Chapter 10:1-17: Saul Privately Anointed King
Here is detailed for us a very strange day in the life of Saul. As far as Saul is concerned, he has really no idea what is happening. One day he’s looking for his father’s lost donkeys and the next day, he is being anointed king of Israel. God are You sure You have the right man?
God understands this dynamic. Samuel speaks to Saul privately to help him make sense of these extraordinary events.
Saul was the king the people wanted. He looked impressive on the outside.
John 7:24 (ESV)
24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”
Saul starts out well but does not end well. He does not obey or follow God. The Lord will remove His Spirit and completely reject Saul.
1 Samuel 16:7 (ESV)
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
1. Three Signs and Three Fulfillments on the Same Day (10:1-9)
10 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 prince 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.
God has declared through Samuel that Saul is king over His people Israel. He is the king they wanted.
Samuel anoints Saul king by pouring a flask of oil on his head. So, Saul is king. Then Samuel kisses him on the check showing He has God’s blessing as king. God has anointed Saul and God has chosen him to king.
The issue is that at least for now, things will go well.
Samuel gives Saul three detailed signs that he is the one to be king. These are no generic fortune cookie type signs but real God given signs.
A. Detailed Sign: Saul will meet two men at Rachel’s Tomb and be told the donkeys are found.
And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince 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?”
You will find two men by Rachel’s tomb: Samuel gave Saul a specific prophetic word, by which Saul could have confidence that his anointing was really from God. If there were no men by Rachel’s tomb, or if there was only one man and not two, then Saul would know that Samuel did not really speak from God.
B. Detailed Sign: At the Oak of Tabor three men will meet you ready for the sacrifice
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.
The terebinth tree of Tabor… three men… three young goats… three loaves of bread… a skin of wine… they will greet you and give you. Again, Samuel gave Saul specific predictions, so they could be exactly verified. God may have a place for vague, broad words (such as saying to an audience of 500 people, “There is someone here with a headache”), but they are not remarkable evidence of prophecy.
Which you shall receive: It would be unusual for men to simply give a stranger like Saul loaves of bread. But as king, Saul will often receive gifts, so this was a good way to confirm his anointing as king.
Two loaves of bread were a strange present, but “The more strange the present was, the more fit it was for a sign of God’s extraordinary providence in Saul’s affairs.” (Poole)
C. Detailed Sign: At Gibeah you will encounter prophets and you also will prophecy
5 After that you shall come to Gibeath-elohim, 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.”
10 When they came to Gibeah, 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.
A group of prophets: They were apparently seeking the LORD and worshipping Him at the place of worship (the high place). They will be prophesying isn’t necessarily saying that they were all predicting the future, but that they all spoke under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
Then the Spirit of the LORD will come upon you: This reception of the Holy Spirit was the real anointing. The oil poured out on Saul’s head was just a picture of this. A gallon of oil could go on his head, but if the Spirit of the LORD did not come upon him, it would mean nothing.
Poole observed will come upon you is literally will leap or rush upon thee, to wit [namely], for a season.
And you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man: Before this Saul never was a particularly spiritual man. So, for him to prophesy — that is, speak as inspired from the LORD, whether predicting the future, exhorting others, or speaking unto God — was real evidence that he was turned into another man.
We should see here that it took the Holy Spirit being given to Saul to make him a new man. For now, he is different and cares about the things of God and he begins to prophecy.
All these amazing signs took place on that same day.
9 When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day.
I want us to consider that from verse 6, there is a very strong connection to God’s Holy Spirit and God’s Word. Prophecy here means as it does most places, forth telling, not prophecy like has been vastly abused today. Not foretelling but forthtelling.
The Holy Spirit came upon Saul and for a time made him a prophet.
Here is a word today for the contemporary Church. How many desire a movement of the Spirit but refuse to obey God’s Word? How many desire the Spirit but really have no interest in the Word of God. The pattern seen in Scripture is both arrive together. You cannot truly have the Holy Spirit apart from the Word.
Also notice in verse 9 that God gave Saul and new heart.
God gave him another heart: Samuel did not give it. Saul did not even give it to himself. The new heart was a gift from God. We also can have another heart from the LORD, but we must receive it from Him. We can’t receive a new heart from anyone except from God, and we can never make a new heart in anyone else. God had given Saul the Holy Spirit for a specific time.
2. God Works His Purposes in Secret (10:14-16)
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.
What’s simply amazing here is that no one, it seems, knows what’s going on except God and Samuel.
Saul still doesn’t really. His servant doesn’t. All the people who were seated at the banquet table know something special is taking place…maybe. Saul’s father and Saul’s uncle are in the dark.
God is working His Kingdom purposes in secret. One writer calls it a conspiracy of mystery.
Saul joining the prophets made an impact but still no one knew anything.
Saul’s uncle asked…
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.”
Here’s the application for us today. God is working a thousand things for His glory and for His Kingdom and we don’t have a clue what He’s doing.
We see the external things and sometimes not even all of them. Just like with Saul and the lost donkeys, with God, things are not as they appear. He’s doing far more than we can comprehend.
Most often, God’s real work is concealed. He is working for salvation of His elect, the maturity of His people and defeating Satan and his army. We don’t see what He’s doing. God works secretly and we see only the surface.
We may wonder at God’s ways but we are left with what I think is encouragement in His methods.
God’s thoughts and ways are far higher than ours. His plans may seem unexpected or hidden, but they are always for good and aligned with His eternal purposes
Isaiah 55:8–11 (ESV)
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
Romans 11:33–36 (ESV)
33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”
36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
His most profound actions are not always visible to us, but they are always in line with His glory and our good.
You may be going through something that you don’t understand why it’s happening. That’s okay because God is working and remember, with God things are not what they seem. Things are way better because God is working and God is good. Trust Him, worship Him and praise Him.
Resources Used:
1 Samuel by Dale Ralph Davis
1 Samuel by Cyril Barber
1 Samuel by Tsumura
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