1 Samuel 9: 1-10:27

Ah, well, good evening, friends. Good to see you tonight. We are looking at 1 Samuel,

the book of 1 Samuel, chapters 9 and 10. That's page 231 in the Pew Bible, if you want to turn

1 Samuel 9 · chapter mention

there. 1 Samuel 9 and 10. Both chapters, the whole way through. We're going to do it tonight.

It's a big chunk of Bible we're looking at this evening. These two chapters tell the story

of how Israel got its first king, King Saul.

Let me just say a brief prayer for us before we jump in. God, we pray that you would indeed open

our eyes and our hearts and our wills and our affections to hear and to receive what you're

saying to us tonight. Lord, we ask this for Christ's sake. Amen.

So over the next few weeks, we're actually going to be following the story of Saul as we work our

way through 1 Samuel. We're going to look at Saul's rise to the kingship in chapters 9 through 11,

and then in chapter 12 as sort of Samuel's farewell. And then in verses 13, 14, and 15 are sort of

Saul's downfall. So we're going to look at his rise and fall over the coming weeks. But tonight,

in these two chapters, we're focusing on Saul's beginning. Where did he start? In chapter 8,

remember, that we looked at a couple weeks ago, the people demanded a king. And so here he is. In

chapter 9, Saul is introduced. Then in the beginning of chapter 10, as we'll see, Saul's privately anointed

to be king by the prophet Samuel. And then at the end of chapter 10, that choice is made public.

The Lord makes known his choice of Saul before the whole nation. That's basically the flow of these

two chapters. Now, obviously, there's lots that we could learn here, and we won't get to all of it

tonight. So tonight, I want us to just focus on three lessons in particular that we see in these

two chapters. So three lessons. The first that we see in the opening verses is a lesson in God's

providence. So let's pick up the story in chapter 9, verse 1.

There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of

Bechoreth, the son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth. And he had a son whose name was Saul,

a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he.

From his shoulders upwards, he was taller than any of the people. Now, the donkeys of Kish,

Saul's father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul, his son, take one of the young men with you and arise,

go and look for the donkeys. And he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the

land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Shalim, but they

were not there. Then they passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them. When they came to

the land of Zuf, Saul said to his servant who was with him, come, let's go back, lest my father cease to

care about the donkeys and become anxious about us. But the servant said to him, behold, there's a man

of God in this city and he has a man who is held in honor. All that he says comes true. Now, so now

let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us the way we should go. And Saul said to his servant, but if we

go, what can we bring the man for the bread in our sacks is gone and there's no present to bring the

man of God. What do we have? The servant answered Saul again, here, I have with me a quarter of a shekel

of silver and I will give it to the man of God to tell us our way. Formerly in Israel, when a man

went to inquire of God, he said, come, let us go to the seer for today's prophet was formerly called

a seer. And Saul said to his servant, well said, come, let us go. So they went to the city where the

man of God was. As they went up the hill to the city, they met young women coming out to draw water

and said to them, is the seer here? They answered, he is behold, he's just ahead of you. Hurry. He has

come just now to the city because the people have a sacrifice today in the high place. As soon as you

enter the city, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat for the people will not

eat till he comes since he must bless the sacrifice. Afterward, those who are invited will eat. Now go up

for you will meet him immediately. So they went up to the city as they were entering the city.

They saw Samuel coming out toward them on his way up to the high place. Now the day before Saul came,

the Lord had revealed to Samuel tomorrow about this time, I will send you a man from the land of

Benjamin and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people, Israel. He shall save my people from the

land, from the hand of the Philistines. For I have seen my people because their cry has come to me.

When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, here's the man of whom I spoke to you.

He it is who shall restrain or govern my people.

Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate and said, tell me, where is the house of the seer?

Samuel answered Saul, I am a seer.

Go up before me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me.

And in the morning I will let you go and tell you all that is on your mind.

As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not set your mind on them,

for they have been found. And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel?

Is it not for you and for all your father's house?

Saul answered, am I not a Benjaminite from the least of the tribes of Israel?

And is not my clan the humblest of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin?

Amen.

Why then have you spoken to me in this way?

Let's pause there.

We know it must have seemed like an ordinary day at the start of it.

Some livestock had gotten loose and wandered away.

And so Saul is sent to find them.

It's a pretty typical scene in ancient Palestine.

Little did Saul know that God was orchestrating one of the most surprising and important days of his life.

Look at all the little details as you scan back over this portion we just read.

Look at all the little details that come together.

The donkeys that just happened to go missing.

The servant who just happens to have a silver coin in his pocket.

The women who just happen to be coming out drawing water.

And at just the right moment, who should meet them but Samuel, the great prophet himself.

And we know that none of this is just mere coincidence.

Look again down at verse 16.

Tomorrow about this time, God says, I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin.

You see, God was working in and through all these ordinary events to bring about his plan for Saul and for Israel.

This chapter is a striking picture of what we often call God's providence.

Here's one way God's providence has been described.

Providence is the almighty and ever-present power of God by which he upholds as with his hand heaven and earth and all creatures.

