1 SAMUEL 10-11 GODS HEART ON HANDLING OPPOSITION2017 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 1 Samuel 10-11 Gods Heart On Handling Opposition

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2017. We'll be here in 1 Samuel chapter 10 and moving into chapter 11 this evening as well. Last week as we looked at chapter 10, we saw that Saul is publicly declared to be king.

And so the anointing happened in private.

But then God brought around the selection process and the tribes were, you know, organized. And then the families within the tribes were organized and Saul was chosen and declared to be the king. But nothing much happens. He doesn't build the castle right away. In fact, he just goes home. And so we want to kind of pick it up there from right after that ceremony where he's declared to be king. In 1 Samuel chapter 10, we're going to start in verse 26. And we're going to start in verse 26.

And then I'm going to read on into chapter 11, verse 6, and then we'll begin to talk about what the Lord has for us this evening. So starting in 1 Samuel 10, verse 26, it says, Verse 1.

Then Nahash the Ammonite came up and encamped against Jabesh Gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve you. And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, On this condition I will make a covenant with you, that I may put out all your eyes, all your right eyes, and bring reproach on all Israel.

Then the elders of Jabesh said to him, hold off for seven days that we may send messengers to all the territory of Israel. And then if there is no one to save us, we will come out to you. So the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and told the news and the hearing of the people. And all the people lifted up their voices and wept. Now there was Saul coming behind the herd from the field. And Saul said, what troubles the people that they weep?

Here as we jump into the kingship of Saul, we have just declared him to be king publicly, but

But then kingdom-wise, nothing eventful happens right away. He just goes home. He goes back to the field. He's leading the flocks. He's, you know, working in the fields. He's going about business as usual, even though he has just been appointed and declared to be king. And so the occasion for him to really begin to be recognized as king and to

set up his monarchy in Israel is going to be established here in chapter 11 with this event where this city is attacked. But before we get to that, in the finishing verses of chapter 10, there's a situation with some rebels that I think is pertinent for us to consider this evening. I've titled the message this evening, God's Heart on Handling Opposition.

God's heart on handling opposition. I think as we look at these last couple of verses of chapter 10 and then the majority of chapter 11 this evening we'll look at as well, we see opposition happening. And I think in Saul we actually have a good example of how to handle a good representation of what God's heart is regarding the different kinds of opposition that we see take place here in these chapters.

Now, as we've been going through the book of 1 Samuel, we've been talking about pursuing God's heart. And as we've been talking about that, it's something that we've reviewed, you know, time and time again. We're almost now to chapter 13, where we get the theme verse for this book and this idea of pursuing God's heart. It's in 1 Samuel chapter 13, verse 14, when God speaks to Saul...

through Samuel and says, your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for himself a man after his own heart. And the Lord has commanded him to be commander over his people because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you. And so in just a couple chapters, we'll find that Saul pretty much fails as king. He starts out pretty good as we'll see here in chapter 11, but

But God's removing the authority of kingship from him and putting it on someone who will be a man after his own heart or a man who pursues the heart of God. And what does it mean to be a man who pursues God's heart, a man after God's heart? Well, we see from the contrast between Saul and David, it comes down to obedience, obedience

To be a man or woman after God's own heart is about obedience to God. And Saul was continually disobedient, even though he started out well. He wavered pretty quickly, and we'll see that as we continue on in chapter 11 and chapter 12 next week.

God is declaring, I'm going to find a man who is obedient, who will do my will, a man who seeks to please me. And so again, as we talk about this idea of pursuing God's heart, it's important for us to consider, am I a man or a woman of God's own heart? Am I seeking after and pursuing to obey God, to please God, and to do the will of God? Now, as we've been looking at this theme, sometimes the messages are strong exhortations to pursue God's heart.

I think last week is a good example of that. Do as the occasion demands. I mean, I don't know about you, but I felt the strong exhortation from the Lord that I need to do whatever God sets before me and whatever the demand is, I need to do what God has set there. And you can look at the situations that you face and think, what would a good Christian do in this situation?

And I would just say, whatever that is that you think a good Christian would do in that situation, that's you. So do as the occasion demands. That's what God has called us to do. And so God has been giving us many of these kinds of strong exhortations.

Sometimes though, as we talk about pursuing God's heart, we're not so much giving a strong exhortation, but it's more a better understanding of what God's heart is like so that we can understand him better and that as we face different situations in our lives, we're able to then seek to please him and to honor him in the way that we live.

And we find it here in chapter 10 and 11, Saul does a pretty good job of representing God's heart in regards to these different kinds of opposition that he faces. Pastor Chuck puts it this way. He says, now this is Saul at the beginning of his reign. And at the beginning of his reign, he does show many marvelous characteristics, starting out a very humble man, but as time progressed, he became a very proud man.

