God has plans to lead you on straight paths in this new year. Will you trust in Him? Join Dr. Marty Baker as he takes us to 1 Samuel 10 to see the ways that God was working through a broken man like Saul to show him the divine way forward as king.
From the beginning of my walk with Christ, my pastor challenged me to memorize Proverbs 3:5-6, so I did. It has challenged me my whole life. I’m sure you know it well:
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
What saint does not understand the divine directives here? Do not trust your analysis first of situations, but trust God to give you His insights. Next, whether you are raising a child as a single mother, or leading a battalion of Marines, you need to mentally acknowledge that your Lord is Lord in and over all of these events. What is the result of doing these two things as a lifestyle? God makes your life path easy and wise, as opposed to crooked and foolish.
How did you fare in 2024 with fulfilling these commands from the Lord? Do you still need some work? If so, there is grace at the foot of His throne, but He is going to look for appreciable improvement in the new year. So, what do you need to focus on? You need to remember the main message of these ancient and time-tested verses: Put God first in all that you do in life and He will go before you to bless you profoundly. If you choose not to live this wise way, then you can expect a bumpy ride.
Saul, the unsuspecting but good-looking and ripped farm boy who became Israel’s first king, had the same opportunity as you to live a life of trusting in the Lord. His private (1 Sam. 10:1-16) and public coronation (1 Sam. 10:17-27) show us this much. Within the first sixteen verses of First Samuel 10, we see this motif showcased with this statement:
God Positions Us For Success To Advance Our Spiritual Walk And His Spiritual Kingdom (1 Sam. 10:1-16)
Though Israel’s desire for a king offended God, their true king (1 Sam. 8:6-9), He still graciously and lovingly gave Saul what he needed to excel in the new national role. And never forget how Saul came to this point of being coronated as Israel’s first king. Days before, he and a trusted servant had merely gone out looking for some of his father’s lost donkeys, and in the end, they just happened to be led to the feet of Samuel, God’s prophet, who, in turn, followed God’s will in selecting and making this hulk of a man Israel’s king. Throughout the entire process, it is evident that God’s sovereign leadership and direction worked through seemingly boring, mundane life events to place Saul where He wanted him. Once He had him where He wanted Him, He positioned and equipped him to pursue greatness or not. The choice would be Saul’s.
The same is true of your life as well. God is working in all of the seemingly dull and mundane events in your life to position you to grow spiritually and to grow His kingdom. Will you trust Him? Will you lean on Him and not your own mental acumen and connections? Or will you choose to be the Lord of your life? You, like Saul, are positioned to go far with God, but the daily decisions to do so rest with you. What will you do? What did Saul do?
Verses 1 through 8 reveal how God lovingly gave Saul a sound starting point as the new ruler. How so?
Signs Showed God’s Provision For Success (1 Sam. 10:1-8)
Don’t you know that Saul could not believe how quickly his life was radically changing? One minute, he’s looking for lost donkeys, and the next, the leader and prophet of the nation is getting ready to crown him, of all people, king. This is what we encounter in verse 1:
1 Then Samuel took the flask of oil, poured it on his head, kissed him and said, “Has not the LORD anointed you a ruler over His inheritance?
The word “anointed,” or masack (מָשַׁח ), is the Hebrew verb from which we get the word Messiah. In the OT, God anointed people like prophets (1 Kings 19:16), priests (Ex. 28:41), kings (1 Kings 1:34), and unique artisans of the Tabernacle (Ex. 31:34) to set them apart for a unique, challenging job in the nation. To anoint, therefore, meant God set you apart for a high and holy calling. In Saul’s case, God specifically anointed him to be the first human king over His inheritance. The fact that the last clause stresses God as the origin of the anointing suggests that Saul will be directly responsible to Him for his actions as the leader. Further, Saul will rule not over his people but over God’s chosen people or His inheritance (Deut. 9:26; Psalm 78:71; Isa. 19:25). What a unique and holy privilege, and with it will come assurance and empowerment.
As I just said, I’m sure these developments dumbfounded Saul. He must have wondered like you would have, “How do I know beyond a shadow of a doubt this is what God wants me to do?” God gives him ample assurance for the task at hand using three explicit and highly specific signs that could not occur by random chance.
