Attribution: the Providence Lithograph Company, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
God chose Saul son of Kish to become Israel’s first king. God chose Samuel, a prophet and priest, to anoint King Saul.
Did God make a mistake? Or did Samuel?
Neither.
The Israelites made the mistake. To this point in Israel’s history, God ALONE had been their King. Previously, when they were in trouble, God sent faithful people like Moses, Aaron, Deborah, and Barak to rescue them. But now, the Israelites became terrified and DEMANDED an earthly king.
[So Samuel said to those gathered,] “When you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we want a king to rule over us’—even though the Lord your God was your king.”
1 Samuel 12:12
Who Is This Samuel Character?
Samuel became both prophet and priest in Israel. His birth and beginning years were miraculous, proving God’s anointing from the moment of his conception. He was Hannah’s firstborn son. Hannah was one of many misunderstood women in the Bible. For years, her womb had been barren, and her husband chose to marry a second wife, Peninnah, who was very fertile and just as snarky (1 Sam. 1:2).
Hannah went with her husband every year to the Tabernacle. One year, she approached the altar (a definite no-no for any woman) and began to pray silently. Eli, the high priest, thought she was drunk. Evidently, the combination of approaching the altar and moving your lips without making a sound meant you’d had too much wine? She convinced him she wasn’t drunk, and he felt so bad about his mistake that he prayed for Yahweh to open her womb (1 Sam. 1:12-17).
And He did! But Hannah had bargained with God: if He gave her a son, she’d give her son (after he was weaned) for service in the Tabernacle. Samuel was born, and at a very young age, he was given to Eli to serve in the Tabernacle (1 Sam. 1:20-28).
Why Choose Saul?
I’ll give you my opinion, but since no one can know the mind of God, remember–it’s only my opinion. Scripture presents a picture of pre-royal Saul as extremely modest and rather unqualified for the job, which is precisely the sort of man God would be looking for!
A Well Known & Handsome Donkey Farmer
“There was a Benjamite, a man of standing, whose name was Kish…Kish had a son named Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else. Now the donkeys belonging to Saul’s father Kish were lost, and Kish said to his son Saul, ‘Take one of the servants with you and go and look for the donkeys.'”
1 Samuel 9:1-3
Humble
“Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed this to Samuel: ‘About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him ruler over my people Israel; he will deliver them from the hand of the Philistines…[When he met Saul, Samuel said,] ‘As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them; they have been found. And to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and your whole family line?’ Saul answered, ‘But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?’
1 Samuel 9:15-16, 20-21
…Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it on Saul’s head and kissed him, saying, ‘Has not the Lord anointed you ruler over his inheritance?'”
1 Samuel 10:1
[When Samuel came to anoint the king, the lot fell to Saul, but no one could find him among the crowd…] “So they inquired further of the Lord, ‘Has the man come here yet?’ And the Lord said, ‘Yes, he has hidden himself among the supplies.’ They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others. 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!'”
1 Samuel 10:22–24
Receptive to the Holy Spirit
“When [Saul] and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he joined in their prophesying.”
1 Samuel 10:10
So What Changed?
Attribution: Willem Swanenburg-Abraham Bloemaert-Biblioteca Nacional de España, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
God doesn’t change. Samuel remained faithful.
Saul changed. Pride slipped in and made him think HE knew better than God. It’s the same sin that got Eve in the Garden. It’s the same sin that gets most of us if we walk back most of our motivation for wrongdoing…
God’s Instruction Through Samuel Is Clear
“Samuel said to Saul, ‘I am the one the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.” ‘ “
1 Samuel 15:1–3 (emphasis added)
Saul’s Disobedience Is Also Clear – To Everyone But Saul
“Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.”
1 Samuel 15:9 (emphasis added)
“Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, ‘Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.'”
1 Samuel 15:12
“When Samuel reached him, Saul said, ‘The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.’ But Samuel said, ‘What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?’ Saul answered, ‘The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.’ ‘Enough!’ Samuel said to Saul…’Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel. And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; wage war against them until you have wiped them out.’ Why did you not obey the Lord? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the Lord?’ ‘But I did obey the Lord,’ Saul said…I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”
1 Samuel 15:13-21 (emphasis added)
God Deals With Saul
Yahweh chooses the HUMBLE:
- Saul: “But God, I’m from the smallest tribe in Israel! I’m a nobody!”
God can even deal with HIDING:
- “Where’s Saul?” Hiding with the supplies (some translations: with the baggage). AKA: “Please God, don’t make me do this. It’s too much for me.”
El Shaddai WILL NOT abide the HAUGHTY:
- God didn’t cut and run the first time he disobeyed–or the second. So, let’s not feel sorry for Saul. Instead, let’s consider how sneakily pride can slip in for us all–and say no to the serpent’s tricks! After Samuel announced the bad news, he actually cried for the king he had anointed…
“‘You have done a foolish thing,’ Samuel said. ‘You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.'”
1 Samuel 13:13–14
Though it’s hard to realize timelines when you’re reading through pages of Scripture, my research shows that Samuel prophesied this BEFORE David was born. Doesn’t that make David’s Psalm 139 even more precious?
“For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
Psalm 139:13–14 (emphasis added)
Today’s Question:
- What steps can we take in our own context to avoid pride?
You’ll meet both King Saul and Samuel in my October release: Brave: The Story of Ahinoam, Book #1 in my new series, King David’s Brides. CLICK HERE if you’d like to pre-order from Amazon. But if you’re looking for a paperback, you can buy it much cheaper from Baker Book House here!
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