So we can't hold up Saul and say, you know, no matter what you find him doing in the scriptures, you know, he's a good example and we just follow it. We can't present him as that. He wanders. But we also don't want to just kind of throw him out completely and just say Saul was a horrible guy and never did anything good, never did anything right. He actually...

I like how Pastor Chuck shares it. He says he shows many marvelous characteristics. And so there's some good qualities and good examples for us here as we look at especially the early reign of King Saul. And so God's heart on handling opposition as seen through, as learned from the example of Saul. And three lessons I think that God has for us as we look at this this evening.

The first one is found in verse 26 and 27 of chapter 10, and that is, insults can be ignored. I hope that's something that you know, but maybe we just need the reminder this evening. Just want to let you know, you have the option to ignore insults. It's not a requirement. It's not a demand that you ignore them. Sometimes they shouldn't be ignored, but

A lot of times they should be ignored and they can be ignored and God would have us to ignore them. Looking again at verse 26 and 27, it says, Saul also went home to Gibeah and valiant men went with him whose hearts God had touched. But some rebels said, how can this man save us? So they despised him and brought him no presence, but he held his peace. As the

ceremony, the ordination ceremony, is dismissed. And Samuel says, okay, Saul's king, now everybody go home. Saul goes home, just like everybody else. But valiant men go with him. And God had touched the hearts of some men to go and be with Saul, to begin to support him now in this new responsibility that he has as king.

But there was also some opposition to Saul being king. He didn't just have those who supported him, but he had those who were directly and deliberately against him. In fact, in verse 27, it calls them rebels. And they issue this insult. How can this man save us? It's an insult to Saul. It's a questioning of his authority.

calling, of his capability, a questioning of God's choice. It's an insult to him. It's an insult as they despise him. It's an insult as they bring him no presence. There's, you know, multiple layers here that develop this into. This is a pretty serious insult, actually.

I know it sounds a little bit petty, right? They didn't bring him any presents. Oh, boo-hoo, you know? Like, what a big deal. Like, so what? But actually, it's more than just like, it's not like they didn't bring him something on Christmas. The idea here is that

they didn't pay tribute. They didn't pay their taxes, in other words. That they did not support him. And the way that kings were supported in that culture was not necessarily, you know, on April 15th, you submit your taxes, but it was...

Well, at the time that you're crowned, it was at different periods in your reign and different seasons that there would be this giving of tribute. There would be this giving of honor and respect in the form of gifts and monetary amounts so that the kingdom could run. And it was a way that they would support the monarchy in that way. And so they're actually withholding that in their defiance, in their rebellion against God.

Saul, saying, how can this man save us? Now, I know we all know the saying, right? Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. I would suggest, you know, it's a good phrase to consider. It's a good thing to think about. It's not a good mentality for our words towards others and just to be careless and, you know, who cares? Because it's

you know, words that aren't going to hurt because we do know that there are great hurt. You know, James talks about the world of hurt that's caused by the tongue. So it's not really valid to say that statement completely. But I would also say at the same time, it is a good mentality for us to hold on to. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me when it's regarding those who are speaking about us or against us.

Don't use that mentality when you're speaking about or to others. But you know it's a good mentality to have, a good attitude to have when it's coming the other way. These rebels bring this insult to Saul, but it says that he held his peace.

Now they're rebels, that's for sure. The word rebel is not, again, it's a little bit stronger than we might immediately think. The word rebel, literally it means son of Belial or son.

Belial is another word for Satan. So these guys are called sons of the devil. These are not like, you know, godly people who just kind of object to or have a little bit different ideas, you know, about if whether, you know, he's the best choice to be king or not. I mean, these guys are actually still rebelling against God.

And in rebelling against God, they're rebelling against Saul. And so these are evil men who are bringing forth insults, who are bringing forth this despising and withholding what is rightfully Saul's as king, that, that,

honor and that tribute is appropriate for him as king. And so they're holding back from God. They're fighting against God and rejecting the one that God has established as king. So they didn't bring him any presents. They issue the insult. How can this man save us? But Saul held his peace. He holds his peace in this. And it's an important example for us to consider because

He's king. He has authority, God-given authority now, to establish his authority and make sure everybody knows that he's in charge. And let me tell you guys, you know, who are rebellious and not bringing that, I could take it from you. You don't have to give it to me. I could take it. You know, I'm the king. You know, he could respond. He could try to respond that way, but he just holds his peace. And

Literally, it describes it in the Hebrew. I'm told, I don't read Hebrew, but commentators remark that it means that he just pretended as if he were deaf, that he just didn't even acknowledge it. He didn't even deal with it, or he pretended to just not hear it. It's like, I'm not even going to listen to that. I'm not going to let that...

