Samuel Anoints Sha’ul
First Samuel 9:26 to 10:16
Samuel anoints Sha’ul DIG: After Sha’ul’s anointing, what three signs assured him that ADONAI truly had chosen him? What three lessons about God’s care should Sha’ul have learned from the signs? What about Sha’ul’s coronation did he have in common with David and Solomon? Why the private coronation, when there would be a public coronation later? In what sense did God change Sha’ul into a different person?
REFLECT: Sha’ul was tall and handsome – he looked like a leader. Have you ever been tempted to follow or partner with someone because he or she looked good? If so, when? How did that turn out? If some seer were reading all that was in your heart and telling you where your lost items were, would you have responded as Sha’ul did? Why or why not? In what sense did God change you into a different person?
Then Samuel took a flask of oil he had prepared,
and poured it on Sha’ul’s head, setting him apart for service.
Samuel anoints Sha’ul (9:26 to 10:1): After the feast at the high place (9:22-24), having returned to the city and spent the night on Samuel’s cool of the rooftop (to see link click Bw – Samuel meets Sha’ul), both Sha’ul and Samuel got up early. About daybreak, Samuel called out to Sha’ul on the roof, “Get up, so I can send you on your way.” When Sha’ul got up, he and Samuel went outside Ramah together because Samuel needed to talk to Sha’ul in private. As they were going down, at the edge of the city, Samuel said to Sha’ul, “Tell your servant to go on ahead of us” – and the servant did so. In that way, the servant would not witness the private coronation of the king; it was only to be between Sha’ul and Samuel. But you stay here awhile, so that I can give you a message from ADONAI (9:26-27).
The time had not yet come for a public coronation of Isra’el’s first king, and from Sha’ul’s perspective it was probably merciful that he should be given some time to adjust to the sudden reality that he had been chosen by YHVH. Then Samuel took a flask of oil he had prepared, and poured it on Sha’ul’s head, setting him apart for service. He kissed him and said, “ADONAI has anointed you as the prince (Hebrew: nagid) over His people” (9:17 and 10:1). The word “king” is deliberately avoided because YHVH is Isra’el’s King.229 This was his private coronation; but his public coronation would come soon (see By – Long Live the King). Both David (Second Samuel 2:4 and Second Samuel 5:3) and Solomon also had double coronations (First Kings 1:28 and First Chronicles 29:21). But for Sha’ul, from that moment on, he was the leader of God’s people; however, only Samuel and Sha’ul knew about it. How would young Sha’ul be sure that ADONAI really chose him? Samuel gave Sha’ul three signs, or prophecies, that he would encounter as he made his way home.230
The first sign (10:2): After you leave me today, you will find two men by Rachel’s Tomb, in the territory of Benjamin at Tzeltzah. They will tell you that the donkeys you were searching for have been found (news that Sha’ul had already heard from Samuel), and that your father has stopped thinking about the donkeys and is worried about you, asking: What am I to do about my son? Apparently those men knew who Sha’ul was, and that he had been away from home seeking his father’s donkeys. This should have been a good experience for him, for it should have assured Sha’ul that ADONAI could solve his problems. But one of Sha’ul’s greatest failures as a leader was his inability to take his hands off situations and let God work. In modern language, Sha’ul was a “control freak.” Yet, while Sha’ul and his servant were dining with Samuel, God was at work saving the lost donkeys.231
The second sign (10:3-4): Then you will go on from there, and you will come to the Oak of Tavor. Three men will meet you there on their way up to God at Bethel. This signified a return to the LORD. Abraham did it (Genesis 12:8 and 13:1-4), and so did Jacob (Genesis 28:18-19 and 35:1-15). In spite of the nation’s unbelief, there were still devoted people in the Land who honored ADONAI and sought His face. One of them will be carrying three baby goats (for a sacrifice), another three loaves of bread (for a grain offering) and the third a skin of wine (for a drink offering). They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, one for Sha’ul and one for his servant, which you are to accept from them. God was trying to show the young king that not only could He solve his problems, but that He could also supply his needs. As the first king of Isra’el, he would have to raise up an army and provide food and equipment the men needed; thus, he would have to depend on YHVH.232
The third sign (10:5-7): After that, you will come to Gibeah, meaning the hill of God, where the Philistines are garrisoned. On arrival at the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place, preceded by lutes, tambourines, flutes and lyres; and they will be prophesying. Then the Spirit of ADONAI will fall on you; you will prophesy with them and be turned into a different person (see Samuel and the prophets below)! This did not mean that Sha’ul had a personal relationship with YHVH, but refers to a different attitude and outlook. The young king would hopefully now think and act like a leader who served the LORD and obeyed His will. Therefore, God was trying to show Sha’ul that not only could He solve his problems and supply his needs, but that He would empower Sha’ul with the power he needed for service. When these signs come over you, just do whatever you feel like doing, because God is with you (10:5-7). Even after the three signs, Sha’ul was to simply go about his normal routine until his public coronation.233
Then Samuel told Sha’ul, after your public coronation, “You are to go down ahead of me to Gilgal, the place where Joshua had renewed Isra’el’s covenant with God (see the commentary on Joshua Ct – The Renewal of the Covenant), and wait there seven days, until I come and tell you what to do.” Since it was situated in a valley, a thousand feet below sea-level, the traveler would literally have to go down to get there. Once Sha’ul was there, Samuel would come down to offer Sha’ul burnt offerings and present sacrifices as peace offerings (see the commentary on Leviticus At – The Peace Offerings, at Peace with God), which were presumably intended to thank God for the victory Sha’ul would have won over the Philistines. But he was warned, “You must wait there seven days, until I come to you and tell you what to do” (after a year of thinking about it, see what happened in Cc – Samuel Rebukes Sha’ul). As it happened, as soon as Sha’ul had turned his back to leave Samuel, God changed Sha’ul’s heart; and all those signs took place that day (10:8-9). All three signs were fulfilled, but only Sha’ul among the prophets is recorded in the Bible.
