The Lord God has the ability to solve life s most difficult problems.

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1 Introduction Long ago F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote a short story about a man who was born in his eighties and then proceeds to go through life aging in reverse; the short story was adapted into a movie; but the original short story bears little resemblance to Hollywood s adaptation. The name of the story was The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Early on the reader knows the character s reverse aging process is going to create some rather disturbing circumstances. The same is true in the case of Saul. Saul s story is very much a curious case. It is the story of a man who starts off with such great spiritual promise and true spiritual advantage and then descends rapidly into a spiritual disaster. Like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Saul seems to spiritually age in reverse. For the person who is familiar with the Old Testament there is the certain knowledge that things are not going to turn out well for Saul. Samuel Anoints Saul King 1 Samuel 10:1 (NKJV) Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him and said: Is it not because the Lord has anointed you commander over His inheritance? Samuel anoints Saul commander over His inheritance. Saul is literally anointed with oil. Samuel s kiss is more than just a greeting; it is a sign of support. At this point only Samuel and Saul know about this anointing. How can Saul be sure of his calling? Samuel will proceed to give Saul three signs; special encounters that Saul will experience as the young man makes his way home. The signs are given in a specific sequence and include the areas in which they will take place. The First Sign 1 Samuel 10:2 (NKJV) When you have departed from me today, you will find two men by Rachel s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, The donkeys which you went to look for have been found. And now your father has ceased caring about the donkeys and is worrying about you, saying, What shall I do about my son? Saul would meet two people who he apparently knew--since they are familiar with Saul s father and Saul s father s business. Their testimony and confirmation will confirm Samuel s words and serve as a tool to strengthen Saul s confidence in the Lord. The Lord God has the ability to solve life s most difficult problems. 1

2 The Second Sign 1 Samuel 10:3 (NKJV) Then you shall go on forward from there and come to the terebinth tree of Tabor. There three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. 1 Samuel 10:4 (NKJV) And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall receive from their hands. The Lord God has the ability to supply all your needs. The Third Sign 1 Samuel 10:5 (NKJV) After that you shall come to the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is. And it will happen, when you have come there to the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a stringed instrument, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them; and they will be prophesying. The hill of God is Gibeath-Elohim ; the seat of the Philistine governor (see 1 Samuel 13:2-3). Saul will join the young men in giving thanks and praise to the Lord God. 1 Samuel 10:6 (NKJV) Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. The Spirit of the Lord will come upon Saul and he will become a changed man. In what way will Saul be a changed man? Does Saul go from unsaved to saved? The more likely explanation is that Saul will go from a farmer to a military leader. The Lord God has the ability to give you all the power you need for service. 1 Samuel 10:7 (NKJV) And let it be, when these signs come to you, that you do as the occasion demands; for God is with you. 1 Samuel 10:8 (NKJV) You shall go down before me to Gilgal; and surely I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and make sacrifices of peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, till I come to you and show you what you should do. 2

3 Wiersbe suggests verse 8 should be translated; When you go before me to Gilgal --that at some future date when King Saul would have the army ready for battle. This event took place some years later; see chap. 13 (Wiersbe s Old Testament Outlines; p.262). The verse is a reminder, that even though Saul is anointed king, he may not intrude into the office of the priest. Both Saul and Samuel are still subject to the Lord God. Samuel s priestly functions did not extend to Saul. Saul receives a gift from God; but also an obligation towards God. The gift from God is an inward transformation; the gift for God is the duty of careful, thoughtful obedience towards the Lord. 1 Samuel 10:9 (NKJV) So it was, when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God gave him another heart; and all those signs came to pass that day. How interesting. The sovereign God works according to His own sovereign will. The Bible says Saul became a new man and is given another heart. What are we to make of these statements? Was Saul born again? Was Saul regenerated in the New Testament sense of the word? Some suggest yes--others give an emphatic no! They argue that Saul was given a new outlook and attitude. Clearly Saul will compromise, compromise will lead to disobedience and disobedience will lead to rebellion. Saul will lose the Spirit s power, Saul will lose the kingdom and Saul will lose both his legacy and his life. 1 Samuel 10:10 (NKJV) When they came there to the hill, there was a group of prophets to meet him; then the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. Saul joins the group of prophets in songs of joy and thanksgiving. 1 Samuel 10:11 (NKJV) And it happened, when all who knew him formerly saw that he indeed prophesied among the prophets, that the people said to one another, What is this that has come upon the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets? Saul s change is at once dramatic and visible and public. The expression Is Saul among the prophets might have a modern equivalence of Did Saul get religion? When did Saul become a Jesus freak? 1 Samuel 10:12 (NKJV) Then a man from there answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb: Is Saul also among the prophets? 3

