1 & 2 Samuel

1 Samuel Chapter 10

Saul Anointed King

• 1Samuel 10:1  Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance? 
• 2  When thou art departed from me to day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel's sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son? 

That is a discription of a real parent. He stopped worrying about lost animals which were important to him to care for his animals but he cared more for his son who had went out on his behalf to search for the lost animals. When bad happens we stop and think what really matters and what is the most important. One's children becomes a priority when we think they are in trouble.

• 1Samuel 10:3  Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine: 
• 4  And they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands. 

A sign that God was in this assignment. It also shows that God cares for the needs of His chosen ones for surely they would need refreshment on long journeys. There were no fast food restaurants in those days.

• 1Samuel 10:5  After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy: 
• 6  And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man. 
• 7  And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee. 

I realize many times that we have to discern prophecies but what a wonderful thing is happening here. To be able to prophesy the word of the Lord is so awesome to think about. It also shows a responsibility not to fall away from the first love and calling for the Lord. God is equiping Saul with His Holy Spirit to be able to rule in righteousness. If he falls away it is not God's fault, it is the one who allows evil to take over and allows himself or herself to yield to the evil instead of God's Holy Spirit. However we see here that God is preparing Saul to know who He is and to be able to rule fairly and justly also overcoming the enemies that would try to destroy the kingdom he rules over.

• 1Samuel 10:8  And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do. 
• 9  And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day. 

If only.....If only Saul would have kept his first love for the Lord and his first calling to be a leader of the people without thinking he could go outside of the will of God and do things from his own instinct instead of the commandment of God. For now though, he is doing well and is ready to become king in Gilgal which is where Israel first entered this land promised to Abraham many years previous.

• 1Samuel 10:10  And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. 
• 11  And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets? 
• 12  And one of the same place answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets? 
• 13  And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place. 

This is so awesome to see. Saul prophesying along with the company of prophets. Prophesying doesn't always mean telling the future although it sometimes includes that but it is sharing the word of God by the Spirit of God. It can be short phrases of praise and exhortation or longer words similar to preaching. In the New Testament period prophesying was equal too speaking in Tongues and interpretation. The interpetation part is similar to prophesying. Sometimes we may start out praying and a prophesy is uttered during the prayer. Some may not recognize it as a prophecy but I've heard this myself recently in our prayer services.

• 1Samuel 10:14  And Saul's uncle said unto him and to his servant, Whither went ye? And he said, To seek the asses: and when we saw that they were no where, we came to Samuel. 
• 15  And Saul's uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto you. 
• 16  And Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spake, he told him not. 

Saul's uncle asked questions but Saul only gave him the answers about the lost animals not about his becoming king of Israel. It seems as if Saul is still a little humble and shy about his new calling.

Saul Proclaimed King

• 1Samuel 10:17  And Samuel called the people together unto the LORD to Mizpeh; 
• 18  And said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you: 
• 19  And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands. 
• 20  And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken. 
• 21  When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found. 
• 22  Therefore they enquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come thither. And the LORD answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff. 

God chose the first king to be from the tribe of Benjamin but the final king of Israel will be Jesus our Christ at His return in the future. Jesus, when He came from Heaven, was divinely appointed to be born from a young maiden from the tribe of Judah.

At this time in history, the people of Israel rejected God and the first king was one that would turn out to be flawed later on. God knew the people would reject Him (God) and want a king. In the book of Deuteronomy, it is written the instructions for choosing a king in Deuteronomy 17:14. In it kings were commanded not to multiply horses or have multiple wives. All through the years of Israel's first kings, we saw the excess of wives becaming a stumbling block to the kings of Israel. The kings began to fall away from the Lord and do that which they desired.

Their desire for a king was rejection of God and not waiting for Him to provide the final king of kings and Lord of Lords which is Jesus. They wanted to mimic other nations and that was the sign of rejecting God. We can do this by forsaking God and wanting to be like those in the world that reject God. In Genesis 49, Jacob prophesied that God would provide a king through the tribe of Judah.

• Genesis 49:10  The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. 

• 1Samuel 10:23  And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. 
• 24  And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king. 

Saul was reluctant and felt humbled to be chosen king. If he would have stayed this way, things would have worked out better but he did not. Later he began to be exalted instead of humble and then jealousy took over when he saw someone whom God was going to make king instead of him. This reminds me of the words of Jesus in which He said to watch and pray that we enter not into temptation.

• Mark 14:38  Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. 

• 1Samuel 10:25  Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. 
• 26  And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched. 
• 27  But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace. 

Samuel kept track of all these events which is how we got the books of 1 and 2 Samuel. Saul returned home at this time and we see that enemies were already rising up against the new king. Perhaps they wanted one of them to be king and did not support Saul. There is always the faithful and the evil ones in every place on the earth. The day will come when Christ shall reign supreme. I can't wait for the king of kings and the Lord of lords to reign. -DC

1 Samuel Chapter 11