1 Samuel 11:3
And the elders of Jabesh said unto him, Give us seven days’ respite, that we may send messengers unto all the coasts of Israel: and then, if there be no man to save us, we will come out to thee. And the elders of Jabesh said unto him, Give us seven days’ respite, that we may send messengers unto all the coasts of Israel: and then, if there be no man to save us, we will come out to thee.
The elders of Jabesh-gilead had first offered to become tributary to Nahash, king of the Ammonites east of the Jordan, but he demanded as his condition that he put out the right eye of every one of them as living proof of his power. They then begged seven days of respite to deliberate and to send messengers to all the coasts of Israel, hoping the tribes west of the river would be summoned to deliver them, and the Ammonites agreed because they thought making the matter public would greatly increase the honor of their expected triumph. The deliverance that followed at Jabesh-gilead displayed Saul's energy and military skill, yet Saul was only the agent by whom the Lord worked Israel's rescue. At first Saul ascribed the glory to God, but the whole nation extolled Saul for the victory and in enthusiasm forgot that God had worked through him, and afterward Saul took the honor to himself. Though humble and self-distrustful when first called to the throne, success made Saul self-confident, leading before long to his presumption and sacrilege in offering the unbidden sacrifice at Gilgal.