4 The expression who is their father probably means what is the source of their inspiration? Is this from God or from some other place? 1 Samuel 10:13 (NKJV) And when he had finished prophesying, he went to the high place. Part of the problem with Saul is that his whole encounter with God is a series of external happenings; how is it that these experiences have such a superficial impact? Do these spiritual experiences have a lasting impact on the life and ministry of Saul? When Saul is out of touch with Samuel, later when Saul is out of touch with David, his internal orientation defaults to selfish mode; Saul lapses into the old ways and his confidence in the Lord disappears. 1 Samuel 10:14 (NKJV) Then Saul s uncle said to him and his servant, Where did you go? So he said, To look for the donkeys. When we saw that they were nowhere to be found, we went to Samuel. Saul s uncle asks the question Where did you go? 1 Samuel 10:15 (NKJV) And Saul s uncle said, Tell me, please, what Samuel said to you. 1 Samuel 10:16 (NKJV) So Saul said to his uncle, He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found. But about the matter of the kingdom, he did not tell him what Samuel had said. Why do you suppose Samuel did not tell his uncle about the matter of the kingdom? Was it wisdom or fear? If Saul told his uncle Hey God has made me king or Samuel has made me king what might have been his uncle s reaction? Or is Saul afraid to share what God has done in his life? Samuel s Speech 1 Samuel 10:17 (NKJV) Then Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah, 1 Samuel 10:18 (NKJV) and said to the children of Israel, Thus says the Lord God of Israel: I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all kingdoms and from those who oppressed you. 1 Samuel 10:19 (NKJV) But you have today rejected your God, who Himself saved you from all your adversities and your tribulations; and you have said to Him, No, set a king over us! Now therefore, present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your clans. 4

5 1 Samuel 10:20 (NKJV) And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. 1 Samuel 10:21 (NKJV) When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was chosen. And Saul the son of Kish was chosen. But when they sought him, he could not be found. Saul s Profile 1 Samuel 10:22 (NKJV) Therefore they inquired of the Lord further, Has the man come here yet? And the Lord answered, There he is, hidden among the equipment. What was Saul thinking? Why was he hiding in the baggage? Was Saul afraid? Did God really call Saul to be king? Could he lead the people? Would his appointment end up in failure? Would the people reject him? Did the fear cause Saul to forget all the signs God had given to confirm his call? In his fear does Saul call out to God and invoke the aid of the Lord? I think it is safe to say that Saul did not grow up with spiritual sensibilities. Clearly his father was a great man. Kish is called gibbor or mighty man. With loose tribal ties and powerful enemies a man had to be able to protect his land and his family if he were to survive. I suspect Saul s father was the local leader of the tribal militia. Did Saul fear the limelight; fear leadership? He grew up in the shadow of a dominant personality. Because Saul isn t necessarily spiritual he does not have very many spiritual resources to draw upon. Did Saul follow in the footsteps of his own father s religious indifference? 1 Samuel 10:23 (NKJV) So they ran and brought him from there; and when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. 1 Samuel 10:24 (NKJV) And Samuel said to all the people, Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people? So all the people shouted and said, Long live the king! 1 Samuel 10:25 (NKJV) Then Samuel explained to the people the behavior of royalty, 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. 5

6 the behavior of royalty legal document ancient constitution or bill of rights and responsibilities mishpat-- regulations (NIV). How are kings to behave? How are subjects to behave? With leadership come both perks and privileges; but there are also responsibilities. 1 Samuel 10:26 (NKJV) And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and valiant men went with him, whose hearts God had touched. A group of soldiers immediately joined Saul and became a kind of elite guard for the new king. 1 Samuel 10:27 (NKJV) But some rebels said, How can this man save us? So they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace. But some worthless men (sons of Belial) reject his appointment. In rejecting Saul they are rejecting the theocracy he now represents. Conclusion The Hebrew, as suggested by the margin, is still more striking. He was as though he had been deaf - he pretended not to hear. He did hear; every word had struck deep into his soul, but he made as though he were deaf. It is a great power when a man can act as though he were deaf to slander, deaf to detraction, deaf to unkind and uncharitable speeches, and treat them as though they had not been spoken, turning from man to God, leaving with God his vindication, believing God that sooner or later will give him a chance... of vindicating the true prowess and temper of his soul. (Meyer) When Saul is in Samuel s presence Saul acts with some measure of humility and even discretion and discernment. From this, we see that Saul started out with so much promise. He was chosen and anointed by God. He was filled with the Holy Spirit. He had the support of a man of God like Samuel. He had been given gifts appropriate to royalty. He had the enthusiastic support and goodwill of most all the nation. He had valiant men around him, men whose hearts God had touched to support him. And, he had the wisdom to not regard every doubter, or every critic, as an enemy. But despite all these great advantages, Saul can still blow it. Will he walk in the advantages God had given him so far, or will he go his own way? The rest of the book of 1 Samuel gives the answer to that question (David Guzik On Line 1 Samuel Commentary Chapter 11; Enduring Word Commentaries.Com). Will we walk in the advantages God has given to us? 6

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