May 21, 2024 | Be God's Light
Saul is Anointed and Made King
Scripture: 1 Samuel 10 (NIV)
1 Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it on Saul’s head and kissed him, saying, “Has not the Lord anointed you ruler over his inheritance? 2 When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel’s tomb, at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you set out to look for have been found. And now your father has stopped thinking about them and is worried about you. He is asking, “What shall I do about my son?”’
3 “Then you will go on from there until you reach the great tree of Tabor. Three men going up to worship God at Bethel will meet you there. One will be carrying three young goats, another three loaves of bread, and another a skin of wine. 4 They will greet you and offer you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from them.
5 “After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, timbrels, pipes and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying. 6 The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. 7 Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.
8 “Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do.”
9 As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. 10 When he and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he joined in their prophesying. 11 When all those who had formerly known him saw him prophesying with the prophets, they asked each other, “What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”
12 A man who lived there answered, “And who is their father?” So it became a saying: “Is Saul also among the prophets?” 13 After Saul stopped prophesying, he went to the high place.
14 Now Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where have you been?”
“Looking for the donkeys,” he said. “But when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.”
15 Saul’s uncle said, “Tell me what Samuel said to you.”
16 Saul replied, “He assured us that the donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about the kingship.
17 Samuel summoned the people of Israel to the Lord at Mizpah 18 and said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’ 19 But you have now rejected your God, who saves you out of all your disasters and calamities. And you have said, ‘No, appoint a king over us.’ So now present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and clans.”
20 When Samuel had all Israel come forward by tribes, the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. 21 Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, and Matri’s clan was taken. Finally Saul son of Kish was taken. But when they looked for him, he was not to be found. 22 So they inquired further of the Lord, “Has the man come here yet?”
And the Lord said, “Yes, he has hidden himself among the supplies.”
23 They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others. 24 Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the man the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.”
Then the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
25 Samuel explained to the people the rights and duties of kingship. He wrote them down on a scroll and deposited it before the Lord. Then Samuel dismissed the people to go to their own homes.
26 Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, accompanied by valiant men whose hearts God had touched. 27 But some scoundrels said, “How can this fellow save us?” They despised him and brought him no gifts. But Saul kept silent.
Devotional
“You will be changed into a different person.”
Samuel made this promise to Saul as he left him and headed for home. He told Saul that he would experience several signs along the way. Verse 9 sums it up: “God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day.” If Saul was going to fulfill God’s call, he had to be a different person on the inside.
And he would need to fulfill external expectations too. After Saul was declared king, verse 25 says, “Samuel explained to the people the rights and duties of kingship. He wrote them down on a scroll and deposited it before the Lord.” Saul couldn’t just “feel” like a godly leader; he had to “be” one.
This is true for Christians in the modern world as well. Surrendering to Jesus means internal conversion and external transformation. In Ephesians 4:22-24 Paul wrote, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
Our worldview influences our lifestyle, and vice versa. How we think affects how we behave. The opposite is also true. Our internal and external worlds are inextricably intertwined. Righteousness and holiness define who we are in the prayer closet and in the public square.
We will soon see that Saul’s downfall came when he took on the roll of a priest. But God didn’t assign him a priest’s functions. The Lord assigned him a king’s duties and allowed him to participate in a prophet’s utterances as well. God had changed Saul’s heart for the good. Then Saul changed his own heart for bad.
“You will be changed into a different person.”
How has God changed you? What are your spiritual gifts? Who has God called you to be? What has God called you to do? And just as importantly, who has God called you NOT to be and what has He called you NOT to do?
Poem
Tabor
There is a mount named Tabor
Quite smaller than it seems
A place of revelation
A place, discerning dreams
Its name is quite confusing
Both “purity,” “bad luck”
“Misfortune,” yet “encouragement”
A mother lode, now struck
Once called to Tree of Tabor
There others you will meet
A-journeying to Bethel
The House of God, His seat
Will you accept the calling?
The offering of God?
Will you proceed to Gilbeah,
A hill which you need trod?
And once upon this hillside
Will you two prophets meet,
Transfigured with the Son of God,
To worship at His feet?
Will you join in the wonder?
Will you bear transfixed gaze?
Will you long to remain in place
Or move ahead in praise?
Then on to Gilgal, move you,
With Ebenezer stones
To mark your life’s intention—
The calling in your bones
Rise up prophetic speaking
Your will to God’s now bent
Anointing oil upon you
From Holy Spirit sent
