Samuel’s sons were taking bribes and payoffs to role in a
person’s favor and the poorer people grew resentful. As often happens, instead of demanding the
people causing the problem be replaced, they demanded a complete overhaul of
the system. They were convinced that a
strong central government, a king, would prevent corruption. Samuel tried to tell them it would actually
make it the problem worse, but like the people demanding socialism today, they
refused to listen, insisting that is what they wanted. Realizing they would not be convinced until
they experienced it themselves, God told Samuel to give them a king, in I
Samuel 8:21-22. “And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in
the ears of the LORD. And the LORD said
to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto
the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city
When God has not specified what we are to do in a certain
situation, we are free to choose what we want, but when we insist on something
other than what he specified, we are in sin.” God
may yield to our demands it even though it is not pleasing to him, but we need
to understand he will not bless it like he would if we were actually obeying
him. When people speak of being in the
permissive will of God, they are actually out of his will, and are taking
advantage of his love and patience.
Deuteronomy 17:14-15 stated they were to allow God to decide
who their king would be. “When thou art come unto the land which the
LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and
shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about
me; Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall
choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest
not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.” Although he had no idea who to choose, Samuel
expected God to show him the right man.
God had chosen an unknown young man by the name of Saul to
be the first king. In order to bring him
into contact with Samuel, god caused his father’s donkeys to wander off. When they find them, they went to Samuel to
ask God where they should look. God had also warned Samuel that Saul was
coming, as we see in I Samuel 9:15-20. “Now the LORD had told Samuel in his ear a
day before Saul came, saying, To morrow about this time I will send thee a man
out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my
people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines:
for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me. And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said unto
him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my
people.
Then Saul drew near to
Samuel in the gate, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer's house is.
And Samuel answered
Saul, and said, I am the seer: go up before me unto the high place; for ye
shall eat with me to day, and to morrow I will let thee go, and will tell thee
all that is in thine heart. And as for
thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they
are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on
all thy father's house?
Saul was undoubtedly surprised that Samuel knew about the
donkeys, and as a member of one of the least important families in the smallest
and weakest tribe, he didn’t expect much attention, as we see in I Samuel
9:21. “And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of
the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe
of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?” He surely wasn’t expecting to be treated
as special guest and asked to stay the night.
The next morning, Samuel revealed what God had chosen Saul
to be king. He also listed three signs
that would prove this was God’s will, in I Samuel 10:1-7. “Then
Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and
said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his
inheritance? When thou art departed from
me to day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel's sepulchre in the border of
Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest
to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and
sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?
Then shalt thou go on
forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall
meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and
another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine: And
they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt
receive of their hands.
After that thou shalt
come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall
come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt 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: And the
spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and
shalt be turned into another man. And let it be, when these signs are come unto
thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee.”
God sometimes uses another person to point us in the
direction he wants us to go, but if he does, he will also tell us his
plans. If he does not show us signs that
it is what he wants, we can safely assume that the suggestion was not from
God. We should not let respect for that
person or emotional feelings push us into something that is not God’s
will. Even the most sincere and spirit
led person can make mistakes, so we need to verify it is God’s will before
acting on their advice. Saul was not to
act on Samuel’s advice until God had shown it was his plan. Once it was clear this was God’s plan, Saul
was to go Gilgal to take the next step, as I Samuel 10:8 tells us. “And
thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto
thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings:
seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and show thee what thou shalt
do.”
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