It's like, you know, those scrolling marquees, you know, like sometimes you're like laying in bed at night and you're just seeing the words of, you know, something someone said, just scrolling across your head, scrolling, scrolling, you know, over and over, repeated over and over. Saul's like, I'm just, I'm deaf. I'm not even going to hear that. I'm just going to keep it out of my mind, keep it out of my heart. And he holds his peace. It's an important thing for us to consider because not every wrong has to be corrected.

Sometimes we want to correct and refute and rebuke every wrong, but that's not necessarily what God has called us to do. And sometimes wrongs just need to be ignored. We just need to pretend to be deaf or numb or whatever is appropriate. Now, again, this is not for every situation. Okay, I'm not saying that all insults must be ignored. That's not necessarily the requirement, but...

When it comes to God's heart on insults, some of them should be. Many of them should be. In fact, Jesus modeled this for us. They're on the cross. The greatest of insults and rejecting him as savior and crucifying him, nailing him to the cross. And he says, Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do. That's Jesus holding his peace. Not allowing that insult to affect him and really penetrate his heart, but he's saying,

He's asking God to forgive those who would even perpetrate this kind of injustice and harm to him. And that is a model for us to follow in many cases. Jesus gave us the instruction in Matthew chapter 5. He says,

Now, as Jesus gives this instruction, he's referring back to the Old Covenant, the Old Testament, where he gave the instruction, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

We'll touch on this a little bit later too, but that wasn't a requirement. If someone pokes your eye out, you got to poke their eye out. That was just a limitation. You can't do more than what, you know, was done to the person who was injured. There was limitations that it would be just and fair whenever consequences were dealt out. But Jesus says, throw out that for now. And here's the way that you need to approach it.

If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. Now, this verse has caused a lot of discussion over the years, of course, about whether or not we are allowed to defend ourselves and things like that. I think it's pretty simple as you look at this. The slap is not a actual physical threat. It's an insult. It's an insult that Jesus is talking about here. If someone insults you, just ignore it.

Or invite them to insult you on the other side. You know, just don't let those insults become these huge issues and mountains in your life. And so as he talks about a slap, he's not talking about, you know, Mike Tyson trying to take you out.

That's the most current boxing reference that I have. Sorry. Pacquiao, I think the other guy's name is, right? Is that the current guy? Okay. So anyways, it's not like, you know, they're trying to take you out. It's an insult. It's, you know, a slap in the face. It's something that is not physically threatening. It's not, you know, actual harm that's being threatened, but it's the insult. And Jesus says, just take it. It's okay. It's okay.

Paul in 1 Corinthians wrote to the Corinthians and said, look, why are you Christians going to court against each other, suing each other? You're failing completely. He says, why would you just not rather be wronged than to misrepresent Christ or to drag the name of Christ through the mud in the process of these court trials? Why wouldn't you rather just accept the wrong? Sometimes God just wants us to accept the wrong, just ignore the insult, just

Take it or even turn the other cheek and invite for more. Go ahead. Bring the insults if you want. Jesus says if an evil person, a rebel, a son of the devil slaps you, despises you, doesn't give you presence, there's opportunity to just ignore it. And then again, there's many opportunities where God wants you to respond to situations that are unfolding. But sometimes we approach it as I must respond to every insult that is brought. And

And I want to remind you that there's the option. Insults can be ignored. And in fact, many times, it's quite godly and Christ-like to ignore them, to turn the other cheek, and to allow God to show his love and grace and mercy through you in that. And so that's point number one as we talk about God's heart on handling opposition. When the opposition comes in the form of an insult, just remember, insults can be ignored.

There's a saying, it's not an exact quote of a saying or anything, but the idea is if the devil can get you engaged in putting out fires, then he's easily going to be able to keep you busy and distracted from your real work.

If every time somebody, you know, says something bad about you and you got to go fix that, and then somebody over here says something bad about you and you got to go fix that, and then somebody over here, and you'll just be running around trying to put out fires all the time about, you know, all the insults, all the rumors, all the stuff that, you know, is just keeping you away from the things that God really has called you to. And so I think we need to learn many times to just let things go and ignore those insults.

Well, moving on now into chapter 11, here we have point number two, and that is people should be defended. Personally, I can be insulted, and many times I should just ignore that. But then there's other situations where other people are in danger. And in that instance, well, there's a different approach. It's not just ignore it.