Sha’ul among the prophets (10:10-12): Isra’el’s elders had demanded a worldly king, and God sent Sha’ul as His answer. Sha’ul was the anointed one and king for unbelieving Isra’el, and would bring relief from the heavy Philistine hand. To that end, Ha’Shem sent the Ruach Ha’Kodesh to equip Sha’ul for the task ahead.234 For the first time in his life, the Spirit enabled Sha’ul to have a personal experience with the LORD and to express it in praise and worship. Had Sha’ul continued to nurture this walk with ADONAI, his life would have been much different. There is no evidence that Sha’ul was a wicked person, but he was a secular person, not a spiritual person. When they arrived at Gibeah (10:5), right there in front of him was a group of prophets, the Spirit of God fell on him and he prophesied along with them. The people of Gibeah, who evidently knew Sha’ul, were not impressed.235 When people from his own home town saw him prophesying with the prophets, they asked each other, “What’s happened to Kish’s son? Is Sha’ul a prophet, too?” They saw an obvious change in him. Then, someone in the crowd answered, “Must prophets’ fathers be special?” So it became a proverbial expression – “Is Sha’ul also among the prophets?” Not that Sha’ul had become a prophet, but that the Spirit of God, coming on Sha’ul in power, authenticated him as Isra’el’s next king. 236 But did Sha’ul’s changed heart result in a new zeal to serve God and obey His Word? The answer was “No!”
Sha’ul’s return home (10:13-16): So, when Sha’ul had finished prophesying, he returned home and went back to work on the farm as though nothing remarkable had happened. He knew he was to say nothing about the anointing, so he didn’t mention anything about it to his family. Apparently the news about his prophetic experiences hadn’t reached as far as Gibeah. Sha’ul’s uncle, doubtless seeking information, said to him and his servant, “Where did you go?” Sha’ul answered: To look for the donkeys. When we saw that they hadn’t been found, we went to Samuel. It appears that the news of Sha’ul’s feasting with Samuel had already spread and needed to be explained.237 “Tell me, please,” said Sha’ul’s uncle, “what Samuel said to you.” He obviously felt that the meeting with Samuel had a lot more to do than just with lost donkeys. However, Sha’ul answered his uncle, saying, “He told us that the donkeys had been found,” which was true, but said nothing to him about the matter of his being made king. One more task awaited Sha’ul, and that was to meet Samuel at Gilgal and have his public coronation. This would be a test to see if Sha’ul was truly devoted to ADONAI and willing to obey Him. Unfortunately, he failed.238
Dear heavenly Father, praise You for being such a wonderful Father! You are always watching over me to bless me and never to harm me. You do test me sometimes, so that You can bless and reward me when I pass the test. For no one can lay any other foundation than what is already laid – which is Yeshua the Messiah. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear. For the Day will show it, because it is to be revealed by fire; and the fire itself will test each one’s work – what sort it is. If anyone’s work built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward (First Corinthians 3:11-14)!
How reassuring to know that never do you temp anyone to fall. Temptations come thru someone’s own desires and also thru Satan who tempts, so that someone will fall and miss your blessing. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God” – for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He himself tempts no one. But each one is tempted when he is dragged away and enticed by his own desire. Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is full grown, it brings forth death (James 1:13-15).
You are always so kind and loving to me. Even when You discipline me, You do it for my best, to bring me joy as I turn away from sin and seek to draw closer to You in obedience. My son, do not take lightly the discipline of Adonai or lose heart when you are corrected by Him, because Adonai disciplines the one He loves . . . Now all discipline seems painful at the moment – not joyful. But later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:5-6a, 11). Messiah’s goal is to train His children thru discipline that His children may produce the peaceful fruit of righteousness. You are the supreme joy of my life and I delight in loving, praising and serving You! In Messiah Yeshua’s holy Name and power of His resurrection. Amen
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