#3 - Kings & Kingdoms

Samuel anoints Saul

1 Samuel 10:1-6

1Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it over Saul’s head. He kissed Saul and said, “I am doing this because the Lord has appointed you to be the ruler over Israel, his special possession.

2When you leave me today, you will see two men beside Rachel’s tomb at Zelzah, on the border of Benjamin. They will tell you that the donkeys have been found and that your father has stopped worrying about them and is now worried about you. He is asking, ‘Have you seen my son?’

3“When you get to the oak of Tabor, you will see three men coming toward you who are on their way to worship God at Bethel. One will be bringing three young goats, another will have three loaves of bread, and the third will be carrying a wineskin full of wine.

4They will greet you and offer you two of the loaves, which you are to accept.

5“When you arrive at Gibeah of God,

where the garrison of the Philistines is located, you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the place of worship. They will be playing a harp, a tambourine, a flute, and a lyre, and they will be prophesying.

6At that time the Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them. You will be changed into a different person.

Intro

Samuel anoints Saul

Early the next morning, Samuel accompanied Saul and his servant to the edge of the city, sent the servant on ahead, and then anointed Saul as the first king of Israel. From that moment on, Saul was the leader over God's people oh, but only Samuel and Saul knew it. How could you young Saul be sure that God had really chosen him?

Samuel gave Saul three signs, special occurrences he would encounter as he made his way back home.

First Sign - God could solve his problems

2When you leave me today, you will see two men beside Rachel’s tomb at Zelzah, on the border of Benjamin. They will tell you that the donkeys have been found and that your father has stopped worrying about them and is now worried about you. He is asking, ‘Have you seen my son?’

He would meet two men who would tell him that the lost animals had been found, news that Saul had already heard from Samuel. Apparently these men knew whose Soul was and that he had been away from home seeking the Lost Property. But this was a good experience for the young king, for it assured him that God could solve his problems. One of Saul's greatest failures as a leader was his inability to take his hands off of situations and let God work. In modern language, Saul was a “control freak”. Yet while Saul and his servant were dining with Samuel , God was at work saving the lost animals.

aplication

Second sign - God could also supply his needs

3“When you get to the oak of Tabor, you will see three men coming toward you who are on their way to worship God at Bethel. One will be bringing three young goats, another will have three loaves of bread, and the third will be carrying a wineskin full of wine.

4They will greet you and offer you two of the loaves, which you are to accept.

The second sign would take place at the Oak of Tabor where he would meet 3 pilgrims heading for Bethel. in spite of the nation's unbelief, there were still devoted people in the land who honored the Lord and sought his face. there must have been a sacred place at Bethel dedicated to the Lord, and perhaps the 3 goats, the wine, end the three loaves of bread we're gifts for the Levites serving their. since as yet there was no Central sanctuary, the three goats may have been for sacrifices. these men would greet Saul and give him two of the three loaves and he was to receive them.

God was showing Saul that not only could he solve his problems, but he could also Supply his needs. As the first king of Israel, he would have to raise up an army and provide the food and equipment the men needed, and he would have to depend on the Lord.

Third Sign - God could provide him with the power he needed for the service.

5“When you arrive at Gibeah of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is located, you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the place of worship. They will be playing a harp, a tambourine, a flute, and a lyre, and they will be prophesying.

6At that time the Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them. You will be changed into a different person.

The third sign had to do with spiritual power . Saul would meet a band of prophets returning from worship at the high place, and they would be prophesying. The Holy spirit of God would come upon Saul at that time and he would join the company of prophets in their ecstatic worships.

In this sign, God told Saul that he could endue him with the power he needed for service. and who is sufficient for these things is the question in the heart of every servant of God, and the only correct answer is” our sufficiency is of God” . However, later Saul would become very self-sufficient and rebellious, and the Lord would take the spirit from him. 1st Samuel 16: 14; 28: 15.

1 Samuel 16:14 NKJV

14 But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him.

When Saul turned from Samuel to start his journey home God gave him another heart. This young farmer would now think and act like a leader, the king of the nation, a warrior-states-man whose responsibility it was to listen to God and obey his will.

