Articles
1 Samuel 14:2: Saul, Pomegranate, Migron, and 600 Men
Set Apart Ministries Community Study
March 2012
A New Little Gem thematic connection
During our Shabbat study this week, we were examining 1 Samuel; and had this small picture come into focus through this verse, 14:2.
And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which [is] in Migron: and the people that [were] with him [were] about six hundred men;
In weeks past, we have been observing the many Messianic pictures and themes throughout Joshua, Judges and 1 Samuel. We have seen an “anti-messiah” picture; the false king appearing first of great chaos before the true King arrives. We see that in their chaos of “every man doing that which was right in his own eyes” the people wanted a king. As things went from bad to worse throughout the time period of the Judges, the Israelites wanted to be like other nations, instead of being the YHWH-directed family He desired.
They were given a man who LOOKED every inch a king on the outside, but had no heart. In itself, this reminds us of YHWH’s response when they begged for meat, and He gave it to them: until it came out of their nostrils and they loathed it. Only after great struggle was the true King, David, the man with a heart after our Elohim, established.
I have written in the past of the study of Saul and his failure to fully obey. In so doing, like Aaron, he left the people naked or uncovered. It was his failure to utterly destroy the Amalekites as described in chapter 15 which led to the familiar words of Samuel:
For rebellion [is as] the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness [is as] iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from [being] king.
1 Samuel 15:23
We see that the earlier verse under consideration today subtly sets the stage for what is to come.
Saul was waiting under a pomegranate tree.
Pomegranate: Strong's H7416 - rimmown meaning: 1) pomegranate
a) as tree b) as fruit c) as pomegranate shaped ornaments in temple
From the root word: Strong's H7426 - ramam meaning: to be exalted, be lifted up
He was in Migron.
Migron: Strong's H4051 - Migrown meaning: a precipice
From the primitive root word Strong's H4048 - magar meaning: to throw, cast, toss
He had 600 men with him.
600: We understand the Scriptural reference of the number 6 as having to do with the ways of mankind, and that a magnification of any numerical reference is accomplished by making the number larger, in tens or hundreds or thousands.
Did you see it?
There was Saul, the one chosen to satisfy the wicked desire of the people for a human king. He was waiting on a hill with expectations of being lifted up and exalted. His following of men magnifies the actions that are to come as being of man’s ways. Nearby was a precipice, a place to be thrown over.
In poetic language, isn’t that exactly what happened?
Pride [goeth] before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Proverbs 16:18
Saul_Pomegranate_Migron_600_men_1_Sam_14_2___March_2012.pdf