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 Hiding of the Anointing (Vs 9-16)
a. Saul received a new heart (Vs 9-12)
– Vs 9 “God gave him another heart.” The word “gave” is the Hebrew haw-vak’ (haphak) which means to turn about or turn over; by implication to change.
– So, in the moment Saul turned to walk away from Samuel, God turned Saul’s heart around as well.
b. God is still able to change hearts today.
– We have to believe that God can change hearts today otherwise the preaching of the gospel would be in vain. Every day God is changing hearts and lives for His own glory.
c. Saul kept his anointing secret (Vs 13-16)
– When Saul headed back home, he was a changed man, but he wanted to hide this fact.
– In response to the questioning Saul told his uncle that he had sought the donkeys and been unable to find them and so he had consulted with the prophet Samuel. When asked what Samuel had told him, Saul mentioned that Samuel had told him the donkeys had been found, but he made no mention of the fact that Samuel had anointed him to be king over Israel.
d. Isn’t this often the case with us as Christians though, especially young Christians.
– How often do we find ourselves unwilling to talk about the things of God with others? How often are we worried about telling others what God has said in his word about his plan of Salvation and their future with or without Christ? - The Revelation of the Anointing (Vs 17-27)
a. Samuel called all Israel together at Mizpeh (Vs 17-21)
– Even though Samuel had already been told by God who would be king and had even anointed Saul to this office, Israel still didn’t know.
– The entire nation was represented at this meeting; no doubt many were hoping the lot would fall on them or on someone they were close to so that they could gain something out of all of this.
b. Saul was hiding from his responsibilities (Vs 22-24)
– When the lot fell on Saul, the people would likely have expected some young man to start cheering as he realized he was going to be the king of all Israel, but instead there was confusion.
– Clearly Saul had come up with his family to the gathering but then had decided to try and hide from his responsibilities. The word “stuff” refers to an apparatus as an implement, utensil, vessel, or weapon. This means that Saul was hiding among the baggage where the pots and pans, armour and weapons, clothing and other implements were being stored.
c. The thing I want you to note here is that Saul was no just hiding from his responsibilities, he was hiding from the will of God.
– Saul was not a man of faith. We have already noted that Saul typifies for us the Christian who is trying to live his life by the strength of his own flesh, his own self-effort. Saul was not walking by faith but rather by sight. If Saul had believed God, if Saul had faith that God would be with him to enable him to faithfully fill the office of a king, then Saul would have had no problems facing his responsibilities.
– Saul was to be king of all the nation and they would expect leadership from him, but Saul really didn’t have all the answers because all he knew was how to accomplish the things he wanted to do by his own effort and sheer will-power.
– Saul needed to depend on God, or things were going to go badly for him, his family, and the nation which is exactly what happened.
d. Samuel established the event before God (Vs 25-27)
– Sometimes people get strange ideas about what their leaders should and shouldn’t be doing. Some people want the leader to be a “do everything” leader, while others want a “do nothing” leader.
– As king, Saul would be expected to lead the nation in battle, and to govern the tribes by implementing civil laws and governmental systems for over seeing the enforcement of such laws. But Saul would not be expected to look after the personal needs of the people.
– It’s easy to say we want a king to rule over us, but what happens when that king start doing things we don’t like? Well, you can’t just decide you don’t want a king anymore. Samuel was making it clear that this was how things were going to be from now on, like it or not.
e. Samuel wrote everything down and laid it up before the Lord.
Conclusion:
- Like Saul, we have been anointed for service. We have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to enable us to get the job done, so what is it that holds us back from doing God’s work?
- As we saw in the life of Saul, God is able to bring his Word to pass, and he will never fail us. He provides for our needs, and he makes our way prosperous.
- As He did with Saul, God is still able to change hearts today. If you are here today and you have not trusted the Lord Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour and you have not been changed by his life-giving power, won’t you come to him today?
- We have a responsibility to do the work of God. Don’t hide from your responsibilities, but trust that God will enable you to accomplish all His will.