This victory over the Ammonites, though it attests to clever plans and initiative, is ultimately a result of God’s grace and power. As Saul also mentions in 1 Samuel 11:13, the Lord had worked salvation in Israel. We see this most clearly in 1 Samuel 11:6–7 where it is the Lord’s Spirit who came upon Saul to fill him with anger. We can assume that it was also the Spirit who prompted the rest of the people to come out as one. The Spirit of God was at work in Saul and among the people. Salvation did not come because Israel had a king, but because they had a God who cared for them.
We must remember that this salvation is given to a people who had rejected the Lord. In 1 Samuel 8:1–22 and then again in 1 Samuel 10:1–27, Samuel made it clear that Israel's request for a king like the nations was nothing less than rebellion. They did not trust God to look after them; they wanted a king in his place. Nevertheless, because of his grace, because the Lord was determined to love his people, he would not allow their sin to stop his plans. He acted to save them from the hand of their enemies even though they had rejected him.
And in this salvation, we are given another hint about the work of God’s Messiah. After the fall of Adam and Eve we were told that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent (Genesis 3:15). There would come a day where Satan and death would be destroyed so that God’s people could once again enjoy the blessing of life in his presence. Well now, with Saul’s victory over Nahash, we are shown that it is through the Messiah that this final victory will be achieved. The Messiah will be the One who will bring about the great reversal.
Saul defeated the enemy of God’s people. He was anointed by God to bring victory. Surely in this he gave us a picture of Jesus Christ—Jesus Christ who was anointed and equipped by God to redeem his people. With his death on the cross he crushed the head of Satan. He disarmed the rulers and authorities of this world (Colossians 3:15)—all those who bring fear and shame, all those who stand opposed to the Lord. The great victory of Saul is a picture of the great victory achieved by Jesus Christ.
1 Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead, and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.”