1 Samuel · chapter 10 of 31
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1 Samuel 10 tells how Samuel anoints Saul with oil as prince over Israel and announces three signs that come true that same day. The Spirit of God comes upon Saul and changes him. Samuel then gathers the people at Mizpah, where the lot falls on Saul, who hides among the baggage, and he is proclaimed king.
In chapter 9 Saul came to Samuel looking for donkeys and received the promise that God had something great for him. Chapter 10 is the moment of anointing and public confirmation. It shows that Saul's reign begins under the Lord's initiative and with the Spirit of God, but it also shows signs of timidity and opposition.
Samuel takes a flask of oil, pours it on Saul's head, kisses him and tells him that the Lord has anointed him prince over his inheritance. To confirm it, he announces three signs: by Rachel's tomb two men will tell him the donkeys have been found; at the oak of Tabor three men going up to Bethel will give him two loaves; and at Gibeah of God he will meet a company of prophets, the Spirit of the Lord will come upon him in power, he will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.
Samuel tells him that when the signs come he should do what his hand finds to do, for God is with him, and that he should go down to Gilgal and wait seven days until Samuel comes to offer sacrifices. When Saul turns away, God gives him another heart, and all the signs come to pass that day. When people see him prophesy, they ask whether Saul is also among the prophets. When his uncle asks him, Saul tells him about the donkeys but not about the kingdom.
Samuel summons the people to Mizpah and reminds them that although the Lord delivered them from all their enemies, they have rejected their God by asking for a king. He has the tribes present themselves by lot: Benjamin is taken, then the clan of Matri, and finally Saul son of Kish. But they cannot find him, and the Lord reveals that he has hidden among the baggage. They bring him out, and he is taller than all the people. Samuel presents him as the one the Lord has chosen, and the people shout, Long live the king.
Samuel explains the rights and duties of the kingdom to the people, writes them in a book and lays it before the Lord. Saul goes home to Gibeah with valiant men whose hearts God has touched, but some worthless men despise him and bring him no gifts. Saul holds his peace.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Samuel pours oil on Saul's head, kisses him and tells him the Lord has anointed him over his inheritance. The anointing shows that the king is chosen by God and not by the people, and that he rules on another's behalf.
Samuel announces that the Spirit of the Lord will come upon Saul in power, that he will prophesy and be turned into another man. The ability to govern does not come from Saul's natural character but from God's gift.
Saul does not appear when they look for him, and the Lord reveals that he has hidden among the baggage. The future king, so tall and handsome, is afraid of the responsibility he has been given.
Samuel presents Saul as the one the Lord has chosen, with no equal among all the people, and the people shout, Long live the king. It is public recognition, but it does not change the fact that Israel's true king remains the Lord.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: With oil, and he told him that the Lord had anointed him prince over his inheritance. — 1 Samuel 10:1
Answer: Two men would tell him that the donkeys had been found. — 1 Samuel 10:2
Answer: He would meet prophets, the Spirit of the Lord would come upon him, he would prophesy and be turned into another man. — 1 Samuel 10:5-6
Answer: Whether Saul was also among the prophets. — 1 Samuel 10:11-12
Answer: Among the baggage. — 1 Samuel 10:22
Answer: He wrote them in a book and laid it before the Lord. — 1 Samuel 10:25
God calls ordinary people and prepares them for tasks that seem too big. Saul received an anointing, signs and the Spirit, and still he hid. In a small group, you can speak honestly about the fears we feel before what God asks of us: serving, teaching, leading, speaking about Christ.
The passage also reminds us that leadership is exercised under a word: Samuel writes the law of the kingdom and places it before the Lord. Anyone who leads others, in the family, the church or at work, needs to be under the authority of Scripture and accountable, not rely on charisma alone. And when others despise us, as they did Saul, sometimes the wisest thing is to keep quiet and go on serving.
1 Samuel 10 ends with Saul as king of Israel, but not yet exercising his power and despised by some. In chapter 11 a threat from the Ammonites against Jabesh-gilead will give Saul his first opportunity to lead the people in battle.
The text says God gave him another heart and that the Spirit came upon him in power. It refers to an equipping for his task of governing and leading, not necessarily to a permanent inner conversion. The following chapters show that Saul needed to keep obeying the Lord.
Because people knew Saul as the son of Kish, a young man from the countryside, and not as someone who prophesies. The question expresses surprise: what is he doing among the prophets? The saying became a proverb in Israel.