Sovereign Sign #1: Check the lost and found (1 Sam. 10:2). Samuel had already told Saul the lost donkeys were found (1 Sam. 9:20), but here the prophet fine-tunes the revelation he acquired from God:
2 “When you go from me today, then you will find two men close to Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, ‘The donkeys which you went to look for have been found. Now behold, your father has ceased to be concerned about the donkeys and is anxious for you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?'”
Samuel was quite specific. He told Saul he’d meet two men, not one man or eight men, but two men. Where would he meet them? Samuel prophesied he would meet them near Rachel’s tomb in Benjamin’s territory. Rachel, Jacob’s second wife and matriarch of the nation of Israel, bore Joseph (who was the great type of the Messiah, Jesus, Israel’s final king) and Benjamin (Gen. 30:22-24; 35:24; 46:15-18). Saul, as we know, was from the tribe of Benjamin. The fact God gave Saul a sign at this precise location emphasized how the nation Saul would rule over was, in fact, God’s.
Additionally, these two men he’d encounter on the road back to his home would know the situation and be able to calm his fears about his father’s donkeys, who had wandered freely for three long days. How did Samuel know all of this precise information? God told him.
What would Saul hopefully learn from this precise divine word? As Warren Wiersbe points out, God showed him He could handle all his problems as a king. [1] Since God could care for wild donkeys, He could certainly help Saul ride herd on the nation’s people (who historically tended to wander off the spiritual reservation). The implication, however, is that Saul would need to trust in and lean on God, not himself. Would he? Will you?
Sovereign Sign #2: Check out three men and a tree (1 Sam. 10:3-4). The next sign is just as specific.
3 “Then you will go on further from there, and you will come as far as the oak of Tabor, and there three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you, one carrying three kids, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a jug of wine; 4 and they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from their hand.
As Saul headed south toward the mountain town of Bethel, located about twenty miles due north of Jerusalem, in the tribal land of Benjamin, he encountered three men, not four or five men, but three men going to worship at a high place in Bethel. Samuel even told Saul exactly what the men would be carrying for worship: three kids, or goats, probably for sacrifice; three loaves of bread, probably for a wave offering; and one man with a jug of wine, probably for a drink offering to the Lord (Lev. 23:13; Phil. 2:17). When Saul would meet with these worshippers, only the man with the bread would two of the three loaves. Why? So Saul could know that God could provide for his material needs and those of the people under his care. Think about it. Since God could give you bread to eat from absolute strangers without you even asking them, He could certainly provide for your needs as the leader of a growing nation with many needs. But the implication, again, was clear: Saul would need to trust in and lean on God, not himself.
Sovereign Sign #3: Check in with some prophets (1 Sam. 10:5-8). This final confirmatory sign is most interesting.
5 “Afterward you will come to the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is; and it shall be as soon as you have come there to the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and a lyre before them, and they will be prophesying. 6 “Then the Spirit of the LORD will come upon you mightily, and you shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man.
Although Saul would not be a prophet, God prophesied that he would be so filled with the Holy Spirit he would momentarily act and function like one. Why did God provide this type of sign? Again, I agree with Warren Wiersbe, who observes that God “could endue him with the power he needed for service.”[2] This is how God operates with all of us. Whatever He calls you to do to advance your spiritual walk and His kingdom, He gives you the Spirit to empower you to be successful. You, however, must avail yourself of the power. As Paul says in Ephesians 5:18:
18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, (Eph. 5).
Will you submit to the Spirit and allow His power to flow in and through you, or will you resist and live on your own power? The choice for victorious living is before you every day. What will you do?
Saul’s situation is a little different than ours, of course. The Holy Spirit had not yet been given to every saint (John 14:16-17; Eph. 1:13-14), as occurred at Pentecost (Acts 2). In the OT, the Holy Spirit was given temporarily to key, significant people like prophets and kings. Saul still, however, would, in the future, need to reflect back to the fulfillment of this precise prophecy to realize just how much he needed God’s empowerment to lead effectively.
Once all these precise signs would be fulfilled, Samuel counseled Saul on what he should do next:
7 “And it shall be when these signs come to you, do for yourself what the occasion requires; for God is with you.
