The Ruler and the Kingdom Part I
More than Just Music: Songs of Unexpected Reversals • Sermon • Submitted
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Part I
Part I
As we open our Bible’s to 1 Samuel chapter 10, let’s remember a few key events that have taken place over the last few weeks.
In chapter 8, the elders came to Samuel and asked for a king to judge them like all the other nations. This displeased Samuel and the Lord… because in asking for a King like the nations.... the elders of Israel were basically expressing their desire to be like the nations and turn their back on God.
In God’s sovereignty, He agrees to give the people what they asked for and in 1 Samuel 8:22, The Lord tells Samuel to make them a king.
Then, in Chapter 9, we are introduced to a man named Saul, whose name literally means “asked for”! Interesting. The elder’s of Israel “ask for” a king… and the man that comes on the scene to fill that position is a man named “asked for”!
We met Saul while he and his servant were on a mission to find some lost donkeys. In their pursuit of these donkey’s, Saul meets Samuel. In 9:20-27, Samuel revealed to Saul that his father’s donkey’s had been found. Then, God reveals to Samuel that Saul would be the one that He should anoint as prince/ ruler over God’s people Israel.
The people had cried out for a king.... and God had begun the process of providing Israel with a leader. Saul (even though he didn’t know it yet) would be that leader… the one that the people thought they wanted.
When we come to the end of chapter 9, Samuel tells Saul to stay the night. After a night’s sleep, Saul and his servants begin their journey home when Samuel stops Saul and tells him to send his servants ahead.
As we come to chapter 10 of the book of 1 Samuel, I have been struck with the realization that the key to understanding all that happens in chapters 10-12 really begins with our grasp of what Samuel says to Saul in chapter 9, verse 27.
As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to pass on before us, and when he has passed on, stop here yourself for a while, that I may make known to you the word of God.”
“… that I may make known to you the word of God.”
What “word of God” was made known to Saul is not exactly told to us here. We’ll find out in chapter 10.
As we look at verse 1 of chapter 10, it seems like the word of God that is shared with Saul in 9:27 has something to do with him being anointed as ruler over the people.
Before we dig into chapter 10, I’d like to point out that there is a melody of sorts that runs through this portion of the narrative that has its beginning back in Genesis and then is echoed with Hannah’s song in chapter 2.
If you go back and read Genesis 49 and then listen to Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel 2, … if you pay attention and listen closely.... you can hear the overtones of the Kingdom that are beginning to be heard. Even as Hannah sings this prophetic song of praise to the Lord, the rumblings of the Kingdom are being rehearsed. 1 Samuel 2:10 says: “… the LORD will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.”
This melodic line which began Jacob… has continued with Hannah....and now extends throughout the narrative of Scripture.
“God’s people are His possession and God’s Kingdom will be established”
We will see this idea developed and repeated throughout our study of the books of Samuel.
As the readers we know that even though the promised king was to be from the line of Judah (Gen. 49), Saul will be the first to sit in the seat of the king.
He will give the appearance of starting out strong, but as we work through the text together, I think we will see that the results will be quite different than expected.
But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
As we come to chapter 10, there is still no king in Israel and Samuel is still the one to whom the nation is looking for leadership.
The people have asked for a king like the nations. God has heard their cry and reveals the one whom he has chosen for a purpose.
I. Chosen for a Purpose (1-16)
In verse 1, Samuel does something that should have been a very significant turning point for Saul and Israel... but ends differently than expected.
A. Anointed to Lead (10:1)
[explain briefly that the ESV inserts some information from the Septuagint (a review of what has been revealed in Ch. 9) that is not present in the Hebrew text.]
The Hebrew text reads like this: “Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, “Has not the LORD (Yahweh: Covenantal - Promise Keeping God) anointed you to be prince (leader, ruler) over his heritage/ possession?”
Samuel was to do exactly what the Lord had told him to do back in 9:16. Pretty dramatic actions. This great prophet of the Lord pouring oil over the head of this practically unknown man from the tribe of Benjamin.
As the audience, we know the significance of this, but Saul had no idea what was going on. Then, Samuel’s words explain his actions.
Remember from 9:27 that the words that Samuel speaks to Saul are the very Words of God.
Consider Samuel’s words again: “Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his heritage”?
While Samuel was the one pouring the oil, he wanted Saul to realize that it was the LORD who was actually anointing him.
What was Saul being anointed as? We would naturally say “king”… but be careful to look at what the text says.
Our text uses the word “prince”. The Hebrew word is probably better translated as “leader” here because there are not yet any real royal connections.
Remember, Saul is this wealthy, good looking nobody from the country who is being anointed as the nation’s leader. He most likely didn’t even know what had happened back in chapter 8 when the elders had demanded a king.
