When God is Not King
Read 1 Samuel 10:1-27
“Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you mightily, and you shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man.” (1 Samuel 10:6)
Introduction to Chapter 10
Samuel anointed Saul with oil, proclaiming God’s choice of Saul as king to lead Israel. He outlined three significant events that would occur as Saul journeyed back home:
Peace of Heart
Samuel assured Saul that God had not forgotten his diligence in the task of finding the donkeys. He declared that the donkeys had been found, giving Saul peace of heart to focus on his higher calling (1 Samuel 10:2).
Priestly Anointing
Saul would encounter three men going up to Bethel to worship God. One of them, carrying three loaves of bread, would offer Saul two loaves. This was not a random act but a divine confirmation of Saul’s priestly role, symbolizing provision and spiritual authority (1 Samuel 10:3-4).
God’s Commissioning
At Gibeah, Saul would meet a group of prophets. There, the Spirit of God would come upon him powerfully, enabling him to prophesy and marking a transformation in his life. He would be a changed man, commissioned for the divine task ahead (1 Samuel 10:5-7).
The Power of Spiritual Commissioning
Saul’s initial timidity stands in sharp contrast to the boldness that comes with the Spirit of God. He hid among the baggage when it was time for Samuel to present him as king (1 Samuel 10:22), a reflection of his human fear and insecurity. Yet, when the Spirit of God empowered him, Saul was transformed.
In the Old Testament, the coming of the Spirit symbolized God’s commissioning of individuals for His purposes. When the Spirit of God descended, ordinary men and women were empowered to fulfil extraordinary roles in God’s plan.
You Have Been Commissioned
For believers today, the Holy Spirit serves as a seal of our salvation and a pledge of our eternal inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14). This commissioning is not for passivity but for bold action—to testify that Jesus is the Son of God who conquered sin and death through His crucifixion and resurrection.
Our call mirrors the commissioning in Acts 1:1-11: to bear witness to Christ in our lives, empowered by the Spirit to proclaim His truth and advance His Kingdom until His return.
Reflection
This passage challenges us to consider the transformative power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Saul’s journey from an ordinary man searching for donkeys to being anointed as king underscores how God uses the mundane to prepare us for the extraordinary.
The Holy Spirit’s work is not limited to an external calling; it is an inward transformation that equips us to overcome fear and step into God’s purposes with boldness. Like Saul, we may feel unworthy or timid in the face of God’s call, but the Spirit empowers us to rise above our insecurities and embrace our divine commissioning.
In a world that constantly pressures us to conform, the Spirit renews our minds, enabling us to stand firm in our faith and live as ambassadors of Christ. Our commissioning is not just a personal privilege; it is a responsibility to proclaim the gospel and reflect God’s love in a broken world.
Let this reflection remind us of the Spirit’s transformative power and our call to live boldly, testifying to the hope we have in Christ. May we rely on God’s Spirit to lead us, empower us, and transform us for His glory.
1 Samuel 10: 1 - 27
10 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. 2 When you depart from me today, you will meet two men by Rachel's tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you, ‘The donkeys that you went to seek are found, and now your father has ceased to care about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?”’ 3 Then you shall go on from there farther and come to the oak of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. 4 And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from their hand. 5 After that you shall come to Gibeath-elohim,where there is a garrison of the Philistines. And there, as soon as you come to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying. 6 Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. 7 Now when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you. 8 Then go down before me to Gilgal. And behold, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.”
9 When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day. 10 When they came to Gibeah, behold, a group of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them. 11 And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, “What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” 12 And a man of the place answered, “And who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” 13 When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.
14 Saul's uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, “To seek the donkeys. And when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.” 15 And Saul's uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” 16 And Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But about the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him anything.
Saul Proclaimed King
17 Now Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah. 18 And he said to the people of Israel, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ 19 But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said to him, ‘Set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your thousands.”
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!”
25 Then Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his home. 26 Saul also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched. 27 But some worthless fellows said, “How can this man save us?” And they despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace.