The Calling of Saul as King
1 Samuel 9:1-10:27
Intro:
We have seen where the people made their request – Give us a king like the
other nations – Exactly what God is going to do
A KING LIKE THE OTHER NATIONS
RD v. 1-2 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
choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome
person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was
taller than any of the people.
Now the
first thing that we see about Saul is that He was a man of Power and Prestige –
A)He came from a wealthy & powerful
family among the tribes of Israel
B) So right away – He has a likening to Kings of other nations
1) Our
country today – Normal guy could never be King – Need Huge Financial
backing to fund a campaign
C) A 2nd
thing we see about Saul is that he was very Handsome – In fact it says here
that - There
was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel.
D) And he as
tall as well – taller than anyone else – He was the Shaq of Israel
1) We might say of Saul that he was the total
package – Tall/ dark / handsome and Rich { Movie Star material – Next Hollywood
Hunk –
The name Saul means
“asked of God.” Israel was asking for a king, and Saul would indeed be the one
“asked of God.”
A) And when
the people were introduced to him – most of them embraced him right away as a
good Choice – Just what they wanted -
B) There is one thing that is missing in
this description of Saul - there is nothing said about his relationship with
the LORD
1) There is nothing said because there
was nothing to say!
C) See it is true that size and looks aren’t everything. Isaac Watts was a genius of a man who wrote
some great hymns that we sing.
1) He was a brilliant man, a genius. He was only about 4’10” tall. He was a little sensitive about being a
little short. And he wrote one day,
“Were I so tall to reach the poles, or
span the oceans with my hand; I must be measured by my soul: for the mind is
the standard of man.”
D) In other words, you can be a big, strong, good looking - idiot.
1) It is the heart of a man that matters most
E) Saul reflected the spiritual state of the
whole nation of Israel.
1) There may have been some spiritual
image present, but the heart was far from where God wanted it to be. RD
v.3-5
Now this gives, some insight into Saul’s family.
A)Saul came from a good home where he
knew that a prolonged absence would cause his father to begin to worry about
him.
B) It shows that there was some kind of
loving atmosphere and relationship within the home. { I am amazed at how some kids are able to run amok
1) If you have come from a good home,
loving parents, a home of a lot of security, and love; in your list of
blessings, put that at the top.
C) It is a tremendous blessing to come
from a good home with a loving environment.
Saul had that advantage, a good home life.
D) Misconception here – Saul is not a little kid - we must
remember that we are dealing with a patriarch type of society.
1) Though Saul is still under his
father, a wealthy man, and he is out on a mission, he probably was close to thirty seven years old.
E) As soon as he was anointed king, he
conscripts an army. He takes 2000 men
under his leadership/ his son Jonathan, 1000 men under his leadership.
RD V.6-10
Now Saul was worried because the custom was that when you
went to a prophet of God to get advice or guidance, you would give an
honorarium,
A) Saul didn’t have anything. They had spent all their bread, but the
servant fortunately had a fourth part of a shekel. RD V. 11-16
B)
WHY
did the Lord speak into SAMUELS ear?. Because of what we saw in 1 SAM 8:21 And Samuel
heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the ears of the LORD.
C) Lesson: Those who speak to the Lord
intimately and frequently will hear the
Lord speak to them
D) REMEMBER:
We need to become sensitive to the voice of the Lord... That still
small voice (God Speaking)
1) Elijah – not the earthquake – not the
Fire – not the Wind – Still small
Amazed at how he was able to distinguish the still small
voice of the Lord from all that was happening around him
A) Tells me that Elijah must have spend
many hrs in the desert waiting on the Lord and learning to hear his voice
B) Do you WAIT on the Lord and SPEAK
to the Lord?
1) That is the place of HEARING from the Lord
C) That is NOT as easy as turning on the
radio or grabbing the hot selling
book
1)
It COSTS us in time
D) BUT - If we spend time with Him, we will hear from Him
E) So Samuel was expecting to find the
leader for Israel the next day because the day before the LORD had spoken to
his ear, saying, "Tomorrow
about this time I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall
anoint him commander over My people Israel, that he may save My people from the
hand of the Philistines;
Now, I think that this story is interesting, in that, it
shows us how God often works in very common, natural ways in our lives.