Back in 9:16, God had told Samuel to anoint a leader over “my people Israel”. Here is 10:1, Samuel uses a different phrase. He uses the phrase the Lord’s “heritage”.
The idea that Samuel is expressing is one of permanency and possession. A heritage is an indisputable possession that cannot be transferred to another. ( E. Lipinski, nahal, in G. Johannes Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren, and Heinz-Josef Fabry, eds., Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, Vol. 9 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1998), p. 331.)
According to the OT, the Lord chose the people of Israel to be his “heritage” or “inheritance” (1 Kings 8:53; Psalm 33:12; Ex. 19:5, 6; Deut. 7:6; 9:26, 29; 14:2; 32:8, 9).
God had chosen Israel to be His special possession.... his heritage and He will not allow anyone to take them away. He has demonstrated this by rescuing them from their bondage in Egypt.
Samuel chose this wording (heritage) to emphasize to Saul… and to the readers as strongly as he possibly could, the fact that the Lord was not going to give up his claim on Israel.
Even though the people had rejected Him (1 Sam. 8:7), they remained His “heritage”. No matter what the form of leadership in Israel might mean or look like.... it would not mean that God had lost or given up the possession of His people. God does not surrender!
By asking for a king like the nations.... the elders of Israel had basically asked to be removed from God’s heritage.... they didn’t only want a king like the nations.... they wanted to be like the nations. They wanted God to surrender them.... and let them go! God was not going to allow that!!!… because Scripture teaches us that:
“God’s people are His possession and God’s Kingdom will be established”
How does that truth connect with us today? We are not Israel? God has not rescued us from Egypt? We have not demanded a king? Or have we? —
If you have responded by faith to Christ.... placed your full faith and trust in Him alone as your Lord and savior… then you have become part of God’s family… His possession.... His heritage! And… He will not give you up… He will not surrender you....
Once we are saved..... we belong to Christ… and He will not allow anyone to remove us from the safety of His Father’s hand!
Isn’t that Good?
Even when we may go through moments of temporary insanity like the elders of Israel… and seek after a king like the world.... God’s patience and divine grace continually calls us back to Him!
How can we apply this concept of God’s heritage to our lives?
As a child of God... I am His chosen possession! (if that is true of you… say it with me) —
.... you are HIs chosen possession and He has a plan and purpose for you!
At this point, only Samuel and Saul know what has happened. The secret is between them. God has anointed Saul to be the leader of His people. Notice that there is no talk of a king yet. Saul has not been anointed King by the Lord… but He has been anointed as a ruler over… or steward of God’s heritage… God’s possession.
Next, Samuel gives Saul some very specific instructions as he explains the 3 significant signs that would take place to confirm the Word of God that had been revealed.
B. 3 Significant Signs (2-8)
We can’t spend a lot of time here today. I want to just walk you through the signs and point out some of the significant connections with Saul’s past that you might not notice by just a casual read of the chapter.
One thing we can point out is the amazing accuracy of Samuel’s prediction. It is amazing enough to see that God gave him these predictions in such detail. The more amazing thing is, that each of these predictions has a link to something that has happened earlier in the narrative of Scripture.... long before Saul met Samuel.
By looking at these “signs” we can see that all the details of Saul’s journey from the donkey’s until now… have all been orchestrated by the Sovereign Hand of God.
1. Rachel’s tomb (vs. 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?” ’
The fact that Samuel tells Saul that this sign will happen at Rachel’s tomb is pretty significant. The fact that Saul is told that something will happen near Rachel’s tomb right after he is anointed reminds the reader of Israel’s beginnings.
Rachel was Jacob’s wife and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. She had died while giving birth to Benjamin (Gen. 35:16-20). So, Rachel was not only the wife of “Israel”.... she was the “mother” of Saul’s tribe, Benjamin.
The future of God’s heritage.... his possession is directly related to it’s origins… its beginnings....
Your future as God’s possession is directly related to your spiritual origin.... your coming to Christ.
2. The Oak of Tabor (vs. 3, 4)
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. And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from their hand.
If you remember back in 9:7, Saul spoke with his servant about having no bread. Now, in this sign these three men would meet them on their way to Bethel and would give him bread.
God would meet Saul’s needs in a miraculous way. God cares for those He choses!
The oak of Tabor is significant because, while it is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible, it does point us back to Genesis 35:8 where we are told that there is an oak “below Bethel”. At that specific, historical landmark… Saul would meet these three men going up to Bethel.
