I Samuel 11:14-15 NKJV
a. Samuel said to the people: As well as anyone, Samuel knew that the people were not entirely behind Saul when he was proclaimed as king in Gilgal (1 Samuel 10:24, 27). Samuel wisely sees this time of victory as a strategic opportunity to renew the kingdom at Gilgal.
i. Saul had to prove himself before many would accept his reign as king. This is not necessarily a bad thing. It is one thing for a person to be “anointed” or “appointed,” but the evidence must be in the doing. It was understandable for some to say, “Let’s see what kind of man this Saul is.” But once it was demonstrated (as it was in this chapter) it would have been wrong for them to fail to support Saul. “Unwittingly, the Ammonites provided just the opportunity Saul needed to take an initiative, and to prove himself as well to Israel at large that he could ‘save’ his people from oppressors.” (Baldwin)
b. They made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal: It wasn’t that Saul was not king before this. He was anointed as king by Samuel (1 Samuel 10:1) and recognized as king by much of the nation of Israel (1 Samuel 10:24). Yet there was a sense in which Saul was not king until virtually all the nation recognized him as king, and here that recognition was given.
i. “Jesus is our King. The Father hath anointed Him, and set Him on His holy hill; and we have gladly assented to the appointment, and made Him King. But sometimes our sense of loyalty and devotion wanes. Insensibly we drift from our strenuous endeavour to act always as His devoted subjects. Therefore we need, from time to time, to renew the kingdom, and reverently make Him King before the Lord…. There is a sense in which we can consecrate ourselves only once; but we can renew our vows often.” (Meyer)
c. There Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly: They certainly did. After all, now they felt they had a king, and a good king. It is a great blessing to be under a great, victorious king.
i. Saul won the battle that day, but it was more than one battle he won. This chapter records Saul’s inward and outward battles. The outward victory was obvious, but inwardly Saul defeated the strong and subtle temptations to pride, insecurity, and revenge. But he must continue to fight and win the inward battle, and he could only do so as he was filled with the Spirit of the LORD and walking in the Spirit, under the leadership of the King of Kings over Israel.
ii. “O Saul, Saul, how well for thee it would have been hadst thou maintained this spirit! For then God would not have had to reject thee from being king.” (Blaikie)
(Guzik)
Jesus is our King!
”which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of Lords,“ 1 Timothy 6:15 ESV
”far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.“ Ephesians 1:21-23 ESV
Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords because of what He did on the cross for us by following the will of the Father! So from time to time as Meyer comments, we need to “renew our vows” because of our sin nature!
“But sometimes our sense of loyalty and devotion wanes. Insensibly we drift from our strenuous endeavour to act always as His devoted subjects. Therefore we need, from time to time, to renew the kingdom, and reverently make Him King before the Lord….”
Will you renew the kingdom today?
Blessings
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