You know, not like the parable of the Good Samaritan, right? And the priest and the Levite, they cross over to the other side. Let's just pretend, you know, like I don't see nothing, like nothing's happening. No, actually, there's a lot of times where people should be defended. That is, you or I should step up

and defend those who are unable to defend themselves. And that's what we see unfold here in chapter 11. In verse 1, it tells us, And Nahash the Ammonite answered them,

And so here we have a situation where Nahash the Ammonite comes against a city of the nation of Israel. And here's a quick look at the map to give you some context on that. So the Ammonites were there on the east side of the Jordan River. And they were

And so they're occupying that territory there. Jabesh Gilead was once part of their territory, but was taken from them as Joshua led the people into the promised land. And so as whatever's going on in their kingdom, those days they decide, we're going to take back Jabesh Gilead. And so they come and they encamp against Jabesh Gilead. And they say...

We're going to take you guys out. Now, the people of Jabesh Gilead began to negotiate. Hey, you don't have to kill us. Let's make a covenant. We don't want to die. Maybe we could be your servants. Try to, you know, give them some kind of incentive not to kill them all. They're negotiating with the terrorists at this point. Don't kill us. Let's work out something so that you can benefit from us continuing to exist. And so what we're looking at is a situation really of...

a big bully, Nahash, coming against this city. Now it doesn't tell us how big the Ammonite army was, but based on the size of Saul's response, it's probably a significant force. We'll see in verse 8, there's 330,000 soldiers from Israel and Judah that come against Nahash and his army.

So that's a significant force to fight against this guy. So we don't know how many he had, but clearly the city is outnumbered. The city has no hope. They've already given up before they didn't even try to fight because it was a hopeless battle. So there's this massive force against them. There's no way for them to fight and win. And so they're already negotiating for their lives.

And so it indicates for us what was really being attempted. It's a huge injustice by a big bully for them to come against this little city. And what they offer as a negotiation just demonstrates this more. Nehas says, okay, we'll make a deal with you. Sure, we could let you live. Here's what we're going to do though. We're going to gouge out the right eye of every person.

And there's several things going on when he says we're going to put out all your right eyes. First of all, his intention is to humiliate them as well as Israel.

In verse 2, it says, and bring a reproach on all Israel. This is meant to show you guys how lame you are. This is meant to humiliate you, humiliate the nation of Israel. I just want you guys to feel like nothing. That's one aspect of this demand that we'll let you live, but we're going to pluck out all of your right eyes.

But there's some practical elements to this as well. With their right eye being gouged out, they would not be able to fight because, well, their primary method of war in those days was either with the bow or with a sword and shield. Now, with a bow, without the right eye, they would not be effective. With a sword and shield and hand-to-hand combat, usually they would have the shield in the left hand.

So, well, for one thing, you know, if you only have one eye, your depth perception is a mess. So you're not going to be the best fighter. But if you're holding the shield, you're severely limited in your scope. And so they would be really ineffective and unable to fight back or revolt later if all their eyes are gouged out.

But then the benefit for Nahash would be they'd still be able to serve. They could still do menial tasks. They could still, you know, and so they could still pay rent and, you know, get stuff done. And they would be able to have that kind of profit to him. And so it was a humiliating thing. It was a crippling thing. And so it was ensuring then that they would be able to be his servants for the rest of their lives.

In verse 3, it tells us, Again, here they are. They're really negotiating with the terrorists. Terrorism has been around for a long time. And they've come to terms with, we're either going to die, or we're going to have our right eyes gouged out. We're going to be this guy's servants for the rest of our lives. I mean,

It's only two verses here that we're, you know, looking at in verse 2 and 3, but you can imagine there's a lot of discussion. There's a lot of heartache. There's a lot of things happening within, internally, in the city, within the elders. You know, can you imagine that elder meeting trying to, you know, just, okay, we're going to have to give in to this. I mean, that must have been a horrible experience. But they're going through the process, and they're saying, look, give us one chance. We're going to send out messengers, and...

See if anybody can help. It's an interesting thing that they requested. And it's interesting that in verse 4, it tells us, so the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and told the news in the hearing of the people. And all the people lifted up their voices and wept. It's interesting that Nahash says, okay, yeah, sure, send your messengers. Now, I mean, on the one hand, it shows his absolute confidence in the victory, no matter who came. But it also demonstrates he really expected nobody to respond. Right?

He's expecting Israel to just, well, guess we're going to lose that city and just let it go. And it's probably an accurate expectation based on Israel's history up to this point. They've not been very strong and they haven't had a king. They haven't had a leader. They haven't had, you know, this kind of authority. They haven't had this kind of presence in the land. And so

The enemies were getting bold, you know, and coming back and taking territory. And he probably just expected, go ahead, send people. Nobody's going to come help you. So the messengers get out and they go probably throughout all Israel, but they end up in Gibeah where Saul is and tell the news and the hearing of the people. And so the people weep. The people of Gibeah weep.