Bethel means “the house of God” and it received its name from Jacob’s encounter with God there. Bethel was the place where God repeated His promise to Jacob… the place where he was renamed Israel. (Gen. 28:13-15; 35:9-12).
3. Gibeath-Elohim (vs. 5, 6)
Verse 5 tells us that Saul will “come to Gibeath-elohim, where there is a garrison of the Philistines.”
Now this third sign is a bit odd, but tells us a very important part of Saul’s story. Saul would go by Rachel’s tomb… then by the Oak at Bethel and then come to Gibeath-elohim (hill of God) (which was Saul’s home town area) where there was a garrison of Philistines.
So, Saul’s journey home is at its end once he reaches Gibeath-elohim.
One thing that should surprise us is that there is a garrison of Philistines in Saul’s home town. Seeing the Philistines this far into Israel’s territory tells us that they have become a more serious threat since they sent the Ark back to Israel in chapters 5 and 6.
The Philistine presence should have been an insult to any God fearing Israelite. The Philistine pagans were encamped on the “hill of God”. I mean come on! Something has to happen here!
Saul doesn’t fully understand it yet… but from the reader’s perspective we know that God has anointed Saul to save Israel from the Philistines (1 Sam. 9:16). And here they are in his home town!
Reading this event… our response should be… “come on man! get to it! God has anointed you… and served the Philistines up to you on a silver platter… in your home town! Get to work!” (When God calls us to action… our response should be obedience)
Then verses 5-6 tell us what would happen next:
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. Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.
We are not told what kind of prophets these are. Let’s assume that they are prophets with a small “p”. These are not prophets like Samuel.. Elijah… and Elisha.... but are people who were being moved by the Spirit (breath in Hebrew) of God.
Samuel tells Saul that when he meets this people, that the breath of God will rush on him and he will prophesy… and be turned into another man.
We have seen this before.... when the breath or Spirit of God rushed on people before. Think of Samson, when in the midst of the Philistines, the powerful Spirit of God rushed on him, enabling him to be the savior of God’s people from the Philistines.
It is very likely that when Saul heard this.... that he understood that at some point in time… the Spirit of God was going to rush on him like the Judges of old.... and that he would be enabled to do something amazing!
Pretty amazing stuff!
But, remember back in 1 Samuel 8:22, God told Samuel to make the people a king. So far in this narrative.... Samuel has not said a single word to Saul about a king.
Now, let’s talk about Saul’s response to the signs (vs. 7, 8)
Now when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you. 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.”
Samuel gives Saul two instructions here. The first is to “do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you” (v.7).
Empowered by the Spirit of God, Saul was to act with the confidence of knowing that God was with him. The question we should be asking is… what was Saul to do? What task had God empowered him to do?
The phrase “do what your hand finds to do” has been used before in the narrative of Scripture in Judges 9:33. The context of this idiom refers to action against an enemy attack.
So, Saul has been given this command, to do whatever his hands finds to do..... and then he is given the very same promise that was given to Gideon in Judges 6:12 that as he engaged with Israel’s enemies.... God would be “with” him.
Remember… there was a garrison of Philistine soldiers in Saul’s backyard.
So, what was the task Saul was being commanded to do?
Samuel’s words to Saul were a call to action..... once the Spirit of the Lord had rushed on him.... He was to act against the enemies of Israel.
In other words.... God’s Word to Saul was that when His Spirit empowered him… he was to defend God’s heritage from the invading pagans! And the pagan Philistine army camped on “the hill of God” presented the perfect opportunity! And!... God even gives him a promise that God would be with him! He would be victorious!
The second instruction given to Saul in verse 8 is that once Saul defeated the Philistine garrison… he was to wait for further directions and instruction from Samuel. Samuel tells him to go to Gilgal and wait seven days for Samuel to come.
Ok, so everything that Samuel had told Saul from verse 1 through verse 8 has been the “Word of God” (9:27).
All of God’s revelation to Saul come to a climax when Samuel gives Saul these 2 instructions.
It is implied that Saul was to attack the Philistines at Gibeath-elohim and defeat them. Since this was just a small encampment of Philistines it would not stop their overall invasion of the Land, so.... in verse 8 Samuel tells Saul to go to Gilgal after he had obeyed the command to “do what your hand finds to do” and wait for further directions from Samuel & the Lord.
Before we move on.... why are the offerings that Samuel talks about bringing at Gilgal an important piece of the puzzle? Samuel says that he would bring burnt offerings and peace offerings when he came to Gilgal.
A burnt offering was offered once before in chapter 6:14, when the ark was returned to Israel and a peace offering seems like it would be something done after victory in battle or the overthrow of an enemy (1 Sam. 11:15).
