Saul Proclaimed King
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;1 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.
Footnotes
[1] 10:21
Septuagint adds finally he brought the family of the Matrites near, man by man (ESV)
Category: Scripture
Saul Anointed King
10:1 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 prince1 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 prince2 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,3 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.”
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,4 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.
Footnotes
[1] 10:1
Or leader
[2] 10:1Septuagint; Hebrew lacks over his people Israel? And you shall. . . . to be prince
[3] 10:5Gibeath-elohim means the hill of God
[4] 10:10Gibeah means the hill (ESV)
Saul Chosen to Be King
9:1 There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth. 2 And he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.
3 Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul his son, “Take one of the young men with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.” 4 And he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then they passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them.
5 When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant1 who was with him, “Come, let us go back, lest my father cease to care about the donkeys and become anxious about us.” 6 But he said to him, “Behold, there is a man of God in this city, and he is a man who is held in honor; all that he says comes true. So now let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us the way we should go.” 7 Then Saul said to his servant, “But if we go, what can we bring the man? For the bread in our sacks is gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?” 8 The servant answered Saul again, “Here, I have with me a quarter of a shekel2 of silver, and I will give it to the man of God to tell us our way.” 9 (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he said, “Come, let us go to the seer,” for today’s “prophet” was formerly called a seer.) 10 And Saul said to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.
11 As they went up the hill to the city, they met young women coming out to draw water and said to them, “Is the seer here?” 12 They answered, “He is; behold, he is just ahead of you. Hurry. He has come just now to the city, because the people have a sacrifice today on the high place. 13 As soon as you enter the city you will find him, before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat till he comes, since he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now go up, for you will meet him immediately.” 14 So they went up to the city. As they were entering the city, they saw Samuel coming out toward them on his way up to the high place.
15 Now the day before Saul came, the LORD had revealed to Samuel: 16 “Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince3 over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have seen4 my people, because their cry has come to me.” 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.” 18 Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate and said, “Tell me where is the house of the seer?” 19 Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind. 20 As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not set your mind on them, for they have been found. And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s house?” 21 Saul answered, “Am I not a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel? And is not my clan the humblest of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?”
22 Then Samuel took Saul and his young man and brought them into the hall and gave them a place at the head of those who had been invited, who were about thirty persons. 23 And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Put it aside.’” 24 So the cook took up the leg and what was on it and set them before Saul. And Samuel said, “See, what was kept is set before you. Eat, because it was kept for you until the hour appointed, that you might eat with the guests.”5
So Saul ate with Samuel that day. 25 And when they came down from the high place into the city, a bed was spread for Saul on the roof, and he lay down to sleep.6 26 Then at the break of dawn7 Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Up, that I may send you on your way.” So Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went out into the street.
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.”
Footnotes
[1] 9:5
Hebrew young man; also verses 7, 8, 10, 27
[2] 9:8A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
[3] 9:16Or leader
[4] 9:16Septuagint adds the affliction of
[5] 9:24Hebrew appointed, saying, ‘I have invited the people’
[6] 9:25Septuagint; Hebrew city, he spoke with Saul on the roof
[7] 9:26Septuagint; Hebrew And they arose early, and at the break of dawn (ESV)
Categories
Going Deeper
Samuel 3.16.24
Grab your Bibles and let’s go deeper into the testimony of Samuel.
God Chooses Samuel
In 1 Samuel 3:1-10, we read the testimony of the call of the Lord on Samuel’s life and the beginning of Samuel’s prophetic ministry. While the narrative is simple, the takeaway is profound. The Lord is calling to Samuel, and yet Samuel doesn’t discern His voice, thinking it’s his elder, Eli. It says in 1 Samuel 3:7, “Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.” This is another reminder that it is the Lord who must reveal himself to us, for in our sin we are not spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14).Therefore, we are desperate for God to awaken our dead hearts and call us to Himself.
1 Peter 1:3 According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
When we understand that it is God who saves and sends us, this is a solid rock under our feet. Why? Because, if it were our own doing or our own inclination to follow and obey God, what security or lasting hope do we have, our eternity would be uncertain as it was up to us to stay in line. No. Instead, it is God who saves His elect and sets us on His path of righteousness and obedience for Him. It is God who will endure us to the end and lose none of His chosen people. So, Samuel is called by God and commissioned to be a prophetic voice to the people.
Honest in Love With Those Above You
In 1 Samuel 3:11-18, Samuel is immediately faced with hearing God’s righteous judgment for an elder in his life. Not only does he have to hear God’s judgment on someone he loves, but Samuel is the one God instructs to bring God’s word to Eli. How hard is it when God uses us to bring admonishment to someone who ranks above us in life—a parent, a boss, a teacher, or an older brother or sister?
In his interaction with Eli, Samuel doesn’t hold back in speaking honestly. We need to love each other enough to speak honestly with each other and not hold back if that person needs to hear something, even if it’s hard to hear. We don’t help them grow, change, or improve if we simply leave it alone.
In 1 Samuel 3:19-20 we read, “Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord.” Samuel is now established in all of Israel as God’s mouthpiece and His chosen prophet.
1 Samuel 7:3 And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”
Samuel makes it clear to the people that they are to honor God and worship Him alone—put away your false idols, worship and serve God only, and He will lead you and deliver you. This is surely the command of God on us. We, too, must hear and act on these words.
Confession and Repentance
1 Samuel 7:4-6 So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the Lord only. Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” So they gathered at Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before the Lord and fasted on that day and said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the people of Israel at Mizpah.
