1052 BC: King Saul vs Nahash the Ammonite

Message to Kings - A Biblical History of Man

Aug 20 2014 • 12 mins

A military power parks an army outside of Jabesh Gilead, a large Israelite town east of the Jordan, and their leader's name is Nahash the Ammonite. Nahash threatens to destroy the city, unless they surrender and allow him to gouge out the right eye of every Israelite. Word is sent throughout Israel and when Saul receives word of the threat of Nahash, the spirit of the Lord comes upon him.

When the spirit of the Lord comes upon him, Saul tears apart his ox and sends parts of it throughout Israel and threatens the people with their lives if they do not come to the aid of Jabesh Gilead. The response was fantastic: 330,000 Israelite men show up to fight for Saul. What follows is military brilliance on the part of Saul: he splits his army in three and leads them in a daring night attack to rescue Jabesh Gilead.