Read 1 Samuel 10
1 Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it on Saul’s head and kissed him, saying, “Has not the Lord anointed you ruler over his inheritance?” 2 When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel’s tomb, at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you set out to look for have been found. And now your father has stopped thinking about them and is worried about you. He is asking, “What shall I do about my son?”’
3 “Then you will go on from there until you reach the great tree of Tabor. Three men going up to worship God at Bethel will meet you there. One will be carrying three young goats, another three loaves of bread, and another a skin of wine. 4 They will greet you and offer you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from them.
5 “After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, timbrels, pipes and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying. 6 The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. 7 Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.
8 “Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do.”
Saul Made King
9 As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. 10 When he and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he joined in their prophesying. 11 When all those who had formerly known him saw him prophesying with the prophets, they asked each other, “What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”
12 A man who lived there answered, “And who is their father?” So it became a saying: “Is Saul also among the prophets?” 13 After Saul stopped prophesying, he went to the high place.
14 Now Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where have you been?”
“Looking for the donkeys,” he said. “But when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.”
15 Saul’s uncle said, “Tell me what Samuel said to you.”
16 Saul replied, “He assured us that the donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about the kingship.
17 Samuel summoned the people of Israel to the Lord at Mizpah 18 and said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’ 19 But you have now rejected your God, who saves you out of all your disasters and calamities. And you have said, ‘No, appoint a king over us.’ So now present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and clans.”
20 When Samuel had all Israel come forward by tribes, the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. 21 Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, and Matri’s clan was taken. Finally Saul son of Kish was taken. But when they looked for him, he was not to be found. 22 So they inquired further of the Lord, “Has the man come here yet?”
And the Lord said, “Yes, he has hidden himself among the supplies.”
23 They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others. 24 Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the man the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.”
Then the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
25 Samuel explained to the people the rights and duties of kingship. He wrote them down on a scroll and deposited it before the Lord. Then Samuel dismissed the people to go to their own homes.
26 Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, accompanied by valiant men whose hearts God had touched. 27 But some scoundrels said, “How can this fellow save us?” They despised him and brought him no gifts. But Saul kept silent.
Go Deeper
First Samuel 10 opens with Samuel privately anointing Saul as the first King of Israel. Samuel proceeds to tell Saul of three very specific signs that will serve as confirmation that he is the Lord’s anointed one. Verses 2-6 describe in detail these outward signs that God graciously gave as confirmation to reveal His will for Saul. God perfectly confirmed Saul’s calling through the 1) report of the donkeys found, 2) encounter of the three men going to Bethel, and 3) encounter with the prophets.
More importantly, God transformed Saul’s heart. Verse 8 reads “When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart.” Saul was a nobody, but God called him, anointed him, and changed his heart to prepare him to lead the people of Israel.
In Ezekiel 11:19-20, we see a similar story. God is addressing the Israelites and gives them the following promise “And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.” This verse also reveals the magnificent power of God through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can change our focus from sin to God.
God’s work is done “not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit” (Zechariah 4:6). God gave Saul a new heart and it transformed him from a nobody into the King of Israel. As a result, his entire appearance, demeanor, and outlook were transformed by the power of God. Saul’s own friends and family did not even recognize him because of his heart transformation (v. 11-13). As we seek to follow God’s heart, may we remember our own hearts are transformed through His power and not our own. We can pray that as a result of God’s transformation, our appearance, our demeanor and our outlooks look more like Jesus than ourselves.
Questions
- Transformation can be defined as “to undergo a change in form, appearance, or character.” Have you allowed your heart to be transformed by the Holy Spirit?
- Do you trust God’s guidance and power, even if you do not feel fit for what you feel He has called you to do?
- What are some parts of your old/hardened heart that are difficult for you to release? Confess that to God and ask Him to help you let go of that.
Keep Digging
When Samuel was ready to reveal the new king to the nation, Saul could not be found. In verse 22 it says, “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.”
Charles Spurgeon, in his sermon Hiding Among the Stuff, shows how both believers and unbelievers can be hidden among the equipment, avoiding the crown God has for them. “There may be some of you here present, who may be doing precisely what Saul did, only you are doing it more foolishly than he did. He did but hide away from an earthly crown, but you hide from a heavenly one.”
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5 responses to “1 Samuel 10”
Right from the start we see that Saul is conflicted in his calling. Israel was stepping into an unknown territory in demanding a king. They in essence had rejected God and stepped into the slippery slope of copying the cultures around them. God gave them what they wanted and history reveals how that worked out for them. Take note that following God’s way is always the best path, be careful what you ask for.
I’m prone to worry, so naturally the first thing that stuck out to me was this verse.
1 Samuel 10:2 NIV
[2] When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel’s tomb, at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you set out to look for have been found. And now your father has stopped thinking about them and is worried about you. He is asking, “What shall I do about my son?” ’
Donkeys – check, okay!
Son – just annointed king, check – okay! (From earthly father’s perspective)
How much worry consumes us and robs us of the true joy before us.
I continually have to fall back on Jesus’ words in Matthew:
Matthew 6:27-34 NIV
[27] Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? [28] “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. [29] Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. [30] If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? [31] So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ [32] For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. [33] But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. [34] Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Don’t worry friends, cause every little thing will be alright! There’s a video of a little boy singing that song that brings joy and laughter to me.
Paul and Timothy had it right:
Philippians 4:8-9 NIV
[8] Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. [9] Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Shift your focus and shift from worry to wonder and joy!
As a born again believer, you have been given Holy Spirit to now reside in you the rest of your life. In the OT they were only given Holy Spirit upon a condition and it was not theirs forever. God called Saul but his flesh was afraid. Is your flesh afraid? We have been given responsibilties with our Holy Spirit. God can give us solutions to all situations through Holy Spirit.(Prov 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”) . He will supply our needs and give you the power to complete tasks He gives.( Philippians 4:19, which states, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”) With Saul, he was first concerned with his personal concerns, not with God’s greater calling. He saw himself as unworthy, unqualified, and incapable, as do I. BUT GOD knows and will supply me and give me power, IF I believe and fully trust with obedience.
Saul was the first King and Jesus is the last King. There are several comparisons of their lives. God is just amazing at the way He shows us what, how, when, so that we can understand Him better. He, God, wants the best for us and His Son was that. When we want what we “think” is good/best for us sometimes it is not so. “Be careful what you pray for, you just might get it”. Israel got their first king and was not great. BUT GOD gave us in time, the right KING. Not in our timing but in His.
God thank You for YOur timing. Thank You for Your Son and what He accomplished for me. God help me to be obedient every single minute of this day. God give me words that build up and edify Your people. God thank You for helping me to be obedient every time not just when I feel like it. I thank You for these words in Your books that help me see the greater picture. God You are so amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!! God help me see the wonder and joy of how amazing You are all the minutes of this day in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
You can’t hide from God. It’s a futile effort. God is omnipresence, all-knowing and all-seeing. Genesis 3:8 is the story of Adam and Eve trying to hide from God. The classic example of humanity trying to hide their/our sin .
19 “But you have now rejected your God, who saves you out of all your disasters and calamities. And you have said, ‘No, appoint a king over us.’”
Whatever one’s opinion of current events, I find it so interesting to be reading this section about people clamoring for a king against the backdrop of the “king” narrative underway in our country. Wow!
Of this I can be sure . . . Jesus is my king!