As the readers are working through this narrative, these two offerings would have been a clue anticipating that when Saul and Samuel met at Gilgal, there would be a celebration of victory because Saul had obeyed the Lord and had victory over the Philistine garrison at Gibeah. When/ if that were to happen… it would serve as the beginning point for the next stage in Saul’s God given mission to save Israel from the Philistines (9:16).
So again.... the text is anticipating that Saul would listen to these signs.... and act in obedience to the commands of God’s Word given to him.
As we read through the text.... I hope that you’ve made several interesting observations about what God is doing. The people have demanded a king.... and now God is answering… but not in the way that they expected.
The word “king” has not even been mentioned. But, God has anointed a man to be a ruler of His possession.
Truths presented so far:
God’s people are His possession
As a child of God...you are His chosen possession and He has a plan and purpose for you!
Your future as God’s possession is directly related to your spiritual origin.... your coming to Christ.
God cares for those He choses!
When God calls us to action… our response should be obedience
God will not surrender His people.... but He will and can use the sinfulness of man to see His plans and purposes accomplished.
Remember..... “God’s people are His possession and God’s Kingdom will be established”
Saul has now been anointed as “ruler” over God’s possession.... but what person is calling the shots? Samuel.
God is setting up His ruler… so that he is subordinate to Samuel. Interesting.
Later Saul will be told that one of his fundamental responsibilities as the anointed Ruler/ King over God’s people was to “listen to the words of the LORD” (1 Sam. 15:1).
The elders of Israel had demanded a king like the nations.... and God would give them a king. But, Israel’s monarchy would be different.... it would not be like the nations.
The ruler over God’s people would be required to be subordinate to the God’s prophet who would deliver to him the words of the LORD. This isn’t new information to Israel, by the way. Moses told them all of this in Deuteronomy 17:18-20, when he gave the description of what Israel’s monarchy would look like.
None of this is a surprise to God. Nothing that is happening has taken God by surprise. It has already all been mapped out and provided for. Even as the elders of Israel rebel against God in their hearts by asking for a king like the nations… God uses their sinfulness as a way to progress the establishment of His Kingdom.
Now that Saul has heard the Word of God… the signs… command and promise made.... we would expect that the next thing to happen would be that Saul would experience the 3 signs and obey the two instructions.
That is what we would expect.... but the events didn’t exactly play out as expected… and this whole even turns into a missed opportunity.
C. A Missed Opportunity (9-16)
Things start out well. Actually, better than well.
Look at verse 9.
When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day.
From the signs given, we expected Saul to become “another man” only after meeting with the prophets at Gibeah. But, God began to immediately work in changing Saul and as soon as he began to walk away from Samuel, verse 9 tells us that God gave him another heart.
What did that mean for Saul? It meant that a profound change had taken place in him. God had somehow changed him!
We are also told that the signs told to Saul all took place that very day. God was not waiting around… He was acting immediately. As you would expect, the signs predicted in verses 2-6 happened just like Samuel said that they would.
The Word of God came to pass. (God’s Word is always correct)
The writer seems to highlight one aspect of the signs that we should notice in verse 10. If the third sign where Saul had been given a command and promise was obeyed, then there would be certain consequences that would follow. This is brought out here in verses 9-16.
Verse 10 is the summary of what Samuel said would happen in verses 5-7.
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.
But… when we read verse 10 there is no mention of the Philistines. That is pretty surprising, since our understanding was that Saul would be filled with the Spirit and empowered to defeat the Philistines in his home town.
Verse 10 is the moment in Saul’s life where God had instructed him to act. The 3 signs had taken place and the next thing to happen was that Saul would “do what his hand found to do”.... which meant.... take action against the pagans plaguing God’s people.
So, when verse 10 comes… we expect Saul to take action like the Judges who came before him. But we don’t see that happening.
Since the Philistines are not mentioned in verse 10, I think this is a reflection of Saul’s own failure to focus his attention on this very important matter.
Another interesting observation to point out is that from the beginning of the chapter… we have not heard a single word come from Saul’s mouth. We are given no insight into what he thought about all that Samuel told him, or his personal reaction to the signs.
We don’t really know Saul’s heart at this point.
Instead of the expected action from Saul.... all we are given is the response from the people. We know that God has somehow changed Saul. Verse 11 shows us that the change was apparent to the people in Saul’s home town.
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?” And a man of the place answered, “And who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”
There is a certain amount of irony in the people’s reaction to Saul. They had not heard that Samuel had anointed Saul to be the ruler of God’s heritage. They had not heard that Saul had been anointed by God to deliver them from the Philistines. And… because Saul had not acted when he was supposed to.... all the people could tell was that something was different about Saul and that he was not hanging out and prophesying “among the prophets”. (we can assume that Saul did not previously do this).
