THIS IS SAUL’S FIRST REAL WAR AS THE OFFICIALLY RECOGNISED KING OF YISHARAL, BUT STILL, HE WAS ONLY REALLY OPERATING WITH THE 8 NORTHERN TRIBES AND HAD VERY LITTLE TO DO WITH JUDAH AND SIMEON, BECAUSE NOT ONLY DID A RIDGE OF RUGGED MOUNTAINS GEOGRAPHICALLY SEPARATE THE NORTH FROM THE SOUTH, BUT JUDAH NEVER REALLY WARMED TO SAUL AS THEIR KING (THEY DIDN’T VIOLENTLY OPPOSE HIM, BUT WEREN’T GOING TO LIFT HIM UP EITHER).
THE PHILISTINES WERE GROWING MORE POWERFUL AND (EVEN THOUGH SAM HAD HIT THEM HARD AND PUSHED THEM BACK YEARS EARLIER) THEY'D REGAINED A FOOTHOLD IN YISHARAL AGAIN. BUT IF THEY WERE GOING TO EXPAND THEIR SPHERE OF INFLUENCE IT HAD TO BE TO THE EAST ...
... BECAUSE THEY WERE CURRENTLY OCCUPYING A STRIP OF LAND ALONG THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA COAST (THEY WERE SEA MERCHANTS), BUT IN ORDER TO HAVE SOMETHING TO EXPORT, THEY NEEDED LAND TRADE-ROUTES, AND ALL THE LAND WAS TO THE EAST: CANAAN. WHICH PUT YISHARAL DIRECTLY IN THE CROSSHAIRS. AND WHILE THEY REALLY WEREN’T INTERESTED IN YISHARAL’S LAND, THEY DID WANT TO RULE AND CONTROL THE PEOPLE TO HAVE ACCESS TO FARM PRODUCE AND LABOR, AND THE CRISS-CROSSING TRADE ROUTES TO BUILD THEIR WEALTH.
SAUL'S BATTLE WITH THE PHILISTINES (SAM.13)
BLOODLINES (SAM.13)
Two years after Saul had been the King over Yisharal, he chose 3000 men from Yisharal to be full-time soldiers and sent everyone else home, for many civilians would rally and fight when there was a national disaster.
And 2000 of these troops stayed with him in the hills around Michmash and Bethel, while the other 1000 were stationed with Saul’s son Jonathan (Jon) at Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. (THESE 3 TOWNS FORMED A TRIANGLE).
Jon led an attack on the Philistine Army Camp at Geba, killing their General, and the other Philistines heard what happened and went berserk. So Saul told his messengers, “Go to every village in the country, giving a signal with the trumpet, and when the people come together, tell them what has happened.”
And the messengers went to all the people of Yisharal saying, “Saul has destroyed the Philistine Army General at Geba and they’re furious, you know what the Philistines are like! They hate our guts! Now every town and village must send men to join Saul’s Army at Gilgal.”
Then the Philistines called their Army together to fight Yisharal. They had 3,000 chariots, 6,000 cavalry, and as many foot soldiers as there are grains of sand on the seashore (FIGURE OF SPEECH). And they all headed to Michmash, setting up camp East of Beth-Aven. And the Yisharalite Army realised that they were severely outnumbered and were going to lose the battle, so some of the Yisharalite men ran and hid in caves or in clumps of bushes, and some ran to places where they could hide among large rocks. Others hid in tombs or in deep dry pits and some went to Gad and Gilead on the other side of the Jordan River.
SAUL IS STARTING TO BEHAVE MUCH LIKE A MODERN-DAY POLITICIAN, TALKING A GOOD GAME, BUT WOULDN’T ACT UNLESS THERE WAS SOMETHING IN IT FOR HIM (AT NO RISK). HE SAID HE WAS THE KING OF YISHARAL, BUT GENERALLY JUST LOOKED WHERE THE PARADE WAS ALREADY GOING, THEN JUMPED IN FRONT TO TAKE THE CREDIT.
HIS COURAGE WAS MEASURED BY THE LEVEL OF SUPPORT HE GOT AND HE MELTED QUICKLY IF HE FELT THE OPPOSITION WAS TOO GREAT. AND WHILE AT TIMES HE ORDERED THE PEOPLE TO DILIGENTLY OBEY THE INSTRUCTIONS OF MOSES OR BEAR THE CONSEQUENCES, HE ALSO PLAYED FAST AND LOOSE WITH THOSE SAME INSTRUCTIONS AND FELT HE WAS GENERALLY ABOVE IT ALL.
