Text: I Samuel 10
Theme: God’s anointing comes with responsibilities.
Intro:
- In chapter 9 we saw Saul’s life before he was anointed king over all Israel. We noted his discipline in searching for his fathers’ lost donkeys, but we also noted that Saul wasn’t very aware of the spiritual life of the nation and didn’t seem to know Samuel was nearby. In the end, Saul went to Samuel and sought help finding the donkeys but instead he found himself swept along in God’s plan to use Samuel to anoint Saul as king.
- In chapter 10 we are going to see the importance of the anointing that Saul experienced, and we will also note the ways in which God ratified his anointing through the word of the prophet Samuel.
Main:
- The Symbolism in the Anointing (Vs 1)
a. Samuel requested in the last verse of chapter 9 that the servant would go ahead of them.
– Samuel wanted some privacy as he anointed Saul. There was to be no distraction from the important task at hand and Saul was to understand the full import of the anointing he was to experience.
– There are major turning points in our lives that require us to have some privacy and to get alone with God. When there is a major decision to be made, it is unwise to make that decision amid the hustle and bustle of a busy home. It is best to get alone with God and seek his will in the quiet place.
b. The vial of oil was symbolic in nature as well.
– There was nothing special in the vial of oil, but it symbolized the anointing of the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit did not indwell God’s people. Instead, the Spirit of God would rest on certain people whom God had chosen to work for him in a special way.
– In a similar way, Baptism is a physical act that symbolizes the spiritual reality of our death, burial, and resurrection with the Lord Jesus Christ.
c. “Saul’s calling was from God. It was not something merely thought up by man and instituted by man. Saul is not alone in this fact, for all our callings are form God”[1] John G. Butler 2008, SAUL – The Rejected King, Pg 58; LBC Publications, Iowa 52732
– We are called of God into the Christian life. We have all been given the authority to accomplish the will of God. (Mathew 28:18 & 19 “All power is given unto me… go ye therefore.”) We are all indwelt by the Holy Spirit, which is far better than the anointing of the O.T. which left Saul when he rebelled against God, because the Holy Spirit will never be taken from us. We have no excuse for failing to do the will of God.
d. Saul was anointed to be the captain over God’s inheritance.
-“The word “captain” can be translated ruler or prince or leader. The title simply informs Saul that he is to be the number one leader in Israel.”[1] John G. Butler 2008, SAUL – The Rejected King, Pg 57; LBC Publications, Iowa 52732
– “The “captain” title especially emphasizes the military leadership Saul was to give Israel which the elders of Israel were especially interested in when they requested of Samuel that he make them a king (I Samuel 8:20)”[1] John G. Butler 2008, SAUL – The Rejected King, Pg 57; LBC Publications, Iowa 52732
e. We need to understand the rejection of God as Israel’s king.
– Israel didn’t have a king, because the world was supposed to think of Israel in terms of the God they served. As God gave Israel victory over their enemies this would bring the glory to God. This is why, in Samuel 8:7, God told Samuel, “…they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.”
– It was God who had led Israel out of Egypt, and it was God who provided for them all through the wilderness wanderings. It was God who had led them into the promised land and had given them victories over their enemies. Everything that Israel possessed had come to them straight from the hand of God and the nation of Israel stood as a testament to the world around them of the goodness of God.
– Despite all this, Israel rejected God as their king. They chose to have an earthly king who would, through military conscriptions and taxes, place burdens on the people. This king would take the credit when the nation succeeded rather than giving glory to God. Sadly, the nation would still blame God when things went wrong.
– Man’s heart hasn’t changed down through the ages. Men still reject the authority of God in their lives, they live for their own pleasures and their own gains and then, when the wheels fall off their wagon and everything goes pear shaped, they blame God for not giving them only good times. - The Evidence of the Anointing (Vs 2-8)
a. The prophesy concerning asses and food (Vs 2-4)
– Saul would leave Samuel and head for home and, upon reaching Rachel’s sepulchre, he would encounter two men who would confirm the word of Samuel. This was the first sign that God was bringing his word to pass in Saul’s life.
– Saul needed to learn to trust the word of God and so God began to prove himself to Saul by allowing these men to confirm the words of the prophet Samuel.
b. Saul would receive two loaves of bread from some strangers.
– These men are heading up to God to Bethel, which means they were going to make sacrifices to God in Bethel. God chose to use these men to gift Saul two loaves of bread out of their inventory.
– The second lesson to be learned was that God would, out of his own vast stores, provide for his chosen man. God would not let Saul go hungry but would give him all he needed even by the hand of a few strangers who were heading up to Bethel.
c. The prophesy concerning prophesying (Vs 5-8)
– As these prophets came down from the high place where they had been worshipping God, they were prophesying, and as they came to Saul the Spirit of the Lord would come upon Saul and he would join the group.
– The passage tells us that Saul would be turned into another man. To put it another way, Saul was a different person after the Spirit of God came upon him.
– Isn’t it the same for the Christian as well. Everything changes when we are saved and the Holy Spirit comes and dwells within our hearts.
As the song says, “When Jesus comes the tempters power is broken, when Jesus comes the tears are wiped away. He takes the gloom and fills the heart with glory, for all is changed when Jesus comes to stay.”
d. Samuel instructs Saul that, once he has seen all these things, he should not be afraid to take up the responsibilities of the work which God has laid upon his shoulders.
– These things were a sign to Saul that God is going to be with him as he fulfilled the office of king over God’s inheritance.
c. By the time Samuel came down to Gilgal, Saul would have been waiting there for 7 days thinking over everything that had happened to him. He should have had no doubts about his anointing to be king.
– When we are in God’s will, times of waiting are not times of waste. They are usually periods of preparation for the next step in our Christian walk.