They're thinking through, wow, think about what these people had to go through to make this decision and what's going to happen to them and what their lives are going to be like. And this is a horrible situation. And so they're being really affected by it. They weep at the tragedy that is their friends, their neighbors, their brethren experiencing this gouging out of the eyes at the hands of Nahash. Verse five. Now there was Saul coming behind the herd from the field.

And Saul said, what troubles the people that they weep? And they told him the words of the men of Jabesh. And so Nahash's threat is having the desired effect. He's freaking out the nation of Israel. And

Well, they're being reproached. They're feeling the reproach of Nahash. They're feeling his scorn and the shame that he wants to inflict. They're all feeling it. And so they're weeping. And it's such a weeping that as Saul's coming in from the field, he hears the commotion and says, wow, there's something serious going on. What's going on?

And they begin to relate the situation to him. And as Saul hears about the situation, God begins to work. Check out verse 6. Verse 7.

So he took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hands of messengers saying, whoever does not go out with Saul and Samuel to battle, so it shall be done to his oxen. And the fear of the Lord fell on the people and they came out with one consent."

And so Saul hears about the situation and he's moved and he's angry and he begins to take action and he sends messengers with pieces of oxen throughout all the land of Israel saying, look, your oxen is going to be like this. We're going to come and do this to your oxen if you don't join us in battle and defend the men of Jabesh Gilead.

And the people responded and they came out with one consent. But what I want to pay attention to in the midst of all this is that it's not just that Saul hears the news, is moved by it, and is angry and has a good idea to motivate people to join him in battle. You can see from verse 6 and 7 that this is a work of God. Here we are seeing the heart of God as he moves upon his people.

It tells us in verse 7, then the Spirit of God came upon Saul. The things that follow next, the things that Saul does and the steps that Saul takes, this tells us they're inspired by God. It's not just like Saul had a good idea. It's a God-inspired idea.

This is Saul acting on behalf of God, following God's leading, following God's instruction. Essentially, God wants Saul to stand up and defend the men of Jabesh Gilead, those people who are severely threatened by this big bully.

He wants them to stand up, to gather together, and to fight literally, physically, with swords and spears to fight against this injustice that is being threatened. This is the heart of God. People should be defended, even violently in some occasions. That God, his heart on the matter is that it's important.

This is not a fleshly situation. Saul's angry, but it's not a anger of man. It's not man's indignation. It's righteous indignation. This isn't fleshly. It's spirit-filled. It's spirit-led indignation.

Not only did the Holy Spirit come upon Saul, but then in verse 7 at the end, it tells us the fear of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out with one consent. And so God was moving on Saul, and he was moving on the people. As Saul responded to the Spirit's leading and sent out those messengers with those pieces of oxen, it wasn't just that it was a dramatic thing, and they were like, oh man, I've seen the Godfather. I got to get in this battle because I don't want to be like that, you know.

It wasn't just dramatic. It wasn't just traumatic. It was the work of God moving on the hearts of his people to bring them together, that they would rise up and defend those who were being threatened. There is righteous anger against injustice, against bullying, against harassment, against these kinds of situations.

where people are being taken advantage of in this way. And so God moves upon his people, and he's going to use them to deliver this city. Verse 8, when he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were 300,000, and the men of Judah 30,000. And they said to the messengers who came, thus you shall say to the men of Jabesh-Gilead, tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have help.

Then the messengers came and reported it to the men of Jabesh, and they were glad. Verse 10, therefore the men of Jabesh said, tomorrow we will come out to you and you may do with us whatever seems good to you. So it was on the next day that Saul put the people in three companies, and they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch and killed the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And it happened that those who survived were scattered so that no two of them were left together."

Now, as God has moved on the heart of Saul and moved on his people and gathered them together, they go to battle. They let the people of Jabesh Gilead know, we're coming. You have our support. We've got your back. We're on our way. You're going to have help by the time it gets hot tomorrow. So they send out a message to Nahash. All right, we're coming out tomorrow. You can do with us whatever you want. Getting him to think, all right, they've given up. We've won.

everything is going as planned as far as Nahash is concerned. But then in the morning, they're surprised. In that morning watch, it says they invade the camp. And the victory is so significant, so serious that it says at the end that no two of them were left together, right? Can you imagine in the midst of a battle, right? You know, me and Dave Brent, like we like stick, like no one's separating us.