So Saul killed one of the animal and made an `Ascending-Near’ Offering to Yahusha (even though only the High Priest (or Sam) was permitted to perform such an offering). And just as he was placing it on the altar, Sam arrived and Saul got very excited and rushed out to welcome him.
“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?” Samuel yelled at Saul,
“WHAT AM I DOING? Where the hell've you been? We've all been waiting here for you! My soldiers are buggering off in every direction and the Philistines have gathered at Michmash. We’re all sitt’in ducks here, freak'in out, so YEAH I forced myself to offer up an `Ascending-Near Offering’ on the altar-fire to ask for Yahuah’s help.”
“NO KIDDING YOU DUMB-ASS!
But Saul stayed at Gilgal with his soldiers, who were shaking with fear, infact some were starting to run off and leave him too. But Saul waited there 7 days, just as Samuel had instructed (when he anointed him), but Sam still hadn't come. So finally, Saul told his men, “Stuff this I’m done waiting for that ol`crack-pot, bring me some animals, so we can make an offering ourself to please Yahuah and ask for His help.”
What a stupid thing to do! You can’t make those offerings, who do you think you are? You really don’t give a toss about Yahuah’s Instructions do you? Saul don’t you realise that if you'd just done what He asks, He'd be able to trust you and your family would have been Royalty, but NO! You constantly disobey Him, SO NOW YAHUAH WON’T CHOOSE ANYONE ELSE FROM YOUR FAMILY TO BE KING.
In fact, he’s already chosen a man after his own heart (WHO THINKS/FEELS THE WAY HE DOES) … and he’ll be the next leader of His people.”
“Yeah? Blow it out yaWhazoo Sam!” Saul said with no remorse, and Sam left Gilgal.
NO REMORSE, NO ARGUMENT, NOTHING. SAUL JUST BLEW IT ALL OFF, THINKING IT WAS MERELY A PERSONAL FEUD BETWEEN HIM AND SAM THAT WOULD BLOW OVER IN TIME.
Part of Saul’s Army had not deserted him, and he led them to Gibeah (in Benjamin) to join his other troops. Then he counted them and found that he still had 600 men. So Saul, his son Jon and their Army set up camp at Geba in Benjamin. The Philistine Army was camped at Michmash and each day they sent out patrols to attack and rob villages and then destroy them. One patrol would go North along the road to Ophrah in the region of Shual, another would go West along the road to Beth-Horon, and a third patrol would go East toward the Desert on the road to the ridge that overlooks the Zeboim Valley.
And the Philistines wouldn’t allow any Yisharalites to learn how to make iron tools, for they said, “If we allowed that, those worthless Yisharalites would make swords and spears.” So whenever the Yisharalites wanted to get any iron-work done (even an iron point put on a cattle prod) they had to go to the Philistines, and they charged high prices.
So, whenever the Yisharalite soldiers had to go into battle, none of them had a sword or a spear except Saul and his son Jon.
YISHARAL WAS STILL USING WOOD OR BRONZE, BUT HAD FEW TO NO METAL-EDGED WEAPONS. THE PHILISTINES ON THE OTHER HAND WERE KNOWN FOR THEIR HIGH DEGREE OF METAL TECHNOLOGY AND USED IT TO THEIR ADVANTAGE IN THEIR WEAPONRY. IRON WAS RELATIVELY NEW TO THE REGION AND IT WAS A SIGNIFICANT ADVANCE OVER BRONZE, WHICH WAS A MUCH SOFTER MATERIAL, MEANING THAT A SOLDIER COULD LITERALLY BREAK AN ENEMY’S BRONZE SWORD WITH HIS MUCH HARDER, SHARPER IRON SWORD.
Did you know that the majority of people who read these Scriptures (even most Yahusha people) believe that the Promised Land of Yisharal (Israel today) has huge spiritual prophetic significance? How insane!! These are the same people who cling to the importance of bloodlines and priesthoods, as though Yahusha will pay attention to any of that when He returns. Every eye will see, every knee will bow and the New City will descend onto a New Earth, not in Israel.
Israel: HEBREW UNDERSTANDING:
256 'Ach'ab - brother (i.e. friend) of (his) father; Achab, the name of a king of Israel and of a prophet at Babylon:--Ahab.