The Holy Spirit would further enable him to serve God as long as he walked in obedience to his will. Because Saul became proud and independent and rebelled against God, he lost the Spirit's power, he lost his kingdom, and he eventually lost his life.

The spirit enabled Saul ( probably for the first time in his life) to have a personal experience with the Lord end to express it in praise and worship. Head so continued to nurture this walk with the Lord, his life would have been much different. His pride and desire of power became his besetting sin. When the news got out that Saul had prophesied with a company of prophets, some of his friends spoke about him with disdain 1 Sam 10:11- 13.

1 Samuel 10:11–13 NKJV

11 And it happened, when all who knew him formerly saw that he indeed prophesied among the prophets, that the people said to one another, “What is this that has come upon the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” 12 Then a man from there answered and said, “But who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb: “Is Saul also among the prophets?” 13 And when he had finished prophesying, he went to the high place.

There's no evidence that he was overly Wicked, but Saul was a secular person, not a spiritual person, and he was the last man his friends ever expected to have that kind of experience. The question, “is Saul also among the prophets?” was asked of anybody who was suddenly stepped out of character and did the unexpected. Since profits often inherited their Ministry from their fathers and were even called fathers, the second question was asked: who is their father? even after so was presented to the people as their King not everybody in Israel was impressed with him

1st Samuel 10:27 But there were some scoundrels who complained, “How can this man save us?” And they scorned him and refused to bring him gifts. But Saul ignored them.

1 Samuel 10:27 NKJV

27 But some rebels said, “How can this man save us?” So they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.

Saul returned home and went back to work on the farm as though nothing remarkable had happened. He said nothing to his family about being anointed king, and apparently the news about his prophetic experiences hadn't reached as far as Gibeah. The experiences of the previous day's should have taught him that God was with him, and that he would take care of him and meet his needs, if only he would trust and obey. He also should have realized that he could trust Samuel to give him God's message, and to disobey Samuel meant to disobey the Lord.

One more task awaited Saul, and that was to meet Samuel it Gilgal at a time that would be shown him. This would be the test to see if Saul was truly devoted to the Lord and willing to obey orders.

Unfortunately he failed

Samuel presents Saul to the people

Samuel called another Convocation at mizpah for the purpose of presenting the new king to the people. True to his prophetic calling, he first preached a sermon and reminded the people of their Redemption from Egypt by God's grace and power as well as their obligation under the Covenant to obey the Lord.

Only the Lord and Samuel knew that the king had already been selected and anointed, but Samuel wanted the tribes to realize that Jehovah God was in charge of the selection process.

This may have been selection by lot and the final result was the family of Kish and finally the young man Saul.

but Saul could not be found and Samuel had to inquire further of the Lord to discover that the King was hidden among the wagons and baggage, certainly not in auspicious way to beginning his reign.

Was he hiding out of modesty or fear?

Probably the second of the two, because true humility accept God's will while at the same time depending on God's strength and wisdom.

As Andrew Murray said “true humility isn't thinking mainly of one's self; it's simply not thinking of oneself at all” Had Saul been focusing on the glory of God, he would have been present in the assembly and humbly accepting God's call. Then he would have urged the people to pray for him and to follow him as he seek to do the Lord's will.

This First official Act on the part of Saul suggests that there was trouble ahead. Saul was a reluctant ruler who followed his emotions instead of building his faith. He would serve as a sacrificing courageous Soldier one day and become a self-centered autocrat the next day.

Avoiding National popularity is one thing, but avoiding God's given responsibility is quite another. If God called a men to kingship he has no right to hide away. Samuel did what he could to salvage an embarrassing situation. He presented Saul as God's chosen King so the nation had to accept him and he ascended Saul's admirable physical characteristics. and the people were impressed, but cells certainly knew that God didn't need tall, muscular men in order to get his work done.

When the assembly was ended, everybody went back home, including the team, and there accompanied Him, a group of valiant men who became his officers and inner circle. they followed saw because the Lord moved them to do so. people gave Saul gifts as tokens of their homage to the king, but one group of men despised and ridiculed him. but he held his peace.