Read part 1 here.
Gilgal is a milestone in every true believer’s walk. While Gilgal was the place where Saul was made king before Jehovah in a glorious beginning, it was also where he was exposed and judged by God through Samuel, and where he was rejected by God from the kingship. Gilgal, furthermore, was also the place where Samuel hewed Agag, king of the Amalekites, to pieces — slaying the flesh completely (11:15; 15:33). There is a very real consequence to what happens there, particularly in the dealing of our flesh.
“Stop”
At Gilgal, Saul had the opportunity to repent. When Samuel pointed out the undeniable truth — the evidence of the bleating sheep and lowing cows — Saul continued in his reasoning. “Then Samuel said to Saul, Stop, and I will tell you what Jehovah spoke to me last night…” (15:16). Samuel was looking for a repentance, a confession, a halt, a “stop” from Saul. This moment could have been Saul’s salvation — a “stop” to the flesh and a genuine turning. And yet Saul continued on: “I surely did obey the voice of Jehovah…” (v. 20). Then, after Samuel rebuked Saul for rejecting the word of Jehovah, Saul was seemingly subdued, saying “I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of Jehovah and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. / Now therefore pardon my sin, I beg you, and return with me so that I may worship Jehovah” (vv. 24-25). Seemingly, Saul repented, and yet Samuel was not satisfied. What was it that Samuel tried to “stop”? And why couldn’t Saul be stopped?
Before this interaction between Samuel and Saul at Gilgal, something had already happened: Saul went to Carmel and set up a monument for himself (v. 12). Before Saul even came to Gilgal, he had already rebelled. He had the intention to remember himself and his own monarchy (v. 12, footnote 1). He couldn’t “stop,” because inside of him there was a rejection of the word and authority of God. It wasn’t Saul’s words or even his actions that disqualified him to be king, but the nature of his rejection and his insistence in his flesh, which were altogether against God’s administration. Saul had deviated to the point that even his apologies and repentance were unreal — just good words being used in an attempt to cover his sins.
Do we ever come to a point at Gilgal where we are stopped? This being “stopped” is an essential experience for us to see how crooked we are in our religious duty and self-worship. As a serving one, Samuel saw this degradation and sickness. His sharp words were to wake Saul up — to stop him from deepening his iniquity and fortifying his flesh. Like Saul, in the midst of our iniquity, we continually talk, reason, cover, and even apologize all the while upholding a monument to ourselves behind the scenes — is that not us today? While we may look decent and upright on the outside, we, too, insist, scheme, and excuse and endorse our flesh in our heart. We are noisy inside, full of responses and yet unable to truly take in the words being spoken to us. Yet it is more important to hear the Lord’s word, especially hearing them from “judges” who were sent to us, than to say and to do, or even to apologize or “repent” without true turning. Gilgal, indeed, is our exposure. But it can also be our salvation and turning point if we are able to take this dealing from the Lord’s servants executing His judgment. We are grateful we have “Samuels” among us today who come to us with the Lord’s words, telling us to “stop.” The Lord’s hand, indeed, is on us, giving us an opportunity to be quiet, to confess, to repent, and to turn in reality. We need to stop the schemes of Saul, hear His servant, and recognize the Lord’s hand on us today. This is our Gilgal.
Hewing the flesh
At Gilgal, we see that there must be a definitive moment in every believer’s life where the flesh is slaughtered. This chapter shows the sure consequence of rejecting the word of God and preserving and justifying the flesh: God sent Samuel to execute His judgment, and Saul was rejected as king. Are we also those who choose not to slaughter the flesh when given the opportunity? This is a sobering word, for it was recorded that since that moment, “And Samuel never again saw Saul unto the day of his death, though Samuel mourned for Saul. And Jehovah repented that He had made Saul king over Israel” (v. 35). When others come to us with the power of God’s word, as the living word judging us, we can’t preserve our face, our logic, or our reasoning. We should take the way of simplicity: to submit and lay ourselves on the cross to crucify the flesh.
Then Samuel said, Bring Agag the king of the Amalekites near to me. And Agag came to him cheerfully, for Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death has turned. / And Samuel said, Just as your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag to pieces before Jehovah in Gilgal. (15:32-33)
Even though Saul had preserved Agag, Samuel swiftly and thoroughly destroyed him at Gilgal. Whether we accept or reject it today, the ultimate fate of the flesh is to be cut — to be hewn to pieces. Exodus 17:16 tells us that “…there is a hand against the throne of Jah! Jehovah will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” The flesh is against the throne — the administration — of God. God’s judgment is to “utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven” (v. 14); this is according to God’s economy as shown to us throughout the history recorded in the Bible. This is also what He wills in our living today: an absolute destruction of the flesh — not a single one allowed to remain, no matter how good it may appear. If we choose to preserve the flesh today, it will one day be destroyed nonetheless, and we will lose the inheritance of the kingship.
But we don’t need to wait! Today at Gilgal, we have the way to hew the flesh to pieces once and for all. Gilgal, where God’s people were circumcised to deal with their flesh, is closely related to Golgotha, the place where the Lord was crucified (Josh. 5:2-9; Matt. 27:33). Both words, Gilgal and Golgotha, are derived from same root verb, גלל (galal), or to roll. This was a place where Christ rolled away our shame: “Then Jehovah said to Joshua, Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. So the name of that place has been called Gilgal to this day” (Josh. 5:9). The cross is the answer to the way to hew the flesh; it is where He was made sin on our behalf and condemned sin in the flesh to redeem and recover us fallen people (2 Cor. 5:21, Rom. 8:3). And He not only died, but also resurrected and imparted eternal life to us, bringing us into Himself by His mercy, not by our sacrifice.
Today’s overcomers are those who recognize and experience that the battle against the flesh has already been won on the cross. Today, we can be those whose flesh has been dealt with and who can live in the victory of the Lord, under His banner. This is all about our relationship with the Lord’s hand and His work. How we deal with our flesh determines what Gilgal is to us; Gilgal does not need to be a tragedy, but a freedom! When we experience the slaying of the flesh on the cross, we not only die with Him but also live with Him. This is an experience of redemption that Saul never experienced, but one that we have the opportunity to undergo at Gilgal. We can either insist in our flesh or receive His judgment and be set free. Whosoever wants to follow the Lord has to meet their Gilgal. Gilgal is a milestone to all believers. It is a landmark — a turning point — in our Christian walk.
(Above is part 2 of a series compiled from notes of fellowship taken from gatherings on 1/14/2022, 1/16/2022, and 1/28/2022, not reviewed by the speaker. Read part 3 here)