An unlikely king – hiding among the the baggage?
Yes, Saul was a tall young man. But, did that qualify him to become King of Israel?
We’ll find out in later chapters but, in this passage from 1 Samuel the spirit of God comes upon Saul.
Samuel introduces him and the people (at least most of them) now call him “king”.
Saul Publicly Becomes the New King of Israel – “Long Live the King”
Then it happened when he turned his back to leave Samuel, God changed his heart; and all those signs came about on that day.
When they came to the hill there, behold, a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him mightily, so that he prophesied among them.
It came about, when all who knew him previously saw that he prophesied now with the prophets, that the people said to one another, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”
A man there said, “Now, who is their father?”
Therefore it became a proverb: “Is Saul also among the prophets?”
When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.
Now Saul’s uncle said to him and his servant, “Where did you go?”
And he said, “To look for the donkeys.
When we saw that they could not be found, we went to Samuel.”
Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.”
So Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell him about the matter of the kingdom which Samuel had mentioned. 1 Samuel 10:9-16
Saul the “Prophet”
In verse 10, the Bible says; “the Spirit of God came upon him mightily..“.
But, this is Saul! How could God bestow His spirit upon a man who would later become such an evil king?
Truth is, God uses all types of people to work His will.
Did this act of worship cause Saul to become a holy man? A prophet?
No. But, it did allow him to temporarily lead Israel in a time of need. I touched on this in the responsible leader lesson.
And, this happens later with the city of Jabesh.
Saul Publicly Chosen King
Thereafter Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah; and he said to the sons of Israel, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I brought Israel up from Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the power of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’
But you have today rejected your God, who delivers you from all your calamities and your distresses; yet you have said, ‘No, but set a king over us!’
Now therefore, present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your clans.”
Thus Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot.
Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families, and the Matrite family was taken.
And Saul the son of Kish was taken; but when they looked for him, he could not be found.
Therefore they inquired further of the Lord, “Has the man come here yet?”
So the Lord said, “Behold, he is hiding himself by the baggage.”
So they ran and took him from there, and when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward.
Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? Surely there is no one like him among all the people.”
So all the people shouted and said, “Long live the king!”
Then Samuel told the people the ordinances of the kingdom, and wrote them in the book and placed it before the Lord.
And Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his house.
Saul also went to his house at Gibeah; and the valiant men whose hearts God had touched went with him.
But certain worthless men said, “How can this one deliver us?”
And they despised him and did not bring him any present. But he kept silent. – 1 Samuel 10:17-27
God’s Replacement?
As I read verse 19, this thought came to mind – as it probably did for you.
It states plainly:
“you have today rejected your God..”.
I have two questions:
- Who is the true King of Israel?
- Who is our true king?
Yes, you already know the answer to these. But, seems Israel didn’t.
Our True King
Just as Israel rejected God and chose a human to become their king, we sometimes let other people or things rule our lives.
I’ve heard this sermon frequently preached lately.
And yes, I do know about the “plank” in my own eye before judging you.
But, do we focus most of our attention on worldly things instead of God?
During this daunting time of strife (and covid-19), we spend much of our time worrying.
We worry about ourselves and our loved ones.
Is this wrong? Not entirely.
So, what’s the good news?
It’s okay to be concerned about things going on outside our control but, God says plainly:
“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.” – John 14:1
I’ve repeated this verse several times in other devotionals. Truth is, it’s become one of my favorite verses from the Bible.
Yes, we all have troubles concerning loved ones, the disease, financial issues, or a combination of each.
And yes, we should take care of ourselves and the people we love. Jesus clearly says this.
We should also pray about anything going on in our lives and around the world.
But, we shouldn’t worry. God is in control.
And always remember, our home is not here – we are only renters living in this world.
Love in Christ,
Bob
If you would like to discover how to receive the love and life-changing experience of Jesus Christ, please take a moment to see John 3:16 here.