This verse must be interpreted in light of verse five. The phrase in that verse, i.e., the hill of God, is Gibeath-Elohim, or the hometown of Saul known as Gibeon (1 Sam. 10:26), located in the mountains about fifteen miles northwest of Jerusalem. Here in Saul’s hometown was a garrison of the Philistines. What? What were they doing there? First, Samuel 7:13-15 speaks of how the Israelites under Samuel drove the Philistines out of the land of Israel proper. However, it is apparent they returned at some time and made such a successful incursion into Israel they staged troops where Saul came from. Don’t you know that Saul knew they were there? How could he not have been privy to this information? If foreign troops landed on the East Coast, moved unhindered inland, and set up an armed garrison outside Burke, don’t you think we’d all know about it? Definitely.
So, why is this important? It is essential insofar as Samuel told Saul to move out against the Philistine garrison after he experienced these confirmatory signs. Why do I say this? I say it because the Hebrew word “to come upon you,” or tsalah (צלח), is used of the Spirit coming upon Samson to empower him to take on the Philistines single-handedly (Jud. 14:6, 19; 15:14). In Judges 15, Samson used the jawbone from a dead donkey to slay 1,000 elite Philistine warriors. Since God could do this through Samson, could He not do the same through Saul in relation to the persistent Philistine problem? Of course. Saul, therefore, knew full well what Samuel was saying in verse 7. The Hebrew idiomatic phrase to do as he pleased was also a military saying, as we know from Judges 9:33. Hence, through the supernatural signs, he would know God was with him. When God would empower him, then he should use that divine enablement to drive the Philistines from Gibeah. More on this in a moment.
In addition to using his divine enablement to take on Israel’s enemies, which was the basis of his regal calling (15Now a day before Saul’s coming, the LORD had revealed this to Samuel saying, 16 About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over My people Israel; and he shall deliver My people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have regarded My people, because their cry has come to Me,”1 Sam. 9), Samuel counseled Saul to travel east about twenty-five miles to the city of Gilgal, located near the Jordan River.
8 “And you shall go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice peace offerings. You shall wait seven days until I come to you and show you what you should do.”
Ideally, Samuel counseled Saul to head here after he defeated the Philistines with God’s help. By giving Saul two tasks after the fulfillment of the signs, God underscored how Saul, as the new king, was not in a position to do as he liked. On the contrary, he was always supposed to trust in and lean on the Lord AND listen to God’s prophet.
Gilgal, like Rachel’s tomb, was a historically significant location for the nation. This was the first place the nation rested after entering the Promised Land (Josh. 4:19). It is also where their wilderness wanderings ended abruptly (Josh. 5:11-12). Additionally, it was in Gilgal that General Joshua had all of the male descendants of those rebellious Israelites who had died in the wilderness circumcised to show their allegiance to the Abrahamic Covenant (Josh. 5:1-11). Gilgal, therefore, was all about the nation God had formed as He providentially led them out of Egyptian bondage. Hence, by offering a burnt offering, Saul would be seeking God’s forgiveness for his sins so he could lead in a godly fashion (Lev. 1), and a peace offering (Lev. 3) to demonstrate he was, at least at this time, in a peaceful relationship with God because the blood of the sacrifice temporarily covered his sins.
The Spirit’s Presence Brought Power For Success (1 Sam. 10:9-13)
How did all of this talk about divine empowerment for a new role as king play out? Read on:
9 Then it happened when he turned his back to leave Samuel, God changed his heart; and all those signs came about on that day. 10 When they came to the hill there, behold, a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him mightily, so that he prophesied among them.
All three signs were fulfilled in one day, leaving Saul with no doubt God was with him as Israel’s first king. Interestingly enough, the fulfillment of the first two signs are just quickly mentioned with no detail, while much attention is given to the third one. Why? God emphasized through Saul’s prophetic ability that the Spirit was, in fact, present to empower Him to be a king after God’s own heart. What grace God showed this man. He took a man with many character flaws and gave him so much of the Spirit that it changed him.
Everyone who knew him in his hometown knew it, too:
11 And it came about, when all who knew him previously saw that he prophesied now with the prophets, that the people said to one another, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” 12 And a man there answered and said, “Now, 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.
Nobody could believe what they saw with their eyes and heard with their ears. Saul, who was not probably known as a profoundly spiritual man, suddenly sounded like one of the numerous passionate prophets who connected frequently with God. The sight of Saul acting like a prophet moved the people to make a national proverb from the incident: “Is Saul also among the prophets?” This is something akin to our proverbial sayings like . . .
