1 Samuel 10 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

1 Samuel 10

Saul Anointed King

10:1 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 prince¹ 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 prince² 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,³ 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,⁴ 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;⁵ 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.

Footnotes

[1] 10:1 Or leader
[2] 10:1 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks over his people Israel? And you shall. . . . to be prince
[3] 10:5 Gibeath-elohim means the hill of God
[4] 10:10 Gibeah means the hill
[5] 10:21 Septuagint adds finally he brought the family of the Matrites near, man by man

Commentary

v1-8: Samuel gave Saul instructions. These were signs for Saul, demonstrating God's hand upon him, and the truth of Samuel's words. Saul would be wise to heed Samuel.

v1: Samuel anointed Saul, as leader over the Lord’s people. There is no ceremony, just something simple, but with prophetic significance.

v2: The matter of the donkeys, confirming Saul's own words, 9.20.

v3-4: The provision of the bread, a simple sign, showing God's power and provision.

v5: A reminder of the enemy in the camp. The Philistines had an outpost within Israel. This would have to be dealt with.

v5-6: A spiritual experience; Saul would know that God had met with him; this is described in v9-13. Samuel was not the only prophet in Israel; there was evidently a school of the prophets (as in 19.20; 2 Kings 6.1). They worshipped and prophesied with music and dance. The significance of these schools of prophets is not clear, and not all prophets came from them, e.g: Amos was not trained (Amos 7.14-15). It seems likely that God provided a method to train and release prophets among His people.

v7: Saul had to learn to behave as the occasion demanded, doing the right thing in God's sight.

v8: The command to wait at Gilgal; this was a test of Saul's obedience. Although we may know the presence of the Spirit of God, we must still obey what God says.

v9-13: God gave Saul another heart; this is truly God's work. David had a similar experience, see 16.13. Saul prophesised with the prophets, proclaiming the word of God, rather than predicting future events. The people were surprised that Saul was among the prophets; this was a sign to the people. Presumably there is a lesson here, that leaders must be spiritual people.

v14-16: Saul returned to his uncle, who asked about the donkeys. Saul's discretion kept him from speaking about the kingdom.

Saul had been chosen as the king of Israel, not because he excelled spiritually, but to fulfil God's words in 8.10-18.

v17-25: Samuel brought the people together, so the king could be chosen in public. This would confirm the private anointing Saul had received. God's way was that the man be chosen by lot.

v26-27: There was support for Saul, from those whose hearts God had touched. The work begun under Samuel continued, as God drew the people back to Himself. Some rejected God's choice. Saul held his peace; the Lord Jesus held His peace when men rejected Him. Judgment will come upon such, but will be delayed.