SAUL MADE KING

1 Samuel 10:1-11:15

Key Verse: 10:24

Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the man the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” Then the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

I. Saul made king (10:1-27)

Read verse 1. Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on Saul's head and kissed him, saying, “Has not the LORD anointed you leader over his inheritance?” At the end of chapter 9 Samuel told Saul to send the servant ahead of them because he had a message from God to give to him. In chapter 9, Samuel hinted at what was about to come. He said that “all the desire of Israel” had turned to Saul. That desire was for Israel to have a king. But even still Saul probably didn’t really believe that this was actually going to happen. Saul’s heart was pounding as he watched the servant walk away. He thought to himself, “Is this really happening?”

Just then, Samuel takes out a flask of oil, pours it on his head, and kisses him. Has not the Lord anointed you leader over his inheritance? The anointing by oil by God’s prophet was the physical act of confirming Saul as God’s choice as leader of Israel. And by kissing him, Samuel signaled his own personal loyalty and allegiance to the king. What’s interesting is that God doesn’t actually say the word king. Instead, he anoints Saul as leader over his inheritance. Or the King James version says “captain” over his inheritance.

In sports, the captain is a very important member of the team. The captain often has special responsibilities. Like calling heads or tails during the coin toss. The captain often sets the example for others to follow which is why he or she is often the best player on the team. Finally, the captain is sometimes there to guide and protect team members as in hockey. The captain is a leader. The captain however is not above the team. He doesn’t coach the team or own the team. The coach or owner has authority over the captain. The captain doesn’t tell other team members what position to play, or which play to run.

God is telling Saul you are my captain. You have special responsibility to lead the people, to take care of them, and to protect them. But also know that you still answer to me. Israel is still my people and my inheritance. You are just a steward of what ultimately belongs to me. One day Saul would forget that he was just a caretaker appointed by God. He would forget who he answered to. This would be his downfall.

Who are the stewards of God’s inheritance today? That would be us, his church. And that inheritance is the promise of God through faith in Jesus. We are all leaders who should live lives that set an example for others, and who have special responsibility to administer the gospel of Jesus faithfully. To do that, I know, isn’t easy. But what helps me is a reminder that God has entrusted something so precious to me, and I don’t want to let God down. Because ultimately I answer to him.

For those of you who have just been named captains of your teams, remember these words.

Because it isn’t easy God also gives us something else. Look at verses 2-7. In these verses Samuel gives Saul three specific signs that will confirm that God has chosen Saul to be the king. The most important of which comes in verses 6-7. Let’s read those verses. The Spirit of the LORD will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you. God gives Saul power through the Holy Spirit. And the power of the Spirit is that it can change people. Samuel says you will be changed into a different person. To change a person to the point they are almost unrecognizable is the amazing transformative power of the Holy Spirit. Look at verse 11. When all those who had formerly known him saw him prophesying with the prophets, they asked each other, "What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?" When people saw Saul, they said, “That looks like Saul. And smells like Saul. His voice sounds like Saul. But that’s not Saul.”

Some of you might remember the testimonies we heard at our Leader’s conference in January. Those testimonies remind us of the power of God to change people through his word and the Spirit of God. Tony Pham told us he once used to deal drugs. I wonder what his old customers might say if he saw them today dealing the word of God. It looks like Tony. Still talks like Tony. But that can’t be Tony! I’ve heard lots of testimonies in my lifetime and am still amazed by how the Holy Spirit can change people completely. As Daniel reminded me this Friday, his dad’s life testimony began with “I used to chase women.” Or I heard that Joshua Kim when he first came to Bible study was a really proud guy. But God has transformed him into a humble shepherd. I imagine both of them would be unrecognizable to some of their close friends from back then.

We need to pray for the Holy Spirit to come and change people’s hearts to repent and accept Jesus. Because we can’t change people. No matter how hard we try all we can do is plant the seed of God’s word in people’s hearts. The Spirit is what changes them into new creations.

After this Samuel summoned all the people of Israel together to inaugurate Saul as king. Look at verses 20-23. Before all the tribes of Israel, God revealed his choice of Saul as king. Though he was from the smallest clan of the smallest tribe, Saul looked like a king. He was a head taller than any of the others.

Read verse 24. Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see the man the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people." Then the people shouted, "Long live the king!"  on seeing him and hearing Samuel’s words, the people shouted, “Long live the king!” However, I think they had no idea what they were saying. They had no idea what it really meant for them to have a king. So verse 25 tells us, “Samuel explained to the people the regulations of the kingship. He wrote them down on a scroll and deposited it before the LORD.” What were those regulations exactly? Look at Deuteronomy 17:14-20.

I count 9 requirements of the king. The first 4 deal with physical aspects of the kingship. He must be an Israelite, not too many horses, not too many wives, no large amounts of silver and gold. But the last 5 clearly have to deal with the king’s spiritual life. He must keep the law with him, read it all the days of his life, learn to revere God, follow it, not consider himself better than his brothers. The king of Israel was unique because unlike the kings of other nations Saul had to answer to a higher authority God himself. His role as king was not purely physical but was uniquely spiritual as well. That’s why Saul was anointed twice: once with oil and once with the Spirit.

These requirements were ridiculous from a normal king’s perspective.  Most kings do whatever they can to acquire as many horses, and wives, and silver and gold, as possible. They are also the supreme authority. They answer to no one. They do not have to obey anyone, but are to be obeyed by everyone. Because of this kings naturally think of themselves as above the people.  

But God’s king was to be different. Just like his people were to be set apart from other nations and to live by a different standard, Israel’s king was to be set apart and different. The last requirement says he must not consider himself better than his brothers. To me this sounds like the true king Jesus in Mark 10:45. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. The King of Israel was not just a king. He was to be a shepherd king who served his people with grace and truth. This meant not being lord over them, but actually humbling himself to care for them.

