CHAPTER 10

(1095 B.C.)

SAMUEL ANOINTS SAUL

¹Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him (the kissing was the mode in that day of expressing homage to a Sovereign), and said, Is it not because the LORD has anointed you to be Captain over His inheritance? (We find that all the outward trappings of Gods Help is here; however, that which was outward could not change that which was inward an evil heart of unbelief. That which is not Gods Will can easily be outwardly anointed by men, and often is; still, such is not Gods choice, and will bear no good fruit.)

²When you are departed from me today, then you shall find two men by Rachels sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto you, The asses which you went to seek are found: and, lo, your father has left the care of the asses, and sorrows for you, saying, What shall I do for my son? (Meeting two men by Rachels sepulchre was meant to be a sign to Saul; however, Saul would little understand that. Jacob loved Rachel greatly, as God loved Saul. But, still, Rachel was barren, as Saul was barren. Part of her problem was her hatred of Leah [Gen. 29:31]. Then Rachel would resort to superstition [mandrakes Gen. 30:14]. Saul will ultimately resort to witchcraft, as well. Thankfully, Rachel would find her way with God. Saul would not!)

³Then shall you go on forward from thence, and you shall come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet you three men going up to God to Beth-el, one carrying three kids (baby lambs), and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine:

⁴And they will salute you, and give you two loaves of bread; which you shall receive of their hands. (These signs were for many things; however, mainly they were designed to confirm in Sauls mind the conviction that Samuel was indeed the Prophet of the Lord; for it must not be forgotten that although but a few miles separated their homes, yet 9:6 makes it clear that Saul was such a stranger to God and His Kingdom that he did not know even of the existence of this mighty Prophet. So, why would the Lord choose such a man to be the king of Israel? In reality, the Lord did not choose him; he was rather chosen by the people.)

⁵After that you shall come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines (this shows that most of the Tribe of Benjamin was subject to that nation and, as well, disarmed; but, probably, as long as the tribute was paid, its internal administration was not interfered with): and it shall come to pass, when you are come thither to the city, that you shall 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 (we find here that music dedicated to the Glory of God is a great aid in the worship of God, and in the exercise of the gifts; years afterwards David was thus educated, and learned at one of Samuels schools that skill in meter and psalmody which, added to his natural gifts, made him the sweet singer of Israel):

⁶And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon you, and you shall prophesy with them, and shall be turned into another man (the Lord would do all that He could to help Saul be the man that he should be).

⁷And let it be, when these signs are come unto you, that you do as occasion serve you; for God is with you (press onward, and the kingdom is your own, and success is sure).

⁸And you shall go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto you, to offer Burnt Offerings, and to sacrifice Sacrifices of Peace Offerings: seven days shall you tarry, till I come to you, and show you what you shall do. (In this, Samuel was telling Israels future king that success depended upon Faith in the Burnt Offerings and Peace Offerings, which were symbolic of Christ and Him Crucified. Regrettably, Saul would never see this, as most modern Christians never see it; unfortunately, the end result of these modern Christians will be the same as that of Saul!)

THE CHANGED HEART

⁹And 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. (Smith says, The Hebrew is remarkable here: When he turned his shoulder to go from Samuel, God also turned for him another heart, i.e., God turned him around by giving him a changed heart. He grew internally up to the level of his changed circumstances.)

¹⁰And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of Prophets met him (exactly as Samuel said would happen); and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. (Saul should have learned from all of this to lean heavily upon Samuel. But, regrettably, he didnt!)

¹¹And it came to pass, when all who 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? (As stated, the Lord would do all with this man that was humanly possible, but it would all be to no avail!)

¹²And one of the same place answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a Proverb, Is Saul also among the Prophets? (The idea of all of this, gifts from the Lord arent inherited. They come from God [I Cor. 12:28-31].)

¹³And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place.

¹⁴And Sauls uncle said unto him and to his servant, Where did you go? And he said, To seek the asses: and when we saw that they were nowhere, we came to Samuel (this would be Abner [14:50-51; I Chron. 8:33]).

¹⁵And Sauls uncle said, Tell me, I pray you, what Samuel said unto you.

¹⁶And Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spoke, he told him not.

SAUL INSTALLED AS KING

¹⁷And Samuel called the people together unto the LORD to Mizpeh;

¹⁸And said unto the Children of Israel, Thus says 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 who oppressed you (Samuel points out in his address to the assembled people that Jehovah always had done for them the very thing for which they desired a king; they wish for deliverance from the Philistines, but their deliverance by Jehovah had been made dependent upon their own conduct; they were required to repent of their sins, and to purge the land from idolatry, before victory could be theirs; what they actually wanted was national independence freed from this condition of Repentance, etc., and secured by an organization of their military resources):

¹⁹And you have this day rejected your God, Who Himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and you have said unto Him, No, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands. (Even though what they desired and, in fact, demanded, was so wrong, but yet God would grant their request, it being a law of His Providence to leave men free to choose.)

²⁰And when Samuel had caused all the Tribes of Israel to come near, the Tribe of Benjamin was taken (the Lord pointed out that Tribe to Samuel, which Samuel already knew, but which was done for the sake of the people).

²¹When 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. (In all of this, we will find that Saul was the greatest work of the flesh that could be found, and yet, even as we shall see, that was woefully insufficient, as it is always woefully insufficient.)

²²Therefore they enquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come thither. And the LORD answered, Behold, he has hid himself among the stuff. (At the beginning, Sauls humility is commendable; regrettably, it would not remain this way.)

²³And they ran and fetched him thence (because the Lord had revealed where he was): and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. (As stated, he looked every bit a king. But still, it was but a work of the flesh, because this was not Gods Way, but rather the way of man. It would fail, as all such ways fail. But regrettably, most of the Church world base their judgment on what can be seen outwardly.)

²⁴And Samuel said to all the people, See you him whom the LORD has chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king. (The lesson of the flesh is not easily learned. Even the great Prophet Samuel would have to learn this lesson. He too was enamored with Saul, but would find, to his dismay, that no matter the effort made, they who are in the flesh cannot please God [Rom. 8:8].)

²⁵Then 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.

²⁶And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched. (The Lord not only gave Saul a new heart, but those around him a touched heart, as well! As stated, every effort was being made to make this thing work.)

²⁷But the children of Belial (worthless ones) said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace. (Even though it was not the Will of God for Israel at this time to have a king, still, what these men did was very wrong, and the Holy Spirit noted it by referring to them as worthless, for thats what the word Belial means.)