The Anointed Axeman
Introduction: Holy Fury
We live in an age that has domesticated God and tranquilized His saints. The modern evangelical ideal is often a man who is perpetually nice, endlessly patient, and constitutionally incapable of raising his voice. We have confused the Christian virtue of longsuffering with a sanctified passivity. We have mistaken the peace of God, which passes all understanding, for a spiritual listlessness that understands nothing. And as a result, when evil bares its teeth, as it did with the Ammonites at Jabesh-gilead, the modern church too often responds with a committee meeting, a concerned letter to the editor, or a sad, prayerful sigh.
But the God of the Bible is not a tame lion. And the Spirit of God, when He descends in power, does not always bring a gentle hush. Sometimes He comes with fire. Sometimes He comes with a holy and terrible fury. The story of Saul's first act as king is a bucket of ice water in the face of our sleepy piety. It is raw, visceral, and bloody. It is a story about a farmer, a Spirit-anointing, a righteous rage, and a sermon preached with a butchered ox. It is a necessary story, because it reminds us that the kingdom of God is not advanced by milquetoast men, but by those filled with the Spirit, who see evil for what it is and are moved to righteous, decisive action.
This is not a story about personal vengeance or an uncontrolled temper. This is about the wrath of the Lamb, in miniature. It is about the kind of anger that God Himself feels toward wickedness. And it is the kind of anger that God anoints His chosen leaders to feel and to act upon, in order to bring His salvation, His yeshuah, to His beleaguered people. If this story shocks our modern sensibilities, it is not because the story is barbaric, but because our sensibilities have become pathetic.
The Text
Now behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen, and he said, “What is the matter with the people that they weep?” So they recounted to him the words of the men of Jabesh. Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul mightily when he heard these words, and he burned with anger exceedingly. Then he took a pair of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen.” Then the dread of Yahweh fell on the people, and they came out as one man. And he numbered them in Bezek; and the sons of Israel were 300,000, and the men of Judah 30,000. And they said to the messengers who had come, “Thus you shall say to the men of Jabesh-gilead, ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will have salvation.’ ” So the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh; and they were glad. Then the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good in your eyes.” Then the next morning Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp at the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. Those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.
(1 Samuel 11:5-11 LSB)
The Farmer King (v. 5)
We begin with the setting, which is crucial.
"Now behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen, and he said, 'What is the matter with the people that they weep?' So they recounted to him the words of the men of Jabesh." (1 Samuel 11:5)
Saul has been anointed king, but he has not yet ascended a throne. He is not in a palace surrounded by advisors and courtiers. He is in the field, behind the oxen. He is a working man. This is a Cincinnatus-at-the-plow moment. His kingship is rooted in the soil, in the ordinary labor of the people he is called to lead. He is not a detached politician; he is one of them. And because he is one of them, he hears their weeping.
True leadership begins with this kind of earthy connection. A leader who does not know the smell of the field, who does not feel the sun on his back, who is insulated from the sorrows of his people, cannot lead them. Saul's first act as a public leader is not to issue a decree, but to ask a question: "Why are you weeping?" He is moved by their distress, and he enters into it. This is the heart of a shepherd. Before he can be a warrior, he must first be a shepherd who cares for the flock.
The Divine Anointing and the Holy Rage (v. 6)
What happens next is not a calculated political response. It is a supernatural invasion.
"Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul mightily when he heard these words, and he burned with anger exceedingly." (1 Samuel 11:6)
The Spirit of God rushes upon him. This is the same language used for the judges, like Samson. This is a charismatic anointing for a specific, violent task of deliverance. And notice the immediate effect. It is not a feeling of warm fuzzies. It is not a sudden urge to start a praise and worship service. The Spirit of God produces a white-hot, burning anger. This is not the petty, selfish anger of a man whose ego has been bruised. This is a holy, righteous indignation against a monstrous evil. Nahash the Ammonite had threatened to gouge out the right eye of every man in Jabesh-gilead as a reproach on all Israel. This was not just a military threat; it was a blasphemous mockery of the people of God.
Saul's anger is the proper, Spirit-filled response to such wickedness. There is a time for meekness, and there is a time for war. There is a time for turning the other cheek, and there is a time to butcher an ox. Wisdom is knowing the difference, and the Spirit of God provides that wisdom. We have taught a generation of Christian men that all anger is sinful. This is a lie. The Bible says, "Be angry, and do not sin" (Ephesians 4:26). Jesus Himself cleansed the temple in a holy rage. Saul's anger here is not a sin; it is a gift from God, the fuel for the deliverance that must follow.