There had been a clear change in Saul’s life… but because of his lack of obedience to the Word of God… no one really know what that change was.
The effectiveness of Saul’s testimony is directly related to his obedience (or lack thereof).
The people were so confused by this unexplained change in Saul that their confusion became a proverb. Meaning that the questions that were asked about Saul’s unexpected and unexplained behavior were asked so many times that they became a well known proverb in the town. “Is Saul also among the prophets?” — This implies that Saul never spoke up… he never shared the Word of God that had been revealed to him.
Interestingly enough, this proverb associated with Saul’s rise to Rule… will be recorded again in 1 Samuel 19:24 when he loses the ability and capacity to lead Israel.
At this point in the narrative.... Saul’s call to leadership is rather anti-climactic. Saul has missed the opportunity to be obedient to the Word of God by defeating the Philistines once the Spirit of God had rushed upon him.... next he misses the opportunity to share what God had revealed to him.....
Saul, in disobedience fails to act according to God’s Word..... and now he fails to speak boldly to share God’s Word.
Verse 14 introduces Saul’s uncle. Saul’s uncle… apparently at the “high places” where Saul was when he prophesied with the prophets also notices something different about Saul. So, he asks him… where did you go? Saul tells him about going to find the donkey’s and how he met Samuel.
Saul’s uncle’s ears must have perked up at this.... so he asks… What did Samuel say to you?
The uncle is no idiot. He quickly connected that whatever had happened to Saul had something to do with what Samuel said to him.
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.
Why didn’t Saul say anything about being anointed as Ruler over God’s heritage? It’s hard to say.
I think that it is related to the fact that Saul has failed to do what God had commanded him to do. He had not obeyed the Word of the Lord that Samuel had revealed to him. He had been anointed to be the ruler over God’s heritage… the protector of God’s people… but failed to follow through with the opportunity for obedience that God has presented.
This portion of the narrative ends with these words....
“But about the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him anything”.
This is the first mention of the Kingdom that we are presented with as the readers! But remember, none of the characters other than Samuel and Saul have heard that word or concept yet.
We as the readers can understand without a doubt that the Word of God… and the Kingdom of God are directly connected. There is also a hint given that there is some kind of connection with being obedient to the Word of God .... and the Kingdom.
The Word of God.... which ends up being the Word of the Kingdom… will be the most powerful factor in Saul’s life.... in the life of Israel.... and really the most powerful factor for the history of the entire world.
This week we were able to lay some groundwork for what will happen next week. So, you’ll have to come back next week to see how things work out for Saul and Samuel as we study through the end of chapter 10 and 11.
Conclusion:
At this point in the narrative we are left wondering…. Is Saul God’s man or not?
What kind of Ruler will Saul really be? How can he lead God’s heritage .... if he cannot be obedient to God’s Word?
As you leave today, I want you to remember some of the truths that God’s Word presented us.
God’s people are His possession
As a child of God...you are His chosen possession and He has a plan and purpose for you!
Your future as God’s possession is directly related to your spiritual origin.... your coming to Christ.
God cares for those He choses!
When God calls us to action… our response should be obedience
God will not surrender His people.... but He will and can use the sinfulness of man to see His plans and purposes accomplished.
As we leave I want you to think about how Saul was given the Word of God.... and did nothing with it. He was presented with the Word of God.... was empowered by the Spirit of God.... and yet through his disobedience.... failed to be an effective witness… leader… and ruler of God’s possession.
We need to learn from his mistakes.
You and I have been given the Word of God! If you are a believer today.... then you have been empowered by the Spirit of God....
Now… the real question.... are you being obedient to the Word of God you have received..... and the Spirit of God that is within you?
Saul’s disobedience led to his ineffective testimony for the Lord. The same can be true of us. Our lack of obedience to Christ.... will render us completely ineffective for Christ. Here is the last truth for today:
The effectiveness of our testimony for Christ.... is directly impacted by our obedience to Christ.
So, what should our response be? Based on all the truths we have learned today.......
Embrace the truth of God’s Word
Act in obedience to God’s Word
Submit to God’s Spirit… who is working in you to day by day change you into the image of Christ.
Your effectiveness for Christ… will be directly related to your embracing of God’s Word.... obedience to God’s Word… and submitting to God’s Spirit......
Friends.... don’t leave here today the same as when you came in. God is doing something in your life. He is either giving you opportunity to grow as a Christian… or He is presenting you with a call to come and believe!
Don’t be like Saul who missed the opportunity to be obedient. Don’t miss the opportunity God is giving you today to respond in faith to Him.