But this battle is so fierce. Their loss is so complete. It's like, where's Dave? I don't know. You know, he left me because, you know, the fighting was too hard. It was too scary. It was too difficult. It's showing us that it was a very serious victory. Many died, but the panic was so great, they just split and abandoned each other and took off. They were scattered, those that survived. And so the victory here is a decisive victory.

And we see through this the heart of God. You know what God's heart is for people in these kinds of situations? God says they should be defended. People should rise up and stand on their behalf and fight for them. Now, again, kind of like the first point, that doesn't mean that every situation that ever comes across our path that, you know, we have to be the defense.

that's not actually possible, you know, and we can't be everybody's defender. And so there are limitations that we have. But at the same time, I want to just remind us that this is the heart of God, that God sees these kinds of situations and these kinds of situations continue to go on in the world around us. And you can think about, you know,

As I've mentioned terrorism a couple times, you know, you could think about those situations, and those are real situations, and God sees those things going on. His heart hurts for those things, and he says, yes, people should be defended. But there's also situations in the workplace and situations in the family where people are being taken advantage of and threatened and humiliated. And there's these kinds of things going on, and in a similar way, God would say,

these people should be defended. And sometimes that means a literal physical defense. And of course, we would pray that that would never be a necessity, right? But if it ever is a situation and you're in the midst of it, understand that God grants you the authority to stand up with force and defend people who need defending.

God gives his people that right, that authority. There are some who take, you know, the approach that, you know, it's like a pacifism, right? It's like you should never, no violence, no fighting, no shooting, no swordplay, whatever. None of it's ever justified. And there is that position that some people take. But nowhere in the New Testament or in the Old Testament do you find that taught nor required, right?

It's a conclusion that people have come to, and if someone wants to take that position, you know, well, ultimately, that's between you and the Lord. Trying to force that on other people, that's a different issue. But it's not a direct command of the scripture at all. In fact, you might remember when the soldiers approached John the Baptist and said, hey, what should we do? He didn't say, quit your job, because, you know, you might have to fight, and that's immediately wrong. He instead says, hey, be a better soldier, be happy with your wages, and

He doesn't tell them to quit. That's not at all the way that God sees it or feels about it. In fact, he says in Romans chapter 13 that those who govern, those who have authority, don't bear the sword in vain. That he gives them the sword. That's part of the way that God works and the authority that he gives. And so, again...

We all pray that it would never be a need. But if there is a need and a situation arises and there is violence required and force required, literally physically, to bring a defense, you don't have to worry about where you stand with God on that, to defend people. Now, defending yourself, maybe there's a little bit room for discussion on that, you know, fighting for

Other reasons, there's a lot of room for discussion on that. But defending those who are threatened, that is something that God, well, his heart is that they should be defended. And somebody should rise up for them. They're being taken advantage of. They're being hurt. They're being whatever the case may be. I mean, there's all kinds of physical situations. But then also, I would also ask you to consider the spiritual side of these things.

So you could think about those who are, you know, crimes are being committed against them. And I don't want to, you know, get into those details and stuff, but it applies in so many ways. People should be defended. But on the spiritual side of things, I would ask you to remember that, you know, that Peter's declaration, the devil roams about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. And it's a verse we know, but as I remind you of that verse, I would remind you to say that

Don't just look out for yourself in regards to this roaring lion. You know, there's that old joke, two guys camping, they hear a noise outside the tent, there's a bear. One guy starts putting on his shoes. The other guy says, what are you crazy? You're not going to outrun the bear. And he says, I don't have to outrun the bear. I just got to outrun you, right? That I just got to, you know, I'll let the bear eat you and I'll get away. Sometimes that's

with the roaring lion that is our adversary, that's our approach. Hey, as long as I get away, that's really what matters. But, you know, sometimes, not even sometimes, a lot of times, there are people around us and the enemy is taking advantage of them. He's encamped around them

His goal, just like Nahash, is to humiliate them and to bring a reproach upon them and all their family and everybody. I mean, he wants to destroy them and make them his servants and remove their ability to fight. I mean, the enemy wants to cripple people and take people out. He's a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. And God would say to us who see those situations unfolding, those people should be defended.

And there is much opportunity for us to fight. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities and forces in the heavenly realms. And our weapons of this warfare, they're not carnal, they're spiritual. And so there is opportunity for us to engage in spiritual battle on behalf of those that the enemy is threatening in this same way that we see Nahash threaten the men of Jabesh Gilead. There's opportunity for prayer.

But more than just praying from a distance, that's important. I'm not trying to negate that at all, but I just want to remind us also of Hebrews 3, verse 12 and 13, where the author of Hebrews says, "'Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief and departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily what is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.'"

