utterly controversial, because it has only been 50 years since the nightmarish civil war described in Judges 19 through 21, which ended the book of Judges, directly preceding 1 Samuel. So the tribe that the others go to war against (Benjamin) now becomes the choice by God to lead the Israelites? No one would have imagined it! It's like the grandson of Robert E. Lee or Stonewall Jackson, living in the South of the U.S. after the U.S. Civil War being chosen to lead the country. The memory of atrocities and war is still fresh. The wounds of this civil war still linger in the conscienceness of the people. But, just as readers of the new testament will attest: our sensibilities and lingering doubts are scandalized by God. In fact, the way God sends His only begotten Son to our planet is through an unwed, pregnant teenager named Mary of Nazareth. Scandalous.


Note again Saul's actions and God's actions. Saul is shy or ashamed and hiding from everyone. God leads the casting of lots and it falls to this handsome-but-awkward Saul from the tribe of Benjamin; a Benjamite as God's choice for leader. Scandalous!


OK, let's move on and read 1 Samuel 11, then return here.

Lots of interesting issues in this chapter, eh? We mentioned the similarities of 1 Samuel with the "western' genre of movies before, but also we noted in the same study, the similarities with 'mafia' genre movies. Here Saul acts like some prophetic mafia kingpin, calling the tribes of Israel to gather and coercing them with torn-up oxen parts with an ugly underlying threat. Also notice Saul's shrewdness in knowing that all the people haven't yet accepted him as leader: Saul includes Samuel in his call to gather the tribal warriors. Did you also notice that the Spirit rushes upon Saul and, our text reads in verse 6: "...and he became angry." Well, angry is actually putting it mildly. The Hebrew phrase that is translated into "angry" here is "'aph charah m'od", literally "anger kindled greatly" or we might say: enraged.

We tend to shy away from this sort of inspiration of the Holy Spirit upon people, to cause them to become "enraged", but Saul isn't the only one in sacred scripture to have the Spirit rush upon him and become enraged. Lytta Bassett in her paper, Holy Anger: Jacob, Job, Jesus, argues that anger, usually thought of as an emotion opposing faith, can actually, when properly expressed, give structure to a living faith. An underlying assumption behind Basset's thesis is her belief that anger awakens in us an innate ability to stand up for ourselves and to confront some injustice when it is expressed properly of course.

At this point, I want to call our attention to the many similarities between Saul and the infamous Israelite liberator Samson. For those who are not familiar with the story of Samson, check out Judges 13 through 16. Like Saul in 11:16 where the Spirit rushes upon him, he becomes enraged and then tears an animal to pieces threatening other people, Samson in Judges 14, has the Spirit rush upon him, he becomes enraged and tears a lion and some Philistines from Ashkelon to pieces. Disturbing as it might be, for both Samson and Saul becoming enraged is a symptom of inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

There are several aspects of the scriptures concerning Samson and Saul which are summarized by Simcha Brooks of University College London:

• Circumstance: Saul and Samson both emerge as a result of similar politcal circumstances: the oppression of the Philistines
• Calling: Samson and Saul are both called to liberate the Israelites from the oppression of the Philistines
• Signs and Wonders: Both Saul and Samson are empowered by the Spirit to perform signs and wonders
• Inspiration and Rage: I mentioned the connections regarding this above
• Poor Life Decisions: Both Saul and Samson suffer the consequences of their poor decisions in life, being ruled by their desires/emotions
• Death: Both Samson and Saul commit suicide and die while fighting against the Philistines
  
  
  

We aren't going to spend much time commenting on 1 Samuel 12 - as we focused on it in our study session concerning Samuel.

Yet one thing I do want to note here in chapter 12: in verse 23 - is this the establishment of the underlying role of the prophet?: "to instruct the nation in the good and right way?" If you have read the other prophetic scriptures, it would seem a good summary of what they prophets call Israel to come back to the good and right way. Personally, I think that is the heart of prophetic ministry.