A)I imagine that when those donkeys ran
away it was a real bummer for Saul
B) It must have been an irritating thing
to go look for those donkeys. The
longer they looked, they could not find them.
1) But The real story or issue isn’t the
lost donkeys.
C) The real issue is to bring Saul to
this man of God, Samuel, that he might anoint him as the captain of God’s
people.
1) But Saul, looking for the donkeys,
probably being upset, getting a little worried about his dad worrying:
D) He didn’t realize that God’s hand was
in the whole situation as they were looking for these donkeys.
1) The real issue was that God was
working behind the scenes to bring him to Samuel in order that he might be
declared the man that God had chosen to be king over Israel.
I have found that God so often works in very natural ways
in our lives. A)We think that to be led
by the Spirit is some kind of trance experience. Or it only happens after – fasted for 40 days
B) But God leads us in very natural
ways: in what seems to be very natural circumstances.
1) Often, its just an impression, a
wish, or a desire. Something that he places on your heart -
C) The Bible
says that, “The steps of a good man are
ordered of the LORD: and he delights in his ways.”
The Bible says, “Commit your ways to the LORD; trust also in him; and he
shall bring it to pass. Trust in the
LORD with all your heart; and lean not into your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He
will direct your paths.”
D) So a man whose life is committed to God is a man who is
being led by God, even in the daily apparent mundane things in life.
1) Yet, God’s hand is there and guiding
him.
E) So Saul was searching for these
donkeys in a random way.
1) Yet God was leading him all the way,
bringing him to the place where the prophet of God just so happened to come
there that day.
RD V. 17-18 17 So when
Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said to him,” There he is, the man of whom I spoke to
you. This one shall reign over My people."18 Then Saul drew near to Samuel
in the gate, and said, "Please tell me, where is the seer's house?"
Now this blesses me because even though Samuel was the
Prophet of God – There was nothing that made him stand out –
A)
He wasn’t going around wearing – I am the prophet of God badge
B)
Samuel just looked like an ordinary guy –
1)
Ordinary people can be the MOUTHPIECE OF GOD
v.
19 Samuel
answered Saul and said, "I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place,
for you shall eat with me today; and tomorrow I will let you go and will tell
you all that is in your heart.20 But as for your donkeys that were lost three
days ago, do not be anxious about them, for they have been found. And on whom
is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on you and on all your father's
house?"
C)
This
was probably to assure Saul that he was a true prophet of God. See Saul didn’t mention anything about
having lost donkeys.
1) And yet, Samuel speaks the very thing
that is on his heart: what he was worried about. “As for those
donkeys, don’t worry about it; they have already gone home.” But then he said to him:
V.21 "Am I not
a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least
of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak like this
to me?"
Now here we see a good Characteristic in Saul’s life – he is
Humble
A)
He is genuinely taken back – by what Samuel is saying – I think this is one of
the reasons why God Chose Saul – He was Humble
B)
God resist the proud but Gives grace to the Humble / Humble yourself & God
will exalt you – exalt yourself
you will be humbled
C)
I
am really blessed by the Person who genuinely thinks that they are not ready
for the task –
1) I ask them to pray about something –
they are blown away- Who me ?
D) On the other hand – I am equally
repulsed by the person who responds – I have been wondering when you were going
to get around to asking ….
E)
Saul’s problem is that his Humility would be short lived – Pride goes before
destruction / haughty spirit before a fall .
1)
But
the person who is not confident in his flesh – will be confident in God
RD
V. 22-24 22 Now Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into
the hall, and had them sit in the place of honor among those who were invited;
there were about thirty persons.23 And Samuel said to the cook, "Bring the
portion which I gave you, of which I said to you, 'Set it apart.'"24 So the
cook took up the thigh with its upper part and set it before Saul. And Samuel
said, "Here it is, what was kept back. It was set apart for you. Eat; for
until this time it has been kept for you, since I said I invited the
people." So Saul ate with Samuel that day.
So Samuel holds this feast and gives Saul the special Choice
portion which was a distinct honor – the thigh of the Shoulder
A)
Interesting that Samuel gives Saul the Shoulder – speaks of Strength for Saul
was a strong man – but not the Breast – or the heart
B)
Saul
was Strong but He lacked heart/ heart for God/a heart for the people
1)
God would say of His next king – David – Man after my own heart
Rd 25-27
How we wish we could have listened to this conversation!
