1 Samuel 11:1
Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabesh-gilead: and all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee. Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabesh-gilead: and all the men of Jabesh said unto Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee.
This verse belongs to the account of Israel's demand for a king. Its event happened soon after Saul was chosen and acknowledged as king, while he remained at home in the uplands of Benjamin working as a husbandman and left the establishing of his authority to God. Nahash, the barbarous and cruel king of the Ammonites, invaded the disputed territory east of the Jordan and encamped against and besieged Jabesh-gilead, a large and powerful city. The men of Jabesh sought peace by offering to make a covenant to become tributary to the Ammonites and serve them. Nahash refused except on condition of putting out the right eye of every inhabitant, to mark them as lasting witnesses to his power.
The verse begins the account of Saul's victory at Jabesh-gilead, in which Saul displayed energy and military skill. The deliverance at Jabesh-gilead was wrought by the Lord, with Saul only as His agent. At first Saul ascribed the glory to God, but the praise of the whole nation for his part led him to forget this and afterward take honor to himself. Though humble and self-distrustful when first called to the throne, success made Saul self-confident, preparing the way for his presumption and sacrilege in offering the unbidden sacrifice at Gilgal.