Here, the author of Hebrews says, look, when your friend is Jabesh Gilead and the enemy is coming against them and sin is encamping around them and there's a hardness of heart that happens, he says, beware lest in any of you. So he's saying, look out for each other. The devil is a roaring lion. Look out for each other. Help each other not experience the evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God.

And how do you do that? By exhorting one another daily, while it's called today. And so he's calling us to interact, to engage and exhort one another, to help each other, protect each other from the destruction that the enemy desires to bring, the crippling that he wants to bring, the lifelong servitude that the enemy wants to bring to the brethren around us. And so there's a spiritual defense here.

that needs to be brought. People need to be defended. Sometimes that's literally physically. Sometimes it's violently. Sometimes it's legally. Sometimes it's spiritually. I mean, you could, you know, look at all kinds of situations of, well, Kim and I watched that movie Hidden Figures this week and kind of highlighted, you know, the racism and

there within NASA and the situations. And it was kind of hard to watch some of those scenes, even though they were very mild. It wasn't even like real serious. I mean, anyways, I don't want to dig myself in, okay? But you get the point that there are those situations and those kinds of things continue to happen today. This week, you probably don't follow some of the tech news the way that I do, but

There's a lot of sexual harassment type things coming out in the tech community and the tech culture and the startup culture and all of that. And it's all kind of the light of days being shown and people are getting fired from really important prominent roles within their companies and so on and so forth. There's kind of a lot of these things coming out and in a lot of ways it's good. That is the kind of situation that people need to be defended. Right?

And so let the Lord minister to you about, you know, situations in your life where you need to stand up and you need to get involved, that they should be defended, whether it be physically or socially or legally, spiritually, whatever the case may be, that you would engage and step in and care for those that God has placed around you.

Well, let's finish it up. Point number three in verse 12 and 13 here of 1 Samuel chapter 11. Vengeance will spoil God's work. They step up. They fight against this army. They defeat them. It's a great victory. Verse 12. Then the people said to Samuel, who is he who said, shall Saul reign over us? Bring the men that we may put them to death. But Saul said, not a man shall be put to death this day. For today the Lord has accomplished salvation in Israel.

As they're celebrating their victory, someone gets the bright idea. Who was it that said Saul's not going to, how could Saul save us? Look what Saul just did. And they're just reveling in the victory that they've experienced. So much so that they say, bring those guys who were rebels and let's just kill them right here on the spot. Now, what do you think? Is that an appropriate response for the crime that was committed? I mean, it was a serious insult.

But they kind of went overboard in their desire to bring retribution to these guys. It was a big insult, but not deserving of death. You get the death penalty now because you failed to pay your taxes. That's not appropriate for the crime, the insult that was given. But here's the thing. Vengeance often works that way, doesn't it? We pay back more than the harm actually inflicted.

And again, that's why God initially gave that instruction, the eye for an eye, the tooth for the tooth. It wasn't, if someone gives, you know, pokes out an eye, you must poke out their eye. It was, you can't do more than that. The consequences should be measured appropriate and proportionate to the crime that was committed. But vengeance, well, vengeance doesn't take that into consideration. And so it's overboard. It's not appropriate to...

what actually took place. Now, as they have this great idea, let's kill these people, I think Dave Guzik points out something really good here. He says, Satan, having failed in the attack through Nahash, was now trying to attack Israel, even in victory, by dividing the nation against each other. He says, Satan will attack us any way he can and often uses times of victory to attack. I think it's important for us to consider and recognize that they're celebrating a great victory, but this is

really an opportunity for a great failure, a great devastation, if this desire and this urge to retaliate against those who rebelled against Saul is carried out. And you can see the work of the enemy here, because it would have been a great tragedy on the heels of this great victory that God had brought for them. Now, just to kind of bring it a little bit close to home, I would just say this. Be careful about your I told you so's, because they can be

Just like this. I mean, it can feel really good to say it, but it might be just as damaging as if you had inflicted harm or taken vengeance on yourself or for yourself. Verse 13, but Saul said, not a man shall be put to death this day. For today the Lord has accomplished salvation in Israel.

Again, here in Saul's early reign, we see some really good traits. I mean, this is some good reservation on his part. You know, he's holding himself. He's constraining the people. He's saying, look, no, we don't want to take away from what God has done. The Lord has accomplished salvation today. Let's not ruin that. Let's not spoil that with this retribution, with this tragedy.

God did a great work. And Saul here was fully recognizing, in really humility, recognizing that this was a work of God. And now to take matters into our own hands, it's not appropriate. It will mar this great rejoicing in this great work that God has done. God has made it very clear, and he repeats it all throughout, but it's not appropriate.

