Navigating The Impostorಮಾದರಿ

The King Without Confidence - Part 3

Saul is now officially king. He returns home from the big Israelite campout and immediately runs into haters.

As he touches down in Gibeah, he has some young men with him. Family and friends who have heard the news come out to greet them with congratulations and gifts. But there is a small group of haters who say, “Yeah, this guy is tall and everything but we’ve seen him in action before. He’s got no heart, and he can’t save us from our enemies. So, we’re not going to give him any gifts. That’s YOUR king...not ours.”

Saul paid no attention to them and went back to his work plowing fields with his oxen. Imagine, a man who was just proclaimed king of the entire nation of Israel, comes home and goes back to his manual labor.

At about this time, King Nahash, the Ammonite, decides he will attack one of the Israelite cities...Jabesh Gilead. The city politicians come out and say to him, “King Nahash, we’ll make you a deal. If you let us live and not have to fight, we promise to be peaceful and will pay our taxes to you.”

Nahash responds by saying, “I’m good with that deal, but I need to add one thing to it. I need to poke out the right eye of every man in your city because I need Israel to know I’m in charge.”

Somehow, the politicians get Nahash to give them seven days to get some help. The deal is that if no one comes to help them, they will surrender to him.

Some of the messengers go to Saul’s hometown to share what is happening. At this time, Saul is returning from the fields and sees everyone crying. The Bible says when they told Saul what was going on, the Spirit of God took control of him and made him FURIOUS!

Saul kills two of his oxen and cuts them up into small pieces. He gives the pieces to the messengers and tells them to give them to all of the men in Israel while saying, “If you don’t join our army to rescue Jabesh Gilead, this is what will happen to your cattle.”

Saul mobilizes 330,000 men, and before daylight the next day, he attacks and nearly wipes out the entire Ammonite army.

This part of Saul’s story ends with Israel heading to Gilgal, their place of worship, where they officially accept Saul as king of the entire nation.

Saul made excuses, hid in luggage, and kept his coronation a secret, yet God chose him. When God has something important for you to do, not only will He equip you to do it, He will keep presenting opportunities for you to accept. He will place His Spirit on you to encourage you and increase your boldness.

God pursues us!

God won’t leave us alone. He sent His Son to SEEK AND SAVE! That’s an active God. That’s not a God who waits for you to get it right. 

That’s a gracious God. That’s a God who will help you to navigate the internal impostor.