1 Samuel 10

The Lord chose Saul to be king over Israel. Samuel knew this, but now the time had come to make Saul aware of what was happening. Saul would be used by God to save Israel from the enemies all around them.

This was a message that required some confirmation. God gave Saul a sign and a command. According to the word of Samuel, the Lord's providence was unfolded before this man that God had chosen to be king. Samuel spoke to Saul about words and events that were almost immediately fulfilled. More than this, Saul received the Spirit of the Lord in order to do God's bidding. He would be led into the obedience of the Lord's conquest against the Philistines.

God was with Saul. How would He use this man who had not asked to be king?

The new Saul was a surprise to everyone who had known him before. What had happened to the son of Kish? Here was a man acting like one of the prophets showing forth obvious manifestations of the work of the Spirit of the Lord!

Yet Saul was still unwilling to tell his relatives the full story of what had happened to him. He talked to his uncles about donkeys, but not about the kingdom and his new place in Israel according to the Word of God through Samuel. Even though Saul had been touched by the Spirit of God, even though he had seen and heard confirmation of Samuel's prophesy in various signs, the son of Kish had not yet publicly embraced his new role as king.

Samuel would make this secret publicly known. Reminding Israel of the evil of their demand for a king, God spoke through Samuel of the Lord's singular role as the Deliverer of His people from bondage. He had brought them out of Egypt, but they had rejected Him. Now He had provided a man to be their king. Would they receive God's anointed as their chosen leader?

The king would be from the tribe of Benjamin and from the family of Kish. But where was Saul? Hiding among the baggage.

Despite this odd start to his reign, there was nothing lacking in Samuel's endorsement of Saul. “There is none like him among all the people.” Some were ready to shout, “Long live the King!” Many men of valor, touched by God, attached themselves to Saul with great hopes. Others wondered, and even despised their new leader. “How can this man save us?”

The people now had their king. They also had the rights and duties concerning the kingship that the Lord gave them through Samuel. The king himself had the spirit of God. Those who followed him had been touched by God. The Lord's spokesman had given his own Word concerning him. The right thing for loyal followers of the Lord at this moment was to stay close to the Lord's chosen king and to follow him. The right thing for Saul was to stay close to God and His Word.

Before Saul had an opportunity to do much of anything good or evil, some of his countrymen were already speaking against him. Yet this Saul would win great victories for Israel as we shall see in the chapters that follow.

The depravity of Israel and the church is evidenced in this: Even when the Lord provides what we have demanded, we will not be satisfied.

The truth is that Israel did need a better king than Saul. We do too. We need a King who can defeat our grumbling dissatisfaction and insubordination, enabling us to see the Lord's good hand in all that He is doing.

Though others may mean to bring evil upon us, God is always working for our good. He has appointed a Messiah who is without blemish. Jesus has been publicly acknowledged as the King of the Jews and the Savior of the world. His death has taken away our guilt. His resurrection gives us a very sure hope.

May the Lord touch our hearts and further unite us to King Jesus. There is none like Him among all the people. He is the chosen of the Lord. May we stand with Him as men and women of valor even when others rail against Him. He is our eternal hope. He will heal our souls.