415 'El 'elohey Yisra'el - the mighty g-d of Yisrael; the title given to a consecrated spot by Jacob:--El-elohe-Israel.
1201 Ba`sha' - to stink, offensiveness; Basha, a king of Israel.
3128 yownath - dove of (the) silence (i.e. dumb Israel) of (i.e. among) distances (i.e. strangers); the title of a ditty (used for a name of its melody).
3478 Yisra'el - he will rule as G-d; Yisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity: - Israel.
3479 Yisra'el - Israel.
3481 Yisr'eliy - a Yisreelite or descendant of Yisrael:--of Israel, Israelite.
3484 Yshuruwn - upright; Jeshurun, a symbol. name for Israel:--Jeshurun.
5971 `am - a people (as a congregated unit), specifically a tribe (as those of Israel); hence troops or attendants, a flock, folk, men, nation, people.
SCRIPTURE UNDERSTANDING:
Where did Israel come from? The name Israel first appears in the Hebrew Scripture in Genesis 32:28 and refers to the renaming of Jacob, who wrestled with an angel, who gave him a blessing and renamed him Israel because he had "striven with G-d and with men, and have prevailed".
And Yahuah said, "Your name is no longer called Jacob, but Israel because you have striven with Alahim and with men, and have overcome".
The 12 sons of Jacob became the 12 Tribes of Israel, and through miracles, over 3 million Jews were taken out of Egypt to meet with their Alahim on the Mount. Yahuah met with them, and gave them His Turah Instructions on how to live amongst an idolatrous generation and have victory over their evil mindsets. Israel was to be an example to this world of the benefits of having the one true Alahim's love, to guide us to deliverance and victory over evil (the enemy that opposes Turah).
40 years of wilderness wanderings did not shake the idolatry from Yahuah's chosen Bride Israel. Many of the chosen were told and given example upon example that idolatry is unacceptable, but they were stubborn and found themselves destroyed because of it. Only the children of these chosen were allowed to go into the Promised Land and claim it for their own, but they still followed the wickedness of their fathers, and were defeated continually by the seduction of the nation's idolatry with their lavish feasts.
After Solomon died Israel split into 2 nations (just like Isaac's wife Rebekah, who was prophesied over, saying she had 2 nations in her womb). At any rate, by this time Yahuah was so fed up with Israel's constant idolatry, He divorced His chosen wife for playing the whore and took His presence from the Temple. Israel was attacked and scattered throughout the nations and ever since then, there have always been sects of those hanging around Israel, who claim to be the chosen and of the bloodline of Adam.
THE BLOODLINE IS A MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE TO THE JEWS BUT NOT TO YAHUSHA. People of Israel today claim unless you are immersed into one of the Tribes of Israel it is impossible to claim Jewish nationalism.
Yahusha has a very different story to tell. The Jews have held aspects of the Turah for centuries and have never let it be changed, which is admirable because IT'S BEEN HELD FOR YAHUSHA'S CHOSEN FOR THESE LAST DAYS.
Yahusha said "your body is now the temple where I want to dwell". It can only be that personal, not in temples built by men, for He can't be personal from a place like that. Yahusha told us that He came for the sick and the lost to give them deliverance and health, not for those who think they've made it and are right.
THERE ARE MANY BELIEVERS FROM ALL RELIGIONS TODAY THAT CLAIM TO BE OF THE BLOODLINE OF ALAHIM AND WHO TREAT OTHERS SO UNMESSIAH LIKE.
I myself have have catholic in-laws who (along with their whole family) hate me. Of course they love my son who's in jail, and they talk about him with wonderment and respect. They never inquire about my person, and hardly ever mention me. My social standing in this world is not up to their level of education and belief, so my bloodline is not considered but ostracised. My son is completely accepted by them, because he has the blood of my wife in His veins. WHICH IS CONSIDERED AS THEIR BLOOD LINE.
I know that I've been delivered from evil and set free from such wickedness. I am of a Royal Priesthood, and a son of the King of Kings. I have the blood of Yahusha flowing through my veins rather than being of the family of the walking dead. The depth of Satan's darkness is so horrifically cruel, but the love of Yahusha's light can frackle up such wickedness. WE HAVE THE VICTORY BY HIS BLOODLINE. Lotsuluv.