A Sermon in Pieces (v. 7)
Saul's Spirit-filled anger immediately translates into a shocking and brilliant act of communication.
"Then he took a pair of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, 'Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen.'" (1 Samuel 11:7)
This is a living parable. It is a covenant lawsuit in picture form. This act hearkens back to the covenant God made with Abraham, where the animals were cut in two (Genesis 15). It also echoes the grisly story of the Levite and his concubine in Judges 19. This is a covenant summons. He is saying, "We are a people in covenant with Yahweh. An attack on one is an attack on all. If you break this covenant solidarity, if you refuse to come to the aid of your brothers, then may the curse of the covenant fall on you. May your livelihood be destroyed as I have destroyed these oxen."
This is not the act of a madman. It is the act of a theologian with an axe. He is communicating in a language his people would have instantly understood. And notice, he wisely joins his authority to the established authority of the prophet: "after Saul and after Samuel." He is not on a solo mission. He is acting within the established covenant order of Israel. The result is immediate and decisive: "Then the dread of Yahweh fell on the people, and they came out as one man." This was not just fear of Saul; this was a supernatural compulsion from God Himself. God honored Saul's faithful, furious summons by uniting the hearts of the people.
Salvation by Sunup (v. 8-11)
The response is overwhelming, and the promise is specific.
"And he numbered them in Bezek... 330,000... 'Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will have salvation.'" (1 Samuel 11:8-9)
An enormous army musters. The people are united. And Saul sends a message to the besieged city. He does not say, "We will try our best." He does not say, "Hang on, we are forming a committee." He gives them a concrete, time-sensitive promise from God: "Tomorrow, you will have salvation." The word is yeshuah. It is the word for deliverance, for rescue, for victory. It is the root of the name Joshua, and the name Jesus. This is a gospel promise. And the people of Jabesh, hearing this good news, were glad. They then used this promise to set a brilliant trap, telling the Ammonites they would surrender the next day, lulling them into a false sense of security.
And the promise is kept. The fulfillment is described in verse 11:
"Then the next morning Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp at the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. Those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together." (1 Samuel 11:11)
Saul proves to be a competent military commander. He divides his forces, attacks at the most vulnerable time, the morning watch, and prosecutes the battle with overwhelming force. The victory is not partial. It is not a negotiated settlement. It is total. The enemy is so utterly routed that "no two of them were left together." This is how God deals with those who threaten His people and mock His name. When God brings His yeshuah, it is a comprehensive and decisive salvation.
The Greater Saul
This entire episode is a magnificent picture of a greater story. Saul, the anointed one, the mashiach, is a flawed but true type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our predicament is far worse than that of Jabesh-gilead. We are besieged by an enemy far more cruel than Nahash the Ammonite. We are besieged by sin, death, and the devil. And the threat is not to have one eye gouged out, but to have our souls cast into outer darkness forever.
And into our hopeless situation comes the true Anointed One, Jesus. He is the true King who did not remain in a palace but came down from Heaven to walk in the field with us. He heard our weeping. And He was filled with a holy, righteous anger against the sin and death that held us captive. His cleansing of the Temple was just a glimpse of this holy fire.
And He issued a covenant summons. But instead of cutting up an ox, He offered up His own body. He was the one cut in pieces for our transgressions. The cross is the ultimate covenant lawsuit, where the curse we deserved fell upon Him. And the call goes out to all the world: "Whoever does not come out after Jesus, whoever does not unite himself to His death and resurrection, will be cut off." The dread of Yahweh must fall on us, a holy fear that drives us out of our complacency and into the ranks of His army, as one man.
And to all who answer the call, He gives a sure promise: "You will have salvation." Our deliverance is not partial; it is total. On the cross, Jesus attacked our enemies at their strongest point and routed them completely. He scattered sin, death, and the devil so thoroughly that no two of them can ever be gathered together again to mount a successful assault against the people of God. The victory is won. We do not fight for it; we fight from it. Saul brought salvation by the heat of the day. Jesus, the Son of Righteousness, rose on the third day, bringing a final and everlasting yeshuah to all who call on His name.