The Strength of Israel: the God who lasts

The Strength of Israel is a name for God that a prophet spoke on the day a king lost his crown. In Hebrew it is Netsach Yisrael, which means the One who lasts, the lasting glory of Israel. Samuel used it in 1 Samuel 15:29 to tell King Saul that God's decision would not change, because God is not like a man who goes back on his word.

A torn robe and a final word

Saul was the first king Israel ever had. He was tall, brave in battle and, at the start, humble. But kings in Israel were supposed to take their orders from God, and Saul kept doing things his own way.

In 1 Samuel 15, God sent Saul to war against the Amalekites, a people who had attacked Israel when they came out of Egypt. The order was clear: destroy everything and keep nothing. Saul won the battle, but he spared Agag, the Amalekite king, and he let his soldiers keep the best sheep and cattle.

That night God told Samuel what had happened, and the old prophet was crushed. The Bible says it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night (1 Samuel 15:11). The next morning Samuel went to find the king. Saul greeted him as if nothing were wrong and claimed he had obeyed. Samuel's answer has a touch of dry humor in it: What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears (1 Samuel 15:14)?

Saul blamed the people. He said the animals were saved to be offered to God. Samuel would not accept the excuse, and he spoke words that are still quoted today:

And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

1 Samuel 15:22

To hearken means to listen and do what you hear. When Samuel turned to leave, Saul grabbed the edge of his robe, and it ripped. Samuel turned around and used the torn cloth as a picture. God had torn the kingdom away from Saul that day and would give it to someone better (1 Samuel 15:28). Then Samuel spoke the name.

And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent.

1 Samuel 15:29

Netsach: the strength that lasts to the end

Yisrael is simply Israel, the name of Jacob and of the nation that came from him. The interesting word is netsach. Strong's dictionary, a standard word list for the King James Bible, explains it with a picture: a goal, a bright point far off in the distance that you travel toward. From that idea the word came to mean lasting, splendor, truthfulness, and very often "for ever."

So this kind of strength is not about big muscles. It is the strength of something that is still there at the finish line. The King James usually translates netsach as "ever," but it also uses "strength," "victory" and "perpetual," which means without end.

Bible translators do not all agree on the best English word for this one title. The King James says "Strength." Several modern versions say "Glory of Israel," and some say "Eternal One." That is not a fight about the facts. The Hebrew word simply holds more than one English word can carry. Each choice points to the same truth: God endures, and He does not fail.

Notice why the title fit that day. Saul looked like Israel's strength. He was the soldier king, the man people trusted to protect them. Now he was finished. Samuel was reminding everyone that Israel's real strength was never a man on a throne. It was God, and He was not going anywhere.

Does God change His mind?

Readers often stop at a puzzle in this chapter. In verse 11 God says It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king, and verse 35 says the same thing again. Yet verse 29 says God will not repent. How can both be true?

The Hebrew word for "repent" here, nacham, has a range of meaning, from feeling deep sorrow to changing a decision. In verse 11 the sense is grief. God was truly sad about what Saul had become. In verse 29 the sense is going back on a settled ruling. God does feel, and He responds to what people do, but He is not fickle, which means changing your mind on a whim. The book walks through this question more fully.

King James verses about the God who endures

The word netsach shows up in some well-known places. These verses help you hear what Samuel meant.

Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.

1 Chronicles 29:11

King David prayed this near the end of his life. The word "victory" in the middle of the list is netsach. David, the man who replaced Saul, knew where the lasting victory belonged.

God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

Numbers 23:19

Long before Samuel, a foreign prophet named Balaam said almost the same thing. Samuel's words echo this older promise: what God says, He does.

He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.

Isaiah 25:8

Here the phrase "in victory" comes from the same Hebrew word. It can also be read "for ever." The God who outlasts kings will one day outlast death itself.

Leaning on what lasts

Everyone leans on some kind of strength. For one person it is a parent. For another it is a paycheck, a coach, a best friend, good health or a country's leaders. Those are real gifts, but every one of them can fail. Saul's story is a reminder that even the strongest person in the room has an end.

That is not meant to scare you. It is meant to point you to Someone who does not run out. When the people you count on let you down, God is still the same. His promises do not expire.

The story also carries a warning about doing things halfway. Saul did most of what God asked and then dressed up the rest with religious words. It is easy to do the same: to go to church but keep a grudge, or to pray about a habit while making excuses for it. God cares more about a listening heart than an impressive show.

• Read 1 Samuel 15 in one sitting and notice every excuse Saul makes.
• Name one thing you have been relying on more than God, and talk to Him honestly about it.
• Pick one area where you have obeyed only part of the way, and finish it this week.

The Strength of Israel is name 32 of the 70 in the book. Next comes a name prayed by a man who served wine to a Persian king: the God of heaven. You can also see every title on the names of God in the Bible page or browse the Hebrew names of God.