Introduction

Israel wanted a king.

But Israel was not content waiting on the LORD and His timing.

We were introduced to Saul a couple of chapters back.

The Lord told Samuel that Saul was His choice.

Leading Saul through his circumstances, God had brought him to this place.

He’s about to be anointed as the first king of Israel.

Chapter 9 v27-10:1

Early the next morning after having conversing on the top of the house, Samuel accompanied Saul and his servant to the edge of the city.

When Samuel poured it on his head, Saul was anointed with oil.

The process of anointing was one thing … But the idea of anointing is much bigger.

What happened to Saul’s head and body was a picture of what God was doing in him spiritually.

The Holy Spirit was being poured out on him, equipping him for the job of being king over Israel.

Prior to this, Priests were anointed for their special service to the LORD (Exodus 28).

If you’re curious about the anointing oil, Exodus 30:22-33 tells us about the oil itself.

As Christians, we also have an anointing: But you have an anointing from the Holy One (1 John 2:20).

In the New Testament sense, anointing has the idea of being filled with, and blessed by, the Holy Spirit.

It is the sign of God’s blessing or call on that person’s life

From this moment on, Saul was leader over God’s people, Israel (here referred to as God’s Inheritance).

Now, we’ve talked before about the Septuagint also designated as the LXX, the Roman numerals for 70.

The Septuagint is a translation of the Hebrew Bible into the Greek language.

The name “Septuagint” comes from the Latin word for “seventy.”

Tradition says that 70 Jewish scholars translated the Hebrew Bible in the third and second centuries BC in Alexandria, Egypt.

By the 1st Century AD, the Septuagint had “replaced” the Hebrew Bible as the Scriptures most people used.

That’s because by that time Greek had become the common language.

In fact, many of the New Testament quotes from the Hebrew Bible are taken from the Septuagint … Jesus quoted from it, Paul and the other Apostles also quoted from it.

This is one of the areas where the Septuagint varies from the earlier text.

The LXX includes, “And you will reign over the people of the Lord, and you will save them from the hand of their enemies all around. And this will be a sign to you that the Lord has anointed you ruler over his inheritance.”

In both instances it’s “His inheritance” – God’s inheritance … a reminder to Saul that he is being made a steward over what belongs to God.

Now, at this point, only Samuel and Saul knew about this anointing of Saul as the king of Israel.

Of course, in this situation, there is no sitting king other than the LORD God Himself.

So then there is no barrier to Saul being king of Israel save Israel’s acceptance of him and his own acceptance of the situation.

Saul looked the part of king.

So then, that only leaves it to be proved to Saul himself.

V2-8

So, Samuel gave Saul some signs that his anointing as the first king of Israel was indeed true.

First, he would meet 2 men who would tell him that his father’s last donkeys had been found.

He could learn from this that God can solve his problems.

The second sign (vv3-4) would take place at the Terebinth Tree of Tabor.

He could learn from this that God would solve his problems AND God could supply his needs.

In Genesis 18, the Lord appeared to Abraham and Sarah before the Terebinth Tree at Mamre.

In Genesis 35, Jacob commanded his family to get rid of the idols that were among them and he buried them under a Terebinth Tree.

In Judges 6, the angel who visited Gideon sat under a Terebinth Tree.

And, David’s son, Absolom would become entangled by his hair in a Terebinth tree where he would be killed in 2 Samuel 18.

Terebinth trees were large trees … like oak trees … and were common in the land of Canaan.

They were often used as markers of land boundaries or as meeting points as well as burial locations because they lived a long time and they were large and easily visible.

Isaiah speaks of pagans using Terebinth trees as idols.

The third sign had to do with spiritual power.

According to Samuel, Saul would meet a band of prophets returning from worship at Bethel.

He could learn from this that God could invest in him the power he needed for service.

God isn’t looking so much for people who look the part, as people who are available and humble enough to be used without pride getting in the way.

God Himself makes us sufficient.

This is an encouragement to all who desire to be obedient and be used by God to bring His message of hope to others.

V8-13

So God gave Saul another heart.

Regeneration is a radical change.

Just as our physical conception resulted in a new individual coming to life, our spiritual birth results in a new person entering the heavenly realm.

The difference between what happened to Saul is this: Saul here was given a different attitude and outlook.

He was not regenerated by faith the way that another Saul would be much later after coming face to face with Christ on the road to Damascus.

So, all the events prophesied by Samuel took place, but the only one described in the text is Saul’s encounter with the group of prophets.

Had Saul continued to nurture this walk with the Lord, his life would have turned out much different.

But his pride and his desire for power became a habitual sin in his life.

So then, the saying, “Is Saul also among the prophets” was used of anyone who did something unexpected.

It’s interesting that Saul had been given two loaves of bread before he went up to the Holy Place to worship.

Jesus, the true King of Israel, was crucified on Passover and rose again on First Fruits.

The church was born 50 days after that on Shavuot … the Feast of Weeks, also known as Pentecost.

Shavuot is also the day that believers were given the Holy Spirit.

It is quite possible that Saul was anointed as king, anointed with the Holy Spirit, and went up to Bethel on what would have been the Feast of Weeks.

In which case, it was God who provided the bread.

V14-16

After these things, Saul went home and back to work on the farm as though nothing had happened.

This was an important command and test.

Others wait for kings.

But Samuel commanded Saul to wait for him.

Saul had to show that even though he was a king, he was submitted to the LORD, and the LORD’s prophet.

V17-24

Samuel called another gathering at Mizpah.

Before God appoints a king for Israel, God reminds Israel of all He has done for them.

Only the LORD and Samuel knew that the king had already been selected and anointed.

The manner of selection is not given, but it may have been by the Urim and Thummim … that would have been the normal process for a decision like this.

However it worked, the tribes were whittled down to families, to the family of Kish, and finally to Saul.

So, Saul was chosen … but he couldn’t be found.

And so Samuel had to enquire of the Lord the whereabouts of Saul.

The question we are left with is why was he hiding?

Was it out of modesty or was it out of fear?

Andrew Murray put it this way, “True humility isn’t thinking meanly of one’s self; it’s simply not thinking of one’s self at all.”

Samuel, for his part, tried to salvage the situation, and he presented Saul as God’s chosen king.

The people were very impressed, but God didn’t need tall, muscular men to get His work done.

In fact, in a few years God will use a teenage David to slay a giant.

V25-27

Samuel taught Israel God’s guidelines for both rulers and subjects, probably using Deuteronomy 17:14-20.

According to the way worldly kings live, God never wants us to imitate the behavior of royalty.

And it says that Samuel wrote it in a book and laid it up before the Lord.

It doesn’t seem that this book Samuel wrote is any of the books of the Bible we have.

Like I mentioned Sunday morning, we should be concerned with what we do have … much less than what we don’t have, because what we do have is from the LORD.

At the time, there was no palace or capital, so Saul simply went home.

Not all of Israel was supportive of Saul yet.

People gave Saul gifts as tokens of their support, but one group of men despised him.

There was bound to be someone who didn’t like the choice.

Saul was wise in his reaction (he held his peace).

Conclusion

Saul started out with a lot of promise.

• He was chosen and anointed by God.

• He was filled with the Holy Spirit.

• He had the support of a man of God like Samuel.

• He had the enthusiastic support and goodwill of most all the nation.

• He had valiant men around him, men whose hearts God had touched to support him.

• And, he had the wisdom to not regard every doubter, or every critic, as an enemy.