Will Saul remain a different man? Let's move on to the final chapters that we will cover today: 13 and 15.


Section three. Holy Disturbing Warfare, Batman.

Read 1 Samuel 13:1-23, and then return here.

The winds of change begin to be felt here in chapter 13, with the whispers of a new and better person to lead and shepherd God's people. Is the making of Saul into a new man by God a failure? What do you make of this shift we find here, as Saul begins to be rejected, and we find the transition to a new hero in that famous saying in verse 14: "YHWH has sought out a man after His own heart." We will go more in depth on this reference to David in the next study session.

Remember what we mentioned earlier when Samuel and saul first meet each other and share that festive worship meal together. Do you remember all of the priestly imagery going on there? Well, as we just read, Saul gets in trouble for confusing his role as leader and king and thinking it's OK for him to offer the sacrifice before the battle with the Philistines. What do you think? Even though he tries to explain away his actions to the upset Samuel, is Saul confused about his role? Is he acting like the other priest-kings of Canaanite city-states? Is it OK for Saul to offer sacrifices or not? Here in chapter 13 he is condemned by Samuel with an oracle of judgment, but what about in 1 Samuel 14:31-35? Saul sets up an altar and sacrifices animals as an offering to cover the sin of his men. There he acts like a priest, but there is no condemnation with this one?? What gives? Are the two situations just different? What do you think?

Also did you notice verses 19-22? The Philistines seem to be doing a little "arms control" and "techonological embargo" against the Israelites. In fact it mentions that only Saul and Jonathan have a bit of the military technology: supposedly iron swords/spears, as opposed to the lesser technology of bronze swords/spears. As Robert Alter notes: "This bit of background notation vividly reflects the aject status of the Israelites under Philistine domination. Ironsmiths are banned among them to prevent their development of the weaponry needed for rebellion. The Philistines have a technological advantage, and are denying access to new technology. This is the assumption of many scholars and theologians, yet no archaeological evidence has found blacksmith sites in the region of Philistine cities as yet."

One final issue in chapter 13, all of the sudden we learn that Saul has a son, Jonathan, who is of an age to be a military-trained man. Kind of comes at us out-of-nowhere. Considering what we have found out about sons thus far in 1 Samuel: Elkannah, Eli, Samuel and their failure with their sons, even Eli's and Samuel's sons being called "wothless", what are we to expect with the new, sudden appearance of Saul's son Jonathan. We'll go into more detail about just what type of person this Jonathan seems to be in our next study session.

OK, let's finish by reading 1 Samuel 15, then return here. We are skipping chapter 14 about Saul's son Jonathan, because we will begin with him in our next study session. For now, let's keep our focus on Saul.

We want to note several things here. As Keith Bodner notes, this whole episode presupposes a background of a discussion about the Amalekites in Deuteronomy 25 but also Deuteronomy 20:16-18 outlines what some have called "the ban" or "the devotion to destruction" or "YHWH war" or "holy war". The term in Hebrew is herem. As outlined in Deuteronomy 20, everything possessed by the adversary is "utterly destroyed." Samuel instructs in verse 3, "Spare no one, but kill alike men and women, infants and sucklings, oxen and sheep, camels and asses!"

