1 Samuel 11

Wow, now this chapter is pretty amazing! Some of the Israelites weren't sure that Saul was the right man to lead them - questioning God yet again - but when one of their towns is attacked and Saul finds out about it the Spirit comes on him again and he summons the Israelites to war. He is very persuasive, in that he threatens death to anyone (presumably any man fit for battle, at least) who doesn't come with him, and in turn 300,000 men report for duty. Saying they defeated the invaders would be an understatement: no two enemy survivors made it out together.

Some interesting things to take away from this chapter:

- Saul was working his fields when the news of the invasion came to him. Working... in his fields... despite being king. I guess the Israelites really didn't have the concept of what a king was like yet, or maybe things were just different back then.

- After the battle, many called for the execution of those who had spoken out against Saul's kingship. Saul prevented it, though... again showing that he at least started his reign with honor.