- Don’t add insult to injury.
- A picture is worth a thousand words.
- Never look a gift horse in the mouth.
- You can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.
And you thought we had a corner on proverbial maxims? Think again. Israelites who knew Saul saw him acting like a prophet, so they said, “Say, we have to make this episode into a proverb so we will never forget it.” And so they did. Saul acting like a prophet merely showed him and the nation that God would empower him if he would trust in and lean on Him.
The same is true of you if you are a saint. God had placed you where you are for His purposes of shaping and honing your character and for using you to make a maximum impact on His kingdom in relation to how you live. You will be successful with regard to how well you seek and submit to the Lord’s empowerment. Yield to the Spirit in your marriage and He will empower you to build an excellent relationship. Yield to the Spirit in a challenging situation at work, and He will guide you through it. Yield to the Spirit with an addiction that has plagued your spiritual walk, and He will give you the strength to secure freedom. Yield as a lifestyle, and God will most certainly make your life path straight, as He will bless you immensely.
What did Saul do? That’s what we see in our final point that emerges in verses 14 through 16.
Character Traits Can Maximize Or Minimize Your Success (1 Sam. 10:14-16)
Sometimes, the little things you do or don’t do speak loudly. It is the little things that show your character. Holding the door for someone says you are thoughtful. Letting it go as someone approaches says you don’t care about them. Saying “thank you” to the person who held the door shows you are respectful. Walking past them lets them know you have a problem with pride. It also lets them know you think you are more important than they are.
Let’s drill down into what the little things of this passage tell us about Saul, the new king:
14 Now Saul’s uncle said to him and his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, “To look for the donkeys. When we saw that they could not be found, we went to Samuel.” 15 And Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” 16 So Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell him about the matter of the kingdom which Samuel had mentioned (1 Sam. 10).
Please permit me to make some observations as to why this section ends in this fashion.
One, Saul played fast and loose with the truth when he told his inquisitive uncle where he and the servant had gone. True, they wound up eventually at Samuel’s house, but it was not because of Saul’s leadership. The servant knew Samuel’s prophetic prowess (1 Sam. 9:6), not Saul. He was clueless. So he should not have so confidently said, “We went to Samuel.” He merely tagged along.
Two, Saul told his uncle about finding the donkeys, but he said absolutely nothing about being chosen by Samuel as the new and first king of the nation. Would that not be the first thing you would tell your uncle? “Say, you are not going to believe this. I went out looking for those dumb donkeys and became the King of Israel.” Why did he not mention this? I think the answer is simple. Saul failed to let the empowerment of the Spirit of God give him a single-handed, miraculous victory over the Philistines. In a word, he disobeyed God from the beginning of his rule by failing to do the first thing God asked him to do. By doing this, he showed us what kind of king he would be: selfish, impulsive, and disobedient to God. Put differently, he would tend to do his own thing while not trusting in and leaning on God. These negative character flaws sowed the seeds of his destruction. Blessing could have been his. He opted, however, to let those character flaws undercut the empowerment from the Spirit that God so wanted to give him.
What about you? As I stated in the introduction, God positions us for success to advance our spiritual walks and His spiritual kingdom (1 Sam. 10:1-16). That success is tied to the power of the Spirit we humbly allow to flow in and through us as we trust in and lean on Him daily. Since this is all so true, I must ask another personal question: What negative character flaws are inhibiting the flow of the Spirit’s power in your life right now? What negative character flaws need to move to the positive side of the ledger? Make this year the year for significant movement with God’s help.
What will change?
- The angry you will become good-natured and gentle.
- The careless you will become concerned.
- The defensive you will be open to criticism from a trusted friend.
- The impulsive you will become more thoughtful.
- The insecure you will become more self-confident and secure.
- The lazy you will become motivated and industrious.
- The stubborn you will become willing and flexible.
- The resentful you will become forgiving.
- The suspicious you will become more trusting.
When these changes occur, watch out because you will not only mature in Christ but also expand His kingdom as your words, works, and growth impact people.
[1] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Successful, “Be” Commentary Series (Colorado Springs, CO: Victor/Cook Communications, 2001), 51.
[2] Wiersbe, p. 52.