A) No doubt, Samuel told Saul all about
Israel’s desire for a king, and how he had to be a good king for Israel.
B) I can just imagine Samuel saying:
“Look Saul, you have
a lot going for you.
1) You have the image, you are a humble
man, and you will have the support of the people.
C) But if you don’t give your heart to
serving God, and submit to Him as
your king, you will never be a fit king
for Israel.”
Queen Victoria reigned over Great Britain
for 64 years. But when she was 11 years old, her governess showed her a list
of the kings and queens of England with her name added at the end.
When she understood what it meant, she
burst into tears. At first overwhelmed
Then she controlled herself and said
solemnly, “I will be good.”
D) Here, Samuel gave Saul the
opportunity to say with his heart, “I will be good.”
CH.10 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head,
and kissed him and said: "Is it not because the LORD has anointed you
commander over His inheritance?
A) So this anointing with oil is a
symbolic gesture: it was because God had anointed him to be the captain over
Israel.
B) The
anointing was not really accomplished by Samuel
pouring the oil on him.
1) The anointing was confirmed by Samuel pouring the oil. The anointing had come by God earlier. / Oil is symbolic of the Spirit
C) Ordination / Baptism – Anointing of
the Spirit –
Note again the Phrase - the LORD has anointed you commander
over His inheritance?
A)
Samuel
reminds Saul that Israel belongs to the LORD, they are His inheritance.
B) At the same time, Saul has an
important job to do, because God has placed him as commander over His
inheritance.
1) You & I our STEWARDS – Families /
Ministries / People
C) Saul should have tried to be the best
king he could be, because he was taking care of a people who belonged to the LORD God.
1) Same is true for every - Sunday
School teacher – Youth leader – teacher at CCS – Home group leader – Pastor
-
RD V. 2-13
3 Things happen to Saul to solidify his calling as King
A) 1st
He is given a sign{ Meets these men who confirm the Donkeys are found { Exact – 3 men etc Confirmation- My
calling – Everything went easy
B)
2nd He is anointed w/ the
Holy Spirit- and prophesies
– This reception of the Holy Spirit was the real anointing.
1) The oil poured out on Saul’s head was
just a picture of this.
C)
A gallon of oil could have been put on his head, but if the Spirit of
the LORD did not come upon him, it would have meant nothing!
1) This is a must for MINISTRY –
Anointing of the Spirit – no amount of natural talent or Gifting can make up
for that Anointing –
D) Disciples needed to be Baptized with
the Spirit
3rd He was given a new Heart v. 9 { Turned into another man
A)
The Lord’s heart – HIS EYES / HIS HEART – Does first – the heart
B)
Heart of Confidence – My eyes are on me – Scarred – Eyes are on the Lord –
another story - RD
v. 14-23
This was the first sign of weakness in Saul’s character.
A) You might be thinking , “Hey, wait a
minute. This could be another sign of
the man’s humility.”
B) No, when God has called you to a
task or mission, for you to try to hide from that call of God - is not a sign of humility,
1) it is a sign of folly, or
weakness.
C) So this hiding from the call of God
to be the chosen was the first sign of
weakness in Saul -
1) Continue to Plague him – later on not
dealing with his responsibility with King Agag –
D) I Hate Confrontation – But if I am
going to lead this Church – times when it has to be done .
Saul is getting off to a Bad Start –CH Spurgeon,wrote a
sermon using this passage called - Hiding Among the Stuff,
A) In it he shows how both believers and
unbelievers can be hidden among
the equipment, avoiding the
crown God has for them.
B) For the unbeliever it is the Crown of
Salvation / But for the Christian it could be the Crown of suffering / or
Ministry
C) There may be some of you here
present, who may be doing precisely what Saul did, only you are doing it more
foolishly than he did.
1) He did but hide away from an earthly
crown, but you hide from a heavenly one.” RD V. 24-27
Here
we see another advantage in the life of Saul
A) Not only is he big and handsome, the
son of a caring father, humble in his beginnings and endowed with spiritual
gifts
B) He is also surrounded by men whose
heart the Lord had touched
That is a POWER PACKED blessing from God