3 Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, had wandered off. So Kish said to his son Saul, “Now take with you one of the servants and arise, go search for the donkeys.” 4 So he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjaminites, but they did not find them.
5 When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, and let’s return, or else my father will stop being concerned about the donkeys and will become anxious about us.” 6 But he said to him, “Behold now, there is a man of God in this city, and the man is held in honor; everything that he says definitely comes true. Now let’s go there, perhaps he can tell us about our journey on which we have set out.” 7 Then Saul said to his servant, “But look, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread is gone from our sacks and there is no gift to bring to the man of God. What do we have?” 8 The servant answered Saul again and said, “Look, I have in my hand a fourth of a shekel of silver; I will give it to the man of God and he will tell us our way.” 9 (Previously in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he used to say, “Come, and let’s go to the seer”; for he who is called a prophet now was previously called a seer.) 10 Then Saul said to his servant, “Good idea; come, let’s go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.
11 As they went up the slope to the city, they found young women going out to draw water, and they said to them, “Is the seer here?” 12 They answered them and said, “He is; see, he is ahead of you. Hurry now, for he has come into the city today, because the people have a sacrifice on the high place today. 13 As soon as you enter the city you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat, for the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now then, go up, for you will find him about this time.” 14 So they went up to the city. As they came into the city, behold, Samuel was coming out toward them to go up to the high place.
15 Now a day before Saul’s coming, the Lord had revealed this to Samuel, saying, 16 “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him as ruler over My people Israel; and he will save My people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have considered My people, because their outcry has come to Me.” 17 When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him, “Behold, the man of whom I spoke to you! This one shall rule over My people.” 18 Then Saul approached Samuel at the gateway and said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.” 19 And Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer. Go up ahead of me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and in the morning I will let you go, and will tell you everything that is on your mind. 20 And as for your donkeys that wandered off three days ago, do not be concerned about them, for they have been found. And for whom is everything that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s household?” 21 Saul replied, “Am I not a Benjaminite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?”
22 Then Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall, and gave them a place at the head of those who were invited, who were about thirty men. 23 And Samuel said to the cook, “Serve the portion that I gave you about which I said to you, ‘Set it aside.’” 24 Then the cook took up the leg with what was on it and placed it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Here is what has been reserved! Place it before you and eat, because it has been kept for you until the appointed time, since I said I have invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.
25 When they came down from the high place into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul on the roof. 26 And they got up early; and at daybreak Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, “Get up, so that I may send you on your way.” So Saul got up, and both he and Samuel went out into the street. 27 As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Speak to the servant and have him go on ahead of us and pass by; but you stand here now, so that I may proclaim the word of God to you.”
5 When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, and let’s return, or else my father will stop being concerned about the donkeys and will become anxious about us.” 6 But he said to him, “Behold now, there is a man of God in this city, and the man is held in honor; everything that he says definitely comes true. Now let’s go there, perhaps he can tell us about our journey on which we have set out.” 7 Then Saul said to his servant, “But look, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread is gone from our sacks and there is no gift to bring to the man of God. What do we have?” 8 The servant answered Saul again and said, “Look, I have in my hand a fourth of a shekel of silver; I will give it to the man of God and he will tell us our way.” 9 (Previously in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he used to say, “Come, and let’s go to the seer”; for he who is called a prophet now was previously called a seer.) 10 Then Saul said to his servant, “Good idea; come, let’s go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.
11 As they went up the slope to the city, they found young women going out to draw water, and they said to them, “Is the seer here?” 12 They answered them and said, “He is; see, he is ahead of you. Hurry now, for he has come into the city today, because the people have a sacrifice on the high place today. 13 As soon as you enter the city you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat, for the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now then, go up, for you will find him about this time.” 14 So they went up to the city. As they came into the city, behold, Samuel was coming out toward them to go up to the high place.
15 Now a day before Saul’s coming, the Lord had revealed this to Samuel, saying, 16 “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him as ruler over My people Israel; and he will save My people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have considered My people, because their outcry has come to Me.” 17 When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him, “Behold, the man of whom I spoke to you! This one shall rule over My people.” 18 Then Saul approached Samuel at the gateway and said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.” 19 And Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer. Go up ahead of me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and in the morning I will let you go, and will tell you everything that is on your mind. 20 And as for your donkeys that wandered off three days ago, do not be concerned about them, for they have been found. And for whom is everything that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s household?” 21 Saul replied, “Am I not a Benjaminite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?”
22 Then Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall, and gave them a place at the head of those who were invited, who were about thirty men. 23 And Samuel said to the cook, “Serve the portion that I gave you about which I said to you, ‘Set it aside.’” 24 Then the cook took up the leg with what was on it and placed it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Here is what has been reserved! Place it before you and eat, because it has been kept for you until the appointed time, since I said I have invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.
25 When they came down from the high place into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul on the roof. 26 And they got up early; and at daybreak Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, “Get up, so that I may send you on your way.” So Saul got up, and both he and Samuel went out into the street. 27 As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Speak to the servant and have him go on ahead of us and pass by; but you stand here now, so that I may proclaim the word of God to you.”