In Deuteronomy chapter 32 verse 35, God declares very clearly, vengeance is mine and recompense. Their foot shall slip in due time for the day of their calamity is at hand and the things to come hasten upon them. God says, look, I'm going to take care of every injustice that's done to you. Vengeance is mine. Don't take it back. That's not yours. Recompense. Don't pay people back for what they do wrong. That's not your responsibility. That's not your job.

Their day's at hand and it's going to hasten upon them. I know it feels like it's not happening soon enough because you were injured so greatly, but vengeance is mine. Leave it in God's hands. Paul quotes this as well in Romans chapter 12, verse 19. And so he says, beloved, do not avenge yourselves. Give place to wrath because vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord. Vengeance will spoil God's work.

It will take a great victory that God accomplishes and a great work that God does and just mess it up. And so as we have opportunity, desire, maybe even suggestions to take matters into our own hands, here we have a good picture of God's heart on handling this kind of opposition. Taking matters into our own hands is not God's heart. We have a great example from Abigail in 1 Samuel chapter 25 where she,

Her husband Nabal is a fool and insults David. And David, responding to the insult, he gets all worked up. He gathers his soldiers. He's on his way to kill them and just wipe them out completely. And Abigail gets word and she sends messengers. Well, she doesn't just send messengers. She goes and she says, look, God's going to do what he told you that he was going to do. And he's going to put you on the throne. And she says, look, God's going to put you on the throne.

And you don't want this to be a grief to you. When God fulfills his word and puts you on the throne and you go, oh man, why did I, but one time, remember, I just, I took matters into my own hands and I took out that guy. I have bloodshed upon me, guilt upon me for what I've done wrong. She says, look, you don't wanna ruin God's work and God's promises. You don't wanna regret these things later. You don't want that to be spoiled. And the same is true for us. Vengeance will spoil God's work.

God does great works in our lives and he has great plans for us, but we have the opportunity to really mess things up. We have the opportunity to reduce the work that God wants to do by disregarding his heart and doing what we want and taking matters into our own hands. And so here we have some great insight from the example of Saul. How to handle opposition. How does God want me to handle opposition? When I'm insulted, I'm

If he tells me to respond, I should respond, of course. But if he doesn't tell me to respond, I probably should just ignore it. It's probably not something he wants me to deal with. If Satan's tactic of getting me to be chasing down every insult that comes and putting it out and getting it corrected and getting them, you know, to make it right or whatever, then he's going to keep me busy. And it's going to be pretty easy for him to do that. Don't get caught in that trap. Learn to ignore the insults. God's hard on opposition. Listen, when people are

being attacked, taken advantage of, being hurt, being humiliated, being wronged, they should be defended. And it's very likely that God wants us to get involved because we're the ones seeing it. We're the ones that are there. So be seeking the Lord about that, how he would have you to get involved in those situations. And again, we can't get involved in every situation and we can't be everybody's defender, but we also are not called to be nobody's defender. We are called to get involved and

there is occasions to engage, especially spiritually. Exhort one another daily that we wouldn't be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. And then finally, vengeance will spoil God's work. Don't forget. Don't sabotage yourself. Let that moment of heat, that moment of passion get you to take matters into your own hands. Accomplish your will and your purposes. No, you go back to the heart of God and pursue His heart.

Don't let the enemy stir you up in such a way that you spoil the work that God has done and wants to do in you. That's God's heart on handling opposition. Let's pray. God, I pray for each one of us and the different oppositions that we face, but also, Lord, the opposition that we observe and that we see taking place all around us. And I pray, God, that you would give us great wisdom and insight.

in how you want us to engage and be involved, Lord, and where you want us to step up, where you want us to stand and fight in whatever capacity that might need or whatever arena that might be. And I pray that you would help us to trust you, to follow your direction and leading. But Lord, I also pray that you'd give us great boldness and strength to let things go and to not fight over

many things, God, and to have to chase after and pursue things that really are just going to keep us distracted from what you really want us to be involved in and engaged in. And God, I pray that you would protect us and remind us. Lord, give us a great presence of mind that we would be able to take note when we're mounting up for battle, when we need to be making peace.

I pray that you would help us to recognize those situations, to catch ourselves quickly before it's too late, Lord, that we would be able to turn back and not carry out things in our way, in our plans, in our time, but Lord, that we would leave those injustices and those wrongs to you. And Lord, where you tell us to act, I pray that you would help us to act, but where you don't, I pray that you would help us to really trust you and leave it in your hands. You said it's gonna happen soon enough.

You'll deal with all of those wrongs. So Lord, help us to trust you to do that. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.