We can learn from God’s direction not to become proud. Raise your hand if you don’t love to be served. Raise your hand if you love serving. Humility and serving don’t come naturally to any of us. But if we want to be used by God we have to seek to live like this. Thankfully we have some pretty good examples to follow right here in our ministry. I noticed that though some of our missionaries are at or near retirement age they don’t seem to be slowing down. At a time where they’ve been serving God for over 30 years it seems like they would be deserving of a break. Wouldn’t it be natural for them to expect to be served even just a little by the rest of us? Instead they are still out there fishing, manning the table at our table ministry, cleaning, cooking, serving. That means still teaching the Bible who are younger than their own kids. I believe it is their sacrifice and love that is part of the foundation of our ministry, and a good example for us to follow. What’s interesting is I went to the AARP website thinking I would contrast our older missionaries’ serving attitude with the idea of retired people who just want to relax and do nothing. But to my surprise I found this. The AARP’s common motto is: “To serve, not be served.”

II. Saul confirmed as king (11:1-15)

Read verses 1-2. Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh Gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said to him, "Make a treaty with us, and we will be subject to you." But Nahash the Ammonite replied, "I will make a treaty with you only on the condition that I gouge out the right eye of every one of you and so bring disgrace on all Israel." How many of you know anything about the city of Jabesh Gilead? None of you because there’s nothing significant to know about Jabesh. It is a sleepy little town east of the Jordan in the tribal area of Manasseh. But this sleepy little town would become an opportunity that God would use to confirm Saul as his king and unite Israel as a nation.

Read verses 4-6. When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and reported these terms to the people, they all wept aloud. Just then Saul was returning from the fields, behind his oxen, and he asked, "What is wrong with the people? Why are they weeping?" Then they repeated to him what the men of Jabesh had said. When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he burned with anger. What an interesting sight. The king of Israel is plowing his father’s field. Apparently Saul really took the message of humility to heart. Or more likely Israel still hadn’t figured out what to do with its new king. Either way look again at what happened when Israel’s new king heard the news that Jabesh had been attacked. The Spirit once again came upon him in power and he burned with anger.

Here the Holy Spirit works to drive out any fear in Saul’s heart and makes him bold to lead his people against the Ammonites. We know Saul was a timid man when he hid among the baggage at his own inauguration. (10:22) He probably had no experience in war or battle. He was a donkey finder for his father, and a farmer. But the Spirit of God gave him strength to be bold in the face of this threat to his nation. It also made him bold to summon all the tribes of Israel together to defend this small insignificant town. Look at verse 7. He took a pair of oxen, cut them into pieces, and sent the pieces by messengers throughout Israel, proclaiming, "This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not follow Saul and Samuel." Then the terror of the LORD fell on the people, and they turned out as one man. 330,000 men turned out for battle. Without the working of the Spirit, none of this was possible. How do we know this? Because we see Saul before Goliath and the Philistines paralyzed by fear without God’s power. There it is David who is filled with God’s spirit and burns with anger. How can we be the Saul who fights the Ammonites instead of fearful Saul who was helpless against Goliath?

We have to continually seek God through his word, obey what it says, and the Holy Spirit will work in our lives. Juan Amar seems like a quiet guy. The first time I saw him give a presentation at our YDJ meeting he seemed a little nervous. When you shine a spotlight on him, he seems kind of shy. He likes to play the guitar as an accompaniment, but he doesn’t like to sing. Some might mistake this as being timid or shy. The real Juan Amar is neither of these things. Put him on campus with his Bible and he becomes a crouching tiger ready to pounce with the word of God. Juan, what makes you so bold to witness on campus? You must have taken an evangelism class at seminary? Or even a public speaking class at Maryland? Your Bible teacher must be forcing you to do it? None of the above. Juan does it out of a deep acceptance of God’s word. In his decision of faith to obey God empowers him to overcome any fear to be a bold witness. Juan also rallies those around him like Saul did the Israelites. So that other YDJ members might be encouraged to go and talk to students. He even quietly rebukes me. I received by piece of oxen through my wife who told me Juan said, “We need you to go fishing too.” It’s great. This is the exact kind of power Jesus refers to in Acts 1:8. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. We definitely need more bold witnesses on our campuses, or in our workplaces, or overseas. To be equipped to be witnesses, we need God’s word, to obey it, and to receive the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit also fills us with his grace and peace. Read verses 11-13. The next day Saul separated his men into three divisions; during the last watch of the night they broke into the camp of the Ammonites and slaughtered them until the heat of the day. Those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together. The people then said to Samuel, "Who was it that asked, 'Shall Saul reign over us?' Bring these men to us and we will put them to death." But Saul said, "No one shall be put to death today, for this day the LORD has rescued Israel."

By the end of Saul’s life he had no peace in his heart. He was filled with jealousy, anger, and murderous thoughts. Saul later in life probably would have gladly put these men to death. But here he recognizes the hand of God to deliver them. He has the peace that comes from knowing that God is with him. Saul may have been king in title, but God is the king of kings.

Peace comes from entrusting everything into God’s hands and acknowledging him as the Lord over our lives. If we submit ourselves to God and give him control over our life circumstances, we will have this kind of peace and we will be more gracious and loving people. If we don’t submit ourselves to God, we are filled with the darkness of our own sin which leads to discord, anger, and bitterness with our neighbor.

In this passage, God reveals to us his sovereignty in choosing Saul as king. He also reveals to us that his Spirit is the true source of our strength and power. Without it we can do nothing. May we submit ourselves to the king of kings that we might be his effective servants. Let’s read the key verse.