The people were obedient and did as they were told. They practiced confession and repentance. This is what we are called to do, in Christ, when we see our sin or are called out on our sin—confess and repent. Let’s look at these closer:
1. Confess:
Confession—from the root word meaning “to agree together with.”
God understands and knows all our sin, but it is key that we fully confess and understand our sin before Him. Confession sets the heart up for true repentance. Confession is simply acknowledging I have sinned. “This was sin. You call it sin. I am calling it sin. I am saying out loud to you, ‘God, I sinned!’”
1 John 1:8-9 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Now there is much we know we have done in sin, but there is much we are not tuned into, also. One important thing we must practice is being still and quiet before God. Why? Because, the Holy Spirit will reveal to us the sin that maybe we haven’t seen or acknowledged yet.
Psalm 19:12-13 Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.
2. Repent:
Confession leads to repentance. So, what is repentance exactly? It is a word commonly used in church circles, but do we really understand what it really is?
Repentance is taking up a new course in light of God’s will. It is turning from sin and turning to obedience and honoring God.
If confession is admittance—agreeing together with God, who knows already what really happened, repentance is a new direction. It is surrendering your current wrong path in order to get on the right one.
We must practice, regularly, confession and repentance. It is not enough to say we sinned, in confession. We must turn from that sin and practice righteousness. We must turn, in repentance, and take up a new course or practice that honors God.
Repentance is not something you do one time to be saved. Martin Luther said famously, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said ‘Repent,’ he intended that the entire life of believers should be repentance.”
God’s Deliverance
In 1 Samuel 7:7-17, we read about God’s delivering the Israelites from the hand of the encroaching Philistines. He helps drive them back and brings the Israelites to great victory. Here, we also see that God endures Samuel to rule over, and be a faithful judge of, Israel all the days of his life (1 Samuel 7:15).
The Demand For a King
In 1 Samuel 8, Samuel has become old and he has made his sons judges over Israel. The problem is, his sons do not walk in his ways, but take bribes and pervert justice.
The Rejection of God as King and the Problem with a Human King
In I Samuel 8:7-18, we see the problem with the people’s desire for a human king and the consequences that will come if they choose to have a human king. When we read narratives like this, it is often too easy for us to declare that they were stupid to choose to deny God as King and long for a human ruler in His place. But is this not what we do often in our everyday lives? We must be oh-so-careful not to ever think that a human ruler is our hope or refuge. God, alone, is our King and we are members of His kingdom in Christ.In this, we must carefully navigatethe politics of the temporary land in which we find ourselves living.
We must remember that we don’t live for politics. We don’t base our confidence about the future on who gets elected.
Pastor John Piper said this well when he said,
“Let those who vote or do politics do it as though they were not doing it [1 Cor 7:29-31] which means there’s a kind of engagement that is not all consuming. There is a kind of voting, a kind of doing politics a kind of advocacy which is not investing our whole selves in it because we are not here fully. We have a foot in heaven and a foot on the earth, we are citizens of two kingdoms, and this is not our main home. This world is passing away …”
1 John 2:17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
We know this system is disappearing. We shouldn’t be so worked up about our opponent getting elected that it undoes our life. What we ought to be saying is, “I am God’s child. Jesus Christ is my KING. I will trust in, and serve, Him all the days of my life.”
Daniel 2:21 tells us that God is the one who ultimately removes kings and sets up kings. So, we vote and engage in all that is before us trusting that God can and will use the upcoming season in the life of our country for His glory and our good no matter who gets elected president. May we avoid doing what the Israelites did, which was to put their hope into human kings, and instead be sure our priorities, thoughts, and hopes are for His kingdom first and foremost.
The Faithfulness of God Despite Our Rebellion and Sin
In 1 Samuel 12:20-25, Samuel remains faithful until the end of his life. God uses him in major ways despite the ups and downs of the people he leads. We can learn a lot from Samuel in that the fact that he remains faithful to God, and those he leads, despite how hard they make it. At the end of the day, we must remember we serve the Lord. We must remember He is sovereign over all things. We are not led nor swayed by our circumstances. We are led by the Lord of hosts.
By His grace and for His glory
Joshua “Shepherd” Kirstine
Soldiers For Jesus MC
Chaplain Council
SFJbible.com
10 The word of the LORD came to Samuel: 11 “I regret1 that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the LORD all night. 12 And Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning. And it was told Samuel, “Saul came to Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself and turned and passed on and went down to Gilgal.” 13 And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed be you to the LORD. I have performed the commandment of the LORD.” 14 And Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen that I hear?” 15 Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen to sacrifice to the LORD your God, and the rest we have devoted to destruction.” 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! I will tell you what the LORD said to me this night.” And he said to him, “Speak.”
17 And Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. 18 And the LORD sent you on a mission and said, ‘Go, devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you pounce on the spoil and do what was evil in the sight of the LORD?” 20 And Saul said to Samuel, “I have obeyed the voice of the LORD. I have gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me. I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. 21 But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.” 22 And Samuel said,
“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to listen than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
he has also rejected you from being king.”24 Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. 25 Now therefore, please pardon my sin and return with me that I may bow before the LORD.” 26 And Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you. For you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 27 As Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of his robe, and it tore. 28 And Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. 29 And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.” 30 Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may bow before the LORD your God.” 31 So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul bowed before the LORD.
32 Then Samuel said, “Bring here to me Agag the king of the Amalekites.” And Agag came to him cheerfully.2 Agag said, “Surely the bitterness of death is past.” 33 And Samuel said, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the LORD in Gilgal.
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. 35 And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the LORD regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.
Footnotes
[1] 15:11
See also verses 29, 35
[2] 15:32Or haltingly (compare Septuagint); the Hebrew is uncertain (ESV)