April
5th 1
Samuel 9
B. Saul – The Peoples King
Samuel anoints Saul King
1:
Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of
Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a
Benjamite, a mighty man of power. 2:
And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a
goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier
person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any
of the people. 3:
And the asses of Kish Saul's father were lost. And Kish said to Saul
his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek
the asses. 4:
And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of
Shalisha, but they found them not: then they passed through the land
of Shalim, and there they were not: and he passed through the land of
the Benjamites, but they found them not. 5:
And when they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant
that was with him, Come, and let us return; lest my father leave
caring for the asses, and take thought for us. 6:
And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God,
and he is an honourable man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass:
now let us go thither; peradventure he can shew us our way that we
should go. 7:
Then said Saul to his servant, But, behold, if we go, what shall we
bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is
not a present to bring to the man of God: what have we? 8:
And the servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I have here at
hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will I give to the
man of God, to tell us our way. 9:
(Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he
spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a
Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.)
Saul
Prophesies
10:
Then said Saul to his servant, Well said; come, let us go. So they
went unto the city where the man of God was. 11:
And as they went up the hill to the city, they found young maidens
going out to draw water, and said unto them, Is the seer here? 12:
And they answered them, and said, He is; behold, he is before you:
make haste now, for he came to day to the city; for there is a
sacrifice of the people to day in the high place: 13:
As soon as ye be come into the city, ye shall straightway find him,
before he go up to the high place to eat: for the people will not eat
until he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice; and afterwards
they eat that be bidden. Now therefore get you up; for about this
time ye shall find him. 14:
And they went up into the city: and when they were come into the
city, behold, Samuel came out against them, for to go up to the high
place. 15:
Now the LORD had told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came,
saying, 16:
To morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of
Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people
Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the
Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is
come unto me.
Saul
King of Israel
17:
And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said unto him, Behold the man whom
I spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my people. 18:
Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, Tell me, I pray
thee, where the seer's house is. 19:
And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the seer: go up before me
unto the high place; for ye shall eat with me to day, and to morrow I
will let thee go, and will tell thee all that is in thine heart. 20:
And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy
mind on them; for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of
Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father's house? 21:
And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of
the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of
the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me? 22:
And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them into the
parlour, and made them sit in the chiefest place among them that were
bidden, which were about thirty persons. 23:
And Samuel said unto the cook, Bring the portion which I gave thee,
of which I said unto thee, Set it by thee. 24:
And the cook took up the shoulder, and that which was upon it, and
set it before Saul. And Samuel said, Behold that which is left! set
it before thee, and eat: for unto this time hath it been kept for
thee since I said, I have invited the people. So Saul did eat with
Samuel that day. 25:
And when they were come down from the high place into the city,
Samuel communed with Saul upon the top of the house. 26:
And they arose early: and it came to pass about the spring of the
day, that Samuel called Saul to the top of the house, saying, Up,
that I may send thee away. And Saul arose, and they went out both of
them, he and Samuel, abroad. 27:
And as they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to
Saul, Bid the servant pass on before us, (and he passed on,) but
stand thou still a while, that I may shew thee the word of God.
1 Samuel 10
1:
Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and
kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee
to be captain over his inheritance? 2:
When thou art departed from me to day, then thou shalt find two men
by Rachel's sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they
will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found:
and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth
for you, saying, What shall I do for my son? 3:
Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the
plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God
to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves
of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine: 4:
And they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which
thou shalt receive of their hands. 5:
After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison
of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come
thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets
coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a
pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy: 6:
And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt
prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man. 7:
And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as
occasion serve thee; for God is with thee. 8:
And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come
down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices
of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee,
and shew thee what thou shalt do. 9:
And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel,
God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that
day. 10:
And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets
met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among
them. 11:
And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that,
behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to
another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also
among the prophets? 12:
And one of the same place answered and said, But who is their father?
Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets? 13:
And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high
place. 14:
And Saul's uncle said unto him and to his servant, Whither went ye?
And he said, To seek the asses: and when we saw that they were no
where, we came to Samuel. 15:
And Saul's uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto
you. 16:
And Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly that the asses were
found. But of the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spake, he
told him not. 17:
And Samuel called the people together unto the LORD to Mizpeh; 18:
And said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith the LORD God of
Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of
the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and
of them that oppressed you: 19:
And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of
all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto
him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves
before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands. 20:
And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the
tribe of Benjamin was taken. 21:
When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their
families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was
taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found. 22:
Therefore they inquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet
come thither. And the LORD answered, Behold, he hath hid himself
among the stuff. 23:
And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the
people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and
upward. 24:
And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath
chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the
people shouted, and said, God save the king. 25:
Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, 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. 26:
And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of
men, whose hearts God had touched. 27:
But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they
despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.
In todays Bible
reading we see Saul anointed King of Israel. Saul was of the favoured
tribe Benjamin and his father was a mighty man of power. He had a son
called Saul who was good looking and distinctive and he was very tall
head and shoulders above all men. Everybody literally looked up to
him. He was 16” taller than the average man in Israel. Saul was
sent by his father to go and find the donkeys of his father that were
lost. Saul wandered far but didn’t find them. Eventually he
descided to go to find a man of God who would help him to find them.
In those days prophets were called ‘Seers’. When they went into
the city Samuel came out to meet them. The Lord had already told
Samuel that Saul would come looking for him. He said to Saul stay
today and tomorrow l will tell you everything. And by the way your
donkeys have been found. They ate that night together but in the
morning Samuel called him up to the top of the house and they went to
walk together. Then Samuel said let the men go on l want to talk to
you alone. Then Samuel took a vial of oil and anointed Samuel oon his
head and kissed him. Then he gave very specific instructions as to
what Saul was to do next. He was eventually going to meet a company
of prophets. Samuel said you will prophesy with them and you will be
changed into another man altogether. He said when these things happen
you will know that you are chosen king. Samuel said to Saul wait for
7 days. When Saul left Samuel God gave him a different heart. When
Saul met the prophets the Spirit of God came on him and he prophesied
too. It became a proverb that men said, ‘Is Saul a prophet’?
Samuel called together the children of Israel and recounted all that
the LORD had done for them (As if it were a personal experience) Then
Samuel gathered the tribes together and cast lots and first the tribe
of Benjamin was chosen. Then the family of Kish and then Saul
himself. However when Saul was chosen he was not present he had hid
himself. When he was found he was brought out and they all saw how
tall he was. Then Samuel said this is the man that God has chosen -
He will be king over Israel. All the people shouted, ‘God save the
King’. Then Samuel told the people what the kingdom would be like
under Saul and he wrote everything in a book and laid up the book
before the Lord. Saul went away to serve the LORD and there went a
band of Men whose hearts were touched by the LORD. The evil men of
Belial said that Saul was a bad idea but Saul did not argue with
them.
- Why did Israel ask for a king?
- What sort of man was Saul?
- What sort of men attached themselves to the new king?
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