Samuel had told Saul three signs to watch for as proof God
wanted him to be Israel’s king. He was
not to just accept Samuel’s statement.
Because it is so easy mislead people about what God has said,
Deuteronomy 18:21-22 said that they were to test what the prophet said. If the sign he gave didn’t happen, he was a
false prophet and was to be executed for lying about God. Throughout the Old Testament, when a prophet
told of a specific event occurring, he gave a sign so people could know it was
in fact God’s word. Even famous prophets
such as Elijah and Isaiah were expected to provide such signs. The same principle applies today. I Corinthians 14:29 commands, “Let the prophets speak two or three, and
let the other judge.” Check out the
messages you hear.
Saul started toward home, and on the way, the various signs
Samuel predicted happened to him, as we see 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.”
Before making Saul king, Samuel pointed out that God had
delivered them from Egypt and they were responsible to him. By setting a king to rule over them like
other nations, they were rejecting God’s authority and power, but since that
was what they demanded, God was going to let them do it as he explains in I
Samuel 10:17-19. “And Samuel called the people together unto the LORD to Mizpeh; And
said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought
up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and
out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you: And ye have
this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities
and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us.
Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your
thousands.”
God was going to allow them to have a king, but it was to be
the man God specified. I Samuel 10:20-24
describes how they determined who God had chosen. “And
when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of
Benjamin was taken. When he had caused
the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was
taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could
not be found. Therefore they inquired of
the LORD further, if the man should yet come thither. And the LORD answered,
Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff. And they ran and fetched him thence: and when
he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his
shoulders and upward. And Samuel said to
all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like
him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the
king. “
The people were drawn to Saul by his physical size and good
looks. Unfortunately those kind of
things do not indicate anything about a person’s qualifications or
abilities. Today, many people are
choosing leaders on the basis of their appearance, their gender, their race or
their age, rather than on the basis of their qualifications or abilities, with
the result that those chosen don’t even understand what is needed. When God chose him, Saul did not feel
qualified to be king and hesitated to take the position. Unfortunately later in life, he became quite
proud of his position and was determined to keep anyone else from taking it.
Samuel took time to instruct the people how things were to
be done and the consequences of messing up before sending them home, in I
Samuel 10:25. “Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in
a book, and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away,
every man to his house.”
Saul had definitely been chosen by God, and some of the
people followed hi. At the same time,
there were others who were not willing to follow him, as we see in I Samuel
10:26-27. “And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of
men, whose hearts God had touched. But
the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him,
and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.” Had Saul based his decision on how he
felt, or on unanimous approval, he would never have done what God had chosen
him to do.
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