Holy war...that resonates with us today, doesn't it? We have become more familiar with it as Islamic fundamentalist terrorists have taken the notion to use for their own means. In Arabic we know it has the word jihad. Disturbing, isn't it? Even more disturbing, at the end of this chapter, Samuel takes the Amalekite king Agag, and ritually sacrifices him before YHWH. What does all this mean? Why is it recorded here in scripture? Why are people we have come to respect and revere like Samuel doing this...? So many questions, few answers that settle the matter. At this point, I can only give you my own perspective and recommend a resource for further study. As for me, Jesus is the reason I am interested in all this anyway. He changed my life, He wrecked my life in a beautiful way. I kind of stumbled into this gig because of Him, His Way. He is the gate I stumbled through and have been following after Him. Therefore, for me, it begins and ends with Jesus. We have a saying at the Central Maryland Vineyard: It's all about Jesus. I know it can sound trite sometimes, but it really is true. If I am ever faced with the choice of utter destruction of people or love of enemies and overcoming evil with good, I follow Jesus. He said love your enemies. That's actually pretty tough. Anyway, again, for me Jesus is the center, and He got me into this in the first place, so it begins and ends with Him. I can also recommend a resource that I have read that takes on this tough issue of scripture and God and genocide. It is a book called: Show Them No Mercy: 4 Views on God and Canaanite Genocide, edited by Stanley N. Gundry. It has four theologians tackle this issue from four different perspectives, 1. The Case for Radical Discontinuity; 2. The Case for Moderate Discontinuity; 3. The Case for Eschatological Continuity; 4. The Case for Spiritual Continuity. As the back cover states:

"September 11, 2001, brought us face to face with the stark reality of jihad. But holy war is neither new nor the invention of Islam. The Old Testament writings record what amounts to Canaanite genocide in the name of Yahweh. How do we reconcile this with the teachings of Jesus, who commands us to love our enemies and overcome evil with good? If our theology bears the fruit in our behavior as Christians, then we cannot ignore the question of violence in the Bible. Is there continuity or discontinuity between the Old Testament concept of holy war and New Testament ideals? Do we serve the Lord of Hosts or the Prince of Peace - or is God both? How should our actions reflect his character in these dangerous, desperate needy times?"

I do want to point out the connection here with Jesus, which is captured in a comment from Willard Swartley in his book Israel's Scripture Traditions and the Synoptic Gospels: "That Yahweh as Warrior is interconnected to, even lies at the heart of, other traditions such as exodus and kingship, is persuasively argued by Cross, "Divine arrior," 11-31. J.L. Greenspoon...contends that Yahweh's holy warfare gives rise to the belief in resurrection in Israel, of which Dan. 12:2 is the endpoint, not the beginning (see Deut. 32:39; 1 Sam 2:6 for earlier indications). This view, developed with no mention of M. Dahood and his contention that belief in resurrection has a significant place in the Psalms...provides another element of continuity between Israel's faith and the Gospels: Warrior-suffering Messiah/dying King-Resurrected One is a dominant christological portrait of Jesus in the Synoptics."

I highly recommend Show Them No Mercy for further exploration, although I realize this can be a deeply threatening question for many followers of Jesus. But rather than avoiding difficult issues, I recommend you take it on and pray about it and explore it for yourself in community. I find that this actually works well, and the Spirit may indeed guide you to an answer, even if we end up living with the tension.

Let's end today with two more observations in chapter 15.

First, notice the important imagery of Samuel's torn hem of his mantle and this prophetic utterance to tearing the kingdom away from Saul. We noted in a previous study that clothing is really important to pay attention to in scripture. We have seen the priestly ephod and Samuel's prophetic mantle/cloak. Keep a watch out for clothing and what it tells us, this will emerge again when Saul and David confront one another.

Lastly, we want to take note of the overarching connections throughout Israel's history between the Israelites and the Amalekites and the enmity between them. From Exodus 17 to Deuteronomy 25, the enmity and battles between them begin.

Of course, we just read about Saul and his holy war against the Amalekites, and yet the survivors go on and appear much later, while the Israelites are in exile and under Persian rule. We find the end of the line in the book of Esther. Esther and her uncle Mordecai are said to be descendants of Kish, Saul's father. They battle the evil Haman, the Amalekite and descendant of Agag, who tries to exterminate the Jews. Again, this theme with the battle between israel and Amalek keeps coming back to genocide. Eventually Esther and Mordecai outsmart Hamon and the Jews survive even to this very day.

This was a difficult and long study, so we'll go lite on the assignments this week.


Section four. Assignments.

• Draw yourself a nice hot bath and soak for a long time. Enjoy!! See you next week.