Israel was rebelling against God in demanding a king, but God had instructed Samuel to give them what they wanted, in I Samuel 8:7. “And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.” Sometimes God gives us what we ask for even when it against his will, as Psalms 106:15 tells us. “And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.” Such demands are not based on faith that God will do what is right, but on our selfish desires and inevitably, the results are unsatisfactory. We need to learn to pray according to God’s will, as I John 5:14-15 describes. “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”
A short time after the people demanded a king, a young man
looking for some lost donkeys came to ask Samuel if he knew where to find
them. He was the man Samuel was to
appoint as king, as I Samuel 9:15-20 tells us.
“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?”
After dinner, Saul went with Samuel to worship at the high
place, and the next day, Samuel anointed him to be king, in I Samuel 9:25-10:1. “And
when they were come down from the high place into the city, Samuel communed
with Saul upon the top of the house. And they arose early: and it came to pass
about the spring of the day, that Samuel called Saul to the top of the house,
saying, Up, that I may send thee away. And Saul arose, and they went out both
of them, he and Samuel, abroad. And as
they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the
servant pass on before us, (and he passed on,) but stand thou still a while,
that I may show thee the word of God. 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?”
Like Gideon, Saul had no expectations of being king. God gave Saul some signs to prove that the message
was from God, just as he had given signs to Gideon. The signs are listed in I Samuel 10:2-8. “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: 4 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. 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.”
God would not give specific instructions until Saul was sure it was God’s plan. The signs appeared just as Samuel had described, in I Samuel 10:9-13. “And 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. And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. And it came to pass, when all that 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? And one of the same place answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets? And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place. “
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