POWER IN NUMBERS

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh Gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said to him, "Make a treaty with us, and we will be subject to you." But Nahash the Ammonite replied, "I will make a treaty with you only on the condition that I gouge out the right eye of every one of you and so bring disgrace on all Israel." The elders of Jabesh said to him, "Give us seven days so we can send messengers throughout Israel; if no one comes to rescue us, we will surrender to you."

When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and reported these terms to the people, they all wept aloud. Just then Saul was returning from the fields, behind his oxen, and he asked, "What is wrong with the people? Why are they weeping?" Then they repeated to him what the men of Jabesh had said.

When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he burned with anger. He took a pair of oxen, cut them into pieces, and sent the pieces by messengers throughout Israel, proclaiming, "This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not follow Saul and Samuel." Then the terror of the Lord fell on the people, and they turned out as one man. When Saul mustered them at Bezek, the men of Israel numbered three hundred thousand and the men of Judah thirty thousand.

They told the messengers who had come, "Say to the men of Jabesh Gilead, 'By the time the sun is hot tomorrow, you will be delivered.' " When the messengers went and reported this to the men of Jabesh, they were elated. They said to the Ammonites, "Tomorrow we will surrender to you, and you can do to us whatever seems good to you."

The next day Saul separated his men into three divisions; during the last watch of the night they broke into the camp of the Ammonites and slaughtered them until the heat of the day. Those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

1 Samuel 11:1-11

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

After Saul is selected as king of Israel, it doesn’t take long for him to have to take charge of his people to ward off an enemy.

As Chapter 11 opens, we see where the people of Jabesh Gilead were confronted and besieged by Nahash the Ammonite. The confrontation led “all the men of Jabesh” to ask Nahash to make a treaty with them, offering to be enslaved to him if he would only spare them. But we see where Nahash declined their offer with evil disdain saying, “I will make a treaty with you only on the condition that I gouge out the right eye of every one of you and so bring disgrace on all Israel." Attempting to buy time to get help before being maimed, “the elders of Jabesh” said to Nahash, “Give us seven days so we can send messengers throughout Israel; if no one comes to rescue us, we will surrender to you." And with no action taken by Nahash, we see where he honors the request undoubtedly confident in his military superiority and ability to dominate the people of Jabesh.

So given the time requested, Jabesh sent out messengers to “Gibeah of Saul” where they repeated the threat of Nahash to the people there. The sheer horror of what was to come caused all the people to weep aloud, an action that caught the attention of Saul who was “returning from the fields, behind his oxen”. And after inquiring about what was wrong, Saul was told about “what the men of Jabesh had said”.

The testimony of what Nahash had done had an immediate effect on Saul as he heard their words. Scripture tells us that “the Spirit of God came upon him in power” and “he burned with anger”. No harm was going to come upon Jabesh if Saul could help it but he couldn’t fight Nahash and his men alone. He would need help and lots of it.

And so to rally the people of Israel, Saul did something very profound…something that would surely get his people’s attention. For “he took a pair of oxen, cut them into pieces, and sent the pieces by messengers throughout Israel, proclaiming, ‘This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not follow Saul and Samuel.’ " Of importance here is that Saul keeps Samuel in a position of power alongside him. The people long respected Samuel and saw him as a man of God. With Saul being new to leadership, he would be far more successful sharing the leadership with Samuel to ensure he garnered maximum support by Israel against the pending threat.

His efforts were successful for we read where “the terror of the Lord fell on the people and they turned out as one man” with 300,000 from Israel and 30,000 from Judah “when Saul mustered them at Bezek”. Of special note here is a sign of what is to come. For later in the scriptures we will see the kingdom of Israel become divided with Israel becoming the Northern Kingdom and Judah the Southern.

With the army assembles to go against Nahash, a message was sent to the “the men of Jabesh” who were assured they would be delivered “by the time the sun is hot tomorrow” and when the message arrived in Jabesh, the men were elated. With the confidence that they were safe, they told the Ammonites, "Tomorrow we will surrender to you, and you can do to us whatever seems good to you." Little did the Ammonites know what was ahead.

For the “next day Saul separated his men into three divisions” and “during the last watch of the night, they broke into the camp of the Ammonites and slaughtered them until the heat of the day”. And with that Jabesh had been delivered, all because Israel came together as one people for a common cause under God.

There’s a very important lesson for us to learn from this passage as we enter the battlefield of life every day. For we are all up against a formidable enemy in Satan who wishes to do nothing short of destroying us with evil disdain, maiming us spiritually and physically through sin. In order to counter Satan, we could each fight on our own merit and seek to find victory through Christ Jesus but that would not be effective or efficient. We know this because it is the way we are too often fighting today.

And this mentality is carrying over into the church as well. Although the church is comprised of a body of believers, too often that body tries to do all its work on its own, measuring success by what the church accomplishes within its four walls. And just as when we try and fight individually, the church misses the mark in fighting efficiently and effectively as well.

So how should we fight Satan? The key is in the scripture in verse 7. For with the terror of the Lord falling on the people, they came forward as one man…many people coming together as one for a common cause. And with that power in numbers, the people were far more powerful than they ever could have been fighting individually.

Friends, when Christ sent His disciples out to start the church, He never intended that we be as divided as we are today. In Acts, every church was a Christian church with one gospel message. One body, one Savior, one message, one purpose. There was no denominational boundaries constructed in the early church and with this there was power in numbers.

Today, I can’t help but think we’re missing the key to an all out revival for Jesus Christ, unlike any revival ever seen in all mankind. And this revival would be of such magnitude that no one or nothing could get in its way…nothing could slow it or stop it. And all those people who are in the world waiting to latch onto the latest and greatest fad would be swept up by the tide of Christian revival, wanting to be in on such an awesome, powerful movement. It’s right there in front of us as Christians, all we need to do is come together as one man…one people for the common cause of the One we worship, adore and serve…our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Satan, like Nahash and his Ammonites, would be overwhelmed by the Army of Christ that would be comprised of all His believers, coming together for the cause of victory for the One who lived and died for us all.

Won’t you join me in praying for a Christian church that puts aside its differences and commits itself toward common unity in Christ? For total victory will only come when we come together. There is power in numbers. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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