(1 Samuel 10:1-27) Then Samuel took the flask of oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “Has the Lord not anointed you as ruler over His inheritance? 2 When you leave me today, then you will find two men close to 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. Now behold, your father has stopped talking about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, “What am I to do about my son?”’ 3 Then you will go on further from there, and you will come as far as the oak of Tabor, and 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 jug of wine. 4 And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from their hand. 5 Afterward you will come to the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is; and it shall be as soon as you have come there to the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and a lyre in front of them, and they will be prophesying. 6 Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be changed into a different man. 7 And it shall be when these signs come to you, do for yourself what the occasion requires, because God is with you. 8 And you shall go down ahead of me to Gilgal; and behold, I will be coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice peace offerings. You shall wait seven days until I come to you and inform you of what you should do.”
9 Then it happened, when he turned his back to leave Samuel, that God changed his heart; and all those signs came about on that day. 10 When they came there to the hill, behold, a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, so that he prophesied among them. 11 And it came about, when all who previously knew him saw that he was indeed prophesying with the prophets, that the people said to one another, “What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” 12 And a man from there responded and said, “And who is their father?” Therefore it became a saying: “Is Saul also among the prophets?” 13 When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.
14 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 were nowhere to be found, we went to Samuel.” 15 Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” 16 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.
17 Now Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah; 18 and he said to the sons of Israel, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘I brought Israel up from Egypt, and I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the power of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ 19 But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your catastrophes and your distresses; yet you have said, ‘No, but put a king over us!’ Now then, present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your groups of thousands.”
20 So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel forward; and the tribe of Benjamin was selected by lot. 21 Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin forward by its families, and the Matrite family was selected by lot. And Saul the son of Kish was selected by lot; but when they looked for him, he could not be found. 22 Therefore they inquired further of the Lord: “Has the man come here yet?” And the Lord said, “Behold, he is hiding himself among the baggage.” 23 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. 24 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!”
25 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. 26 Saul also went to his house in Gibeah; and the valiant men whose hearts God had touched went with him. 27 But certain useless men said, “How can this one save us?” And they despised him and did not bring him a gift. But he kept silent about it.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
When someone becomes a believer, the Holy Spirit of promise enters us and seals us for all eternity. He is faithful, will never leave us, and guarantees our salvation. Before the Day of Pentecost, God still looked at a person's heart, and to those who believed in Him, He counted it as righteousness (Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:3, James 2:23). This is because Jesus' work on the cross was retroactive, since He paid the price for ALL sin, for all people, for all time.
So what does it mean then when we see that God's Spirit "rushed upon" Saul? Even though he prophesied, it doesn't mean that Saul was a believer. Back then, God would send His Spirit onto people for only periods of time or moments in order to accomplish various tasks. Notice that the Spirit came "upon" Saul, and not "in".
Now let's consider the people's reactions. While God looks at the heart, people tend to look at outward appearances, and sometimes outward actions. So most of the people were enamored and confident in Saul being their king. Even though the "useless" men were correct in asking how Saul could "save" them, this was just regarding the physical leadership and protection of the nation. All the people essentially rejected the Lord, the KING of kings, who literally could save them spiritually, emotionally as well as physically. But the people wanted a human king!
It helps to understand that back then, in Israel, the kings that followed were to lead the people both physically and spiritually. When the king was obedient and got the people to be obedient to God's word, the nation would be blessed. But when they were disobedient, things fell apart. This was very unique for the nation of Israel. Not to say that any country wouldn't benefit from godly leaders and godly citizens!
A few things to keep in mind for us now is that God never forces anyone to believe in Him, and even when we choose to believe in Him, He never forces us to be obedient. In the same way, we must be gracious to others and not expect an unbeliever to live like a believer. We can't even do that in our own churches! God doesn't do it, so why do we think we should even try? So, when we vote in pastors and elders, we do want to choose men who will do that job correctly, which is to teach and lead the congregation according to God's word. They should be someone who is righteously living as an example for us to follow.
As for political leaders, in countries with freedom of belief and freedom of speech, we should choose the people who will do that job correctly, which is to run the country, or a particular area of the country. We are not voting in a spiritual leader, but a leader who will take care of the physical matters: security, law, order, infrastructure, collecting and spending tax money wisely and efficiently...
From scriptures, we know that God puts all leaders into place - meaning - God will either direct or allow someone into some level of power. It doesn't mean that God endorses those people as "good" leaders. In fact, the world is full of evil and corrupt governments. Even in our own country, as we vote people in, the winners may not necessarily be the best for the country. And the other option/s may or may not have been better or worse. While some will range from simply ineffective to "just okay". We sometimes don't really know until someone gets into power.
What believers can know about leadership is that we should not put our faith and trust in leaders or the government! But we are to respect our leaders and our laws (as long as they don't go against God's will). And we are to pray for them! Fortunately, God is Sovereign, so we can and are to put our faith and trust in Him, and in Him alone. And - we have to realize - this is not our "home"!
