“Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabeshgilead : and all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee.”
My Notes
What Does 1 Samuel 11:1 Mean?
Nahash the Ammonite besieges Jabesh-gilead, and the men of Jabesh immediately offer surrender: "Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee." Their willingness to serve a foreign oppressor reveals the depth of Israel's weakness and desperation during the early monarchy. They'd rather become vassals than fight.
Nahash's response (verse 2) will be to demand the right eye of every man — a humiliation designed not just to weaken them militarily but to shame all Israel. The Ammonite isn't interested in servants; he wants trophies. The episode becomes the crisis that launches Saul's kingship into action.
The men of Jabesh-gilead hold a special place in Israel's history — they were the ones who later retrieved Saul's body from the walls of Beth-shean after his death (1 Samuel 31:11-13). Their loyalty to Saul began here, when he rescued them from Nahash. The debt of gratitude they felt was so deep that they risked their lives to honor him even in death.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Where in your life are you 'negotiating surrender' with something that threatens you?
- 2.Have you ever given up right before help arrived — and what did that teach you?
- 3.What's the difference between strategic surrender and premature capitulation?
- 4.How do you wait for rescue when the siege feels unbearable?
Devotional
The men of Jabesh-gilead open with surrender before the fight has even begun. "Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee." They've already decided they can't win, so they're negotiating the terms of their defeat.
We do this more often than we realize. Faced with an overwhelming threat — financial, relational, spiritual — we skip straight to surrender. We negotiate with the enemy. We accept terms of servitude because fighting feels impossible. We make covenants with things that want to destroy us because we've already decided in our hearts that we'll lose.
But the story doesn't end with Jabesh's surrender. Saul hears about the threat, the Spirit of God comes upon him, and he rallies all Israel to rescue them. The men who were ready to give up their right eyes are saved by a leader they didn't know was coming. Help was already on its way when they were negotiating their own defeat.
Before you surrender — before you make a covenant with the thing threatening you — wait. Help may already be mobilizing. The rescue you can't see from inside the siege might be one day away. Jabesh-gilead almost gave away their eyes because they didn't know Saul was coming. What rescue might you be preempting with premature surrender?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabeshgilead,.... A month after, as in the Septuagint and Vulgate…
Nahash was king of the children of Ammon, as appears from 1Sa 12:12. He seems to have been connected with the family of…
Nahash the Ammonite - In the Vulgate this chapter begins thus: Et factum est quasi post mensem, "And it came to pass…
The Ammonites were bad neighbours to those tribes of Israel that lay next them, though descendants from just Lot, and,…
1Sa 11:1-11. Saul's victory over the Ammonites
1. Then Simply And. There is nothing in the Hebrew text to mark whether…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture