Saul Anointed

Today we will look at a transition phase within the nation of Israel. One might call it a turning point. Up until this time, God had allowed Israel to be ruled through judges. Going back into the historical perspective we find judges being appointed after Joshua’s death and would rule until Samuel a period of over 400 years.

Acts 13:19–20 ESV

19 And after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance. 20 All this took about 450 years. And after that he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.

Interestingly, none of Samuel’s sons were righteous or just.

1 Samuel 8:3 ESV

3 Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.

The same as Eli’s sons were no good, and had been rejected by God, the sons of Samuel were rejected by the elders of Israel. As a result, they demanded a king be put into place so that they could be like the “rest of the world”.

1 Samuel 8:5 ESV

5 and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.”

This troubled Samuel, as he knew this was not what God wanted for Israel. However, when he prayed God told him to obey the voice of the people “for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them” (vs. 7). Even after the request was confirmed by God, Samuel warned Israel about appointing a king instead of following God as their King.

1 Samuel 8:19–22 ESV

19 But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, 20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” 21 And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord. 22 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey their voice and make them a king.” Samuel then said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.”

So what was the main problem with a king? The nation of Israel had rejected God as their king and wanted a human king.

Don’t we see this issue often, even today? People rejecting God’s plan for their own plans. To be honest, many times we do not want to follow God’s plan because they make us uncomfortable or take us in a different path from where we want to go. Now, it wasn’t as though this was not already put into place by God.

Deuteronomy 17:14–15 ESV

14 “When you come to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, ‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,’ 15 you may indeed set a king over you whom the Lord your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.

And this is what we find coming into play here with Saul. God chose Saul and Samuel anointed him as the first king. Saul was out looking for his father’s donkeys, and had no luck. They looked so long, they were worried about Samuel’s father being worried over how long they were gone. In a last ditch effort, the servant with Saul thought of the man names Samuel, a man of God, to tell us where the donkeys were located.

1 Samuel 9:17 ESV

17 When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke to you! He it is who shall restrain my people.”

And so begins Saul’s reign.

Saul Anointed and Confirmed King

1 Samuel 10:1–8 ESV

1 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince over his heritage. 2 When you depart from me today, you will meet two men by Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you, ‘The donkeys that you went to seek are found, and now your father has ceased to care about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?” ’ 3 Then you shall go on from there farther and come to the oak of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. 4 And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from their hand. 5 After that you shall come to Gibeath-elohim, where there is a garrison of the Philistines. And there, as soon as you come to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying. 6 Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. 7 Now when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you. 8 Then go down before me to Gilgal. And behold, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.”

God has raised up a leader before the leader knew he was called by God. Now even though the people requested a king, Samuel was looking for the person God wanted. Once Saul had been confirmed, Samuel anointed Saul before he started on the way back home in a private ceremony. He was even told where they would meet - Rachel’s tomb at Zelzah.

While Samuel had been consecrated for service to God as a child, Saul is just now learning of his consecration. Can you imagine the questions that would come through his mind? Samuel told Saul of four signs that would occur the next day. The first sign was he would meet two men that would tell him the location of the donkeys. The second sign would be meeting three travelers carrying three goats, three loaves of bread, and a skin of wine. Samuel goes on to tell Saul he will be given two of the loaves of bread near the tree of Tabor. Third, he would meet prophets playing music and prophesying at the hill of God. Last, God’s spirit would fall upon Saul and he would begin to prophesy. Isn’t it amazing that God would give Saul a transformation, changing his heart, preparing him to be king.

There is something we can learn from this, too. When we are called into the service of God, He opens our eyes, prepares our way, and equips us to do His Work. We should never say God has not prepared us, but instead He provides for us.

Once Saul was able to experience these signs, he would know with no doubt he had been appointed by God. Samuel assures Saul “God is with you”. You see, Saul did not have to rely on himself to lead the nation of Israel, God would show him and be with him every step of the way. Honestly, with God leading him, how could Saul fail? The only way would be if he did not trust and follow God.

Goodness, could we not also take a lesson from this. If we trust and follow God, how can WE fail? When we accept Christ as our Savior, the Holy Spirit comes into our life, leads us, guides us, and directs us BUT we have to be willing to humble ourselves and do what He requests. Without this simple faith, we will flounder throughout this life with no purpose.

God Changes Saul’s Heart

1 Samuel 10:9–16 ESV

9 When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day. 10 When they came to Gibeah, behold, a group of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them. 11 And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, “What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” 12 And a man of the place answered, “And who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” 13 When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place. 14 Saul’s uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, “To seek the donkeys. And when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.” 15 And Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” 16 And Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But about the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him anything.

God changes Saul’s heart and He can change ours. You see, when the Spirit of God came over Saul he joined in with the students prophets prophesying. Now, notice the response from those who saw Saul prophesying. What has come over him? Who is this, isn’t it Saul the son of Kish?

Wait, we know him, he’s our neighbors son, he can’t do that! How many of us look at new converts who have a past and say the same things? Basically, we know them, we know their past, and SURELY God hasn’t changed them, has He?

After the questions, Saul felt the spirit of God and immediately went up to worship then went home. He never gloated about his anointing as king, but instead simply spoke to his uncle about where he and his servant had been. Saul simply said they had been looking for the donkeys, but when they could not find them, they went to Samuel for help. Hearing this, Saul’s uncle asked him what Samuel had said. Saul simply replied that Samuel had assured them that the donkeys had been found.

When God uses us, we can not get too puffed up with pride. We should humble follow and do what God has called us to do.

Stern Warning

1 Samuel 10:17–27 ESV

17 Now Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah. 18 And he said to the people of Israel, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ 19 But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said to him, ‘Set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands.” 20 Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. 21 He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its clans, and the clan of the Matrites was taken by lot; and Saul the son of Kish was taken by lot. But when they sought him, he could not be found. 22 So they inquired again of the Lord, “Is there a man still to come?” and the Lord said, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.” 23 Then they ran and took him from there. And when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. 24 And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? There is none like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!” 25 Then Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his home. 26 Saul also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched. 27 But some worthless fellows said, “How can this man save us?” And they despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace.

The LORD had given Samuel a very special message for the people, a message of severe condemnation, a strong indictment against them. Samuel declared that the LORD had saved them from Egypt and delivered them from all the surrounding kings who had oppressed them. But now, tragically, they had rejected God. Ever since their deliverance from Egypt, God had been their Ruler, their Savior and Guide, their Protector. But now here they were, demanding to be ruled by an earthly king, demanding that their deliverance and provision be dependent upon an earthly ruler.

God gave them exactly what they asked for. They would have an earthly ruler. There would be some consequences for this though. Saul had fled from God’s call. He could not be found (v. 21). Even after an extensive search, he still could not be found. The leaders had no choice but to seek the LORD as to his whereabouts.

When they found him, Saul was brought before the people and a public proclamation was made of Saul as king.

Unfortunately, this would follow Saul and his rule of Israel. Saul would fail to follow God, and would ultimately put the nation in a precarious situation as his disobedience would translate into the nation’s failures also.

Closing

Doesn’t this give a good picture of our reaction when God calls us to something? Often times, we feel His presence. He tells us He will see us through. He walks along side us, and resides in us in the form of the Holy Spirit. But…often times, we too abandon God. We hide, thinking we know better than Him. Ever have the conversation, I could never??? And, we are correct, WE can never, but God...