The Man Who Would Be King
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As we read through the book of Samuel, it really read like a novel. There are some parts that have a lot of description and so they are difficult to divide. Today we come to one of those sections, and so we’re going to read excerpts from First Samuel, chapters 9 & 10. I invite you to listen - the text will not be displayed on the screen. As we prepare to listen to this text from God’s word, let us pray.
PRAYER
Invite Drew up to read
There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth. And he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.
Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul his son, “Take one of the young men with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.” And he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then they passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them.
When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let us go back, lest my father cease to care about the donkeys and become anxious about us.” But he said to him, “Behold, there is a man of God in this city, and he is a man who is held in honor; all that he says comes true. So now let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us the way we should go.”
1 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince over his heritage.
9 When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day.
20 Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. 21 He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its clans, and the clan of the Matrites was taken by lot; and Saul the son of Kish was taken by lot. But when they sought him, he could not be found. 22 So they inquired again of the Lord, “Is there a man still to come?” and the Lord said, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.” 23 Then 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 And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? There is none like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
So let’s take a quick look at the main characters we have in our passage today:
Saul - this guy is tall and really good looking. Tall dark and handsome probably would be good descriptions of him.
Samuel - the prophet - he’s been judging Israel as we know, and now has been told to anoint a king.
God - God is the one putting things into place, it’s important that we recognize that God is orchestrating all of this.
The People of Israel - they wanted a king, and they’re about to get him.
There are others, and when we study the Bible it can be a great thing to answer the 5 W’s and the H.
Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How - these are all observation questions as long as their answers are specifically stated. If they are not stated they can become interpretation and we want to be clear on that.
So let’s focus on Saul - the man who would be the first king of Israel. First we learn of Saul’s pedigree through his father:
1 There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth.
Lineage is everything to the people of Israel, and the tribes are important. We don’t have time to go into it all here this morning, but if you go back you will see throughout the Bible there are 12 tribes of Israel, and Benjamin is the smallest tribe of all of them. You have to love the way that God so often uses the underdog.
Kish - Saul’s father is a man with humble heritage and a man of great wealth
2 And he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.
Wow! Can you imagine this guy is not only handsome, he’s the most handsome man in the entire nation. And in case you might doubt it, it’s God’s Word!
And he’s taller than anyone else around him. He rises head and shoulders above the rest.
Good looking, tall, from a wealthy family - that sounds like someone that would be chosen to be a leader.
Indeed this is the man that God has chosen to be Israel’s first king. While he and his servant are out looking for his father’s donkeys they go to see Samuel. Samuel had been told by God:
16 “Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have seen my people, because their cry has come to me.”
At this point in Saul’s life there is a humility about him despite his stature. When Samuel reveals to him that all of Israel is looking to him and his father’s house, he says:
21 Saul answered, “Am I not a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel? And is not my clan the humblest of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?”
As we go through our story we will see that Samuel does anoint Saul:
1 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince over his heritage.
There’s a great promise there.
So this is the private anointing of Saul. As the passage continues Samuel lets Saul know of several signs that will be proofs that what he has said of him is true: people that he will meet along his journey home, where exactly he will meet them, what exactly they will be carrying, what they will give him, even what he will do as he walks among them.
The specifics are astounding, and they all come true EXACTLY as Samuel told him.
That’s how you know someone has the gift of prophecy - what they prophesy happens exactly as they tell you. It’s not the vague reflections of a horoscope.
Samuel gathers the people at Mizpah, and they start casting lots - it’s sort of like rolling dice to make a decision. And the lot fell on the tribe of Benjamin. Then he gathered the clans of Benjamin and the lot fell on the Matrites, and then on the family of Kish and ultimately on Saul. And where is Saul - they can’t find him.
So what do they do? They turn to God and inquire of the Lord. And God outs hims, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.”
I love the contrast here - all these things have happened to Saul, the Spirit of the Lord has come upon him, he’s been given a new heart and when faced with the very purpose for which he has been anointed where is he? Hiding.
God’s Call on You
God’s Call on You
God calls each one of us. I believe that. If you know the whole story of Saul, I think in many ways he gets judged too harshly.
Saul was chosen not by man - though he fit their vision of what a king should like and the type of family he should come from - tall, handsome, wealthy...
He’d been told of his chosenness - Samuel anointed him, and beyond that prophesied over him about all these things that would happen on his journey home, and every single one of them did!
If that weren’t enough - God tells him of his chosenness. There’s no such thing as chance, and the casting of lots would be considered a game of chance today. As I said its similar to rolling dice- ans since God controls everything - the lot fell on the tribe of Benjamin, the clan of the Matrites, the family of Kish, and ultimately upon Saul.
And where is Saul?
Hiding.
I think we can all relate to that.
Where do you hide?
Where do you hide?
Where do you hide?
Where in your world might God be calling you to serve Him?
Where do you feel overwhelmed and want to run for cover?
Where do you deny the power of God in your life?
I recently watched a movie Hacksaw Ridge.
It’s the true story of Pvt. Desmond T Doss, who won the Congressional Medal of Honor despite refusing to bear arms during WWII on religious grounds. Though he was drafted they soon tried to oust him due to his pacifist stance. But he wanted to serve. It’s not a pretty movie, but the depiction of his conviction to his faith, his bravery, and his humility is inspiring.
God call us, not because we’re up for the task but so that we might remember that He is.
Last week in Session I read a passage from Luke to our elders. This is how Jesus sent out 72 of his disciples:
And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals, and greet no one on the road.
lambs in the midst of wolves - so you know what you’re facing, you’d better prepare for it, right?
Wrong.
Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals...
One of the elders commented, “It’s like he was saying to not rely on ourselves or the things of this world, but on God.”
I think that is very much what we can learn from what we observe from Saul. He recognizes the task is daunting. It’s overwhelming, and yet he’s been called, he’s been chosen. So now, how will he respond?
The task is daunting. It’s overwhelming and yet you’ve been called, you’ve been chosen. So now, how will you respond?