Week Twenty One - Day Two

Yesterday, we read the circumstances under which Israel begins to want a king. Samuel is a little hurt by this, but God tells Samuel that they are rejecting Him by this request and not Samuel. This is an interesting exchange. It cannot be that God never intended for Israel to have a king. In fact, in Deuteronomy 17:14f, God lays out the condition under which Israel will eventually have a king and He prescribes some requirements for the king they would have.

So why does God say “it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king” (8:7)? We can’t really know for sure what is happening between Samuel and God. We are not told. But let me offer a theory.

God had said specifically in Deuteronomy 17:15 “be sure to appoint over you the king the Lord you God chooses.”

I wonder if God’s man was really David! David would end up being a righteous king. He would lead with grace and fairness. He was not a harsh task-master, but was benevolent toward his people. And even to the end, even through great mistakes, he was a man after God.

But Saul … Saul became a very harsh task-master. By the end of his life, he was not a benevolent king. At points he was cruel, and probably suffered under serious mental illness.

What if God wanted to give Israel David, but in their impatience, they demanded for a king NOW and they got Saul? What if God had a more perfect plan, but the people could not wait? What if they got what they asked for, only to find out it wasn’t what they wanted?

Chapter 9

¹⁸ Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and asked, “Would you please tell me where the seer’s house is?”

¹⁹ “I am the seer,” Samuel replied. “Go up ahead of me to the high place, for today you are to eat with me, and in the morning I will send you on your way and will tell you all that is in your heart. ²⁰ 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?”

²¹ 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?”

²² Then Samuel brought Saul and his servant into the hall and seated them at the head of those who were invited—about thirty in number. ²³ Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the piece of meat I gave you, the one I told you to lay aside.”

²⁴ So the cook took up the thigh with what was on it and set it in front of Saul. Samuel said, “Here is what has been kept for you. Eat, because it was set aside for you for this occasion from the time I said, ‘I have invited guests.’” And Saul dined with Samuel that day.

²⁵ After they came down from the high place to the town, Samuel talked with Saul on the roof of his house. ²⁶ They rose about daybreak, and Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Get ready, and I will send you on your way.” When Saul got ready, he and Samuel went outside together.

²⁷ As they were going down to the edge of the town, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us”—and the servant did so—“but you stay here for a while, so that I may give you a message from God.”

Chapter 10

¹ 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? ² When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel’s tomb, at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you set out to look for have been found. And now your father has stopped thinking about them and is worried about you. He is asking, “What shall I do about my son?”’

³ “Then you will go on from there until you reach the great tree of Tabor. Three men going up to worship God at Bethel will meet you there. One will be carrying three young goats, another three loaves of bread, and another a skin of wine. ⁴ They will greet you and offer you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from them.

⁵ “After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, timbrels, pipes and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying. ⁶ The Spirit of the LORD will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. ⁷ Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.

⁸ “Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do.”

BEFORE YOU START YOUR DAY

1. Let’s think back through this incident for a moment.
   1. If you are Saul, how are you feeling about all that Samuel has told you? How do you interpret this stuff? How do you process it?
   2. What is it that will change Saul (10:6)?
   3. Have you ever had an experience where someone has spoken to you this way? Or have you have an experience of knowing things like this about someone else?
   4. What do these circumstances teach us about God?
   5. How does this passage speak to you this morning?

Dedicate your day to God.