And so rules them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty.

All things, in fact, come to us not by chance, but from his fatherly hand.

In other words, God orders all things for the good of his people.

Look again at verse 16.

Why is God bringing Saul to Samuel?

Why has he orchestrated things in this way?

Why is God going to make Saul king?

After all, we know from chapter 8 that the people wanted a king for all the wrong reasons, right?

They wanted to be just like the nations around them.

Why does God even entertain the thought?

Well, even though the people are rebellious, you see, God is still merciful toward them.

Here's why God's going to make Saul king.

He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines, for I've seen my people because their cry has come to me.

Verse 16.

That sounds a lot like the hand of Exodus chapter 2, doesn't it?

Exodus 2 · chapter mention

Where God hears the people groaning in slavery in Egypt.

And the text says he sees and he knows.

And what happens?

He raises up a deliverer.

God's providential control of all things, you see, is motivated by his mercy for his people.

Of course, in the middle of our life stories, we certainly don't see how all of it fits together, right?

I mean, how could we?

Think about Saul.

After the young Saul had trucked all around the hill country in the hot sun, only to not find the donkeys,

the only thing he was probably thinking was, I'm tired of looking for donkeys, and it's time to go home, right?

He wasn't thinking, I know this is part of God's providential plan for my life, and today is going to be a very special day.

No, he didn't know how it was all fitting together.

And yet what he couldn't see was that losing the donkeys meant finding the kingdom.

And there's a lesson here for all of us.

The lesson to trust that God is working through the everyday events of your life to bring about God's good work.

Again, it's not our job to try to figure it all out.

To try to guess in the middle of the story how and why God does certain things.

Because no doubt if we try to do that, we'll probably get it wrong.

But we can trust that even in the little things, God is working his fatherly mercy in our lives.

Now there's a lot more that we could say about that, and maybe afterwards if we have some time we can engage that in Q&A.

But I think that's the first brief lesson we see here, is this lesson about God's providence.

The next thing we have is a lesson in assurance.

Let's pick up in 9, 22.

Then Samuel took Saul and his young man and brought them into the hall and gave them a place at the head of those who had been invited, who were about 30 persons.

And Samuel said to the cook,

Bring the portion I gave you, of which I said to you, put it aside.

So the cook took up the leg and what was on it, it set them before Saul.

And Samuel said,

See, what is kept is set before you.

Eat, because it was kept for you until the hour appointed that you might eat with the guests.

So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

And when they came down from the high place into the city, a bed was spread for Saul on the roof, and he lay down to sleep.

And at the break of dawn, Samuel called to Saul on the roof,

Up, that I might send you on your way.

So Saul rose, and both he and Samuel went out into the street.

As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul,

Tell the servant to pass on before us.

And when he has passed on, stop here yourself for a while, that I may make known to you the word of God.

Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on Saul's head and kissed him and said,

Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince 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 prince over his heritage.

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?

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.

And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread,

which you shall accept from their hand.

After that, you shall come to Gibeath Elohim,

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.

Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you,

and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.

Now when these signs meet you,

do what your hand finds to do,

for God is with you.

Then go down before me to Gilgal,

and behold, I'm 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.

When he turned his back to leave Samuel,

God gave him another heart,

and all these signs came to pass that day.

When they came to Gibeah,

behold, a group of prophets met him,

and the Spirit of God rushed upon him,

and he prophesied among them.

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?

And a man of the place answered,

And who is their father?

Therefore it became a proverb,

Is Saul also among the prophets?

When he had finished prophesying,

he came to the high place.

And 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 that they were not found,

we went to Samuel.

And Saul's uncle said,

Please tell me what Samuel said to you.

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.

So it's clear from these verses

that God had chosen Saul

to be Israel's first king.

And here we see how God goes to incredible lengths

to give Saul such rich assurance of this fact.

First, there's this feast, right?

Imagine how Saul must have felt.

He hadn't met Samuel before in his life,

but Samuel in essence says,

Ah, I've been expecting you.

Here, sit at the head of the table,

and I'll tell the cook to bring

the choice portion of meat

that I'd set aside for you.

That must have been really strange for Saul.

Here he is a stranger

being welcomed as the guest of honor.

Next, there are these signs

that Samuel tells him will come true.

And notice how concrete and specific they are.

Two men by Rachel's tomb

who will give you word about the donkeys.

Three men going up to Bethel

who will give you bread to eat.

You know, these aren't your sort of general,

horoscopy, could probably come true

in a lot of different ways sort of things, right?

They're super specific

because God wants to give Saul assurance.

And then comes the third sign.

The spirit rushes upon Saul at Gibeah

and he begins prophesying

along with a group of prophets there.

And Gibeah, as we find out a little later

in chapter 10, is Saul's hometown.

So some of his neighbors see this and say,

is Saul also among the prophets?

Which ends up becoming this sort of

slang way of saying,

well, you don't see that every day.

That's kind of hard to believe.

Those two things don't usually go together.

Is Saul among the prophets?

The feast, the signs,

the rushing of the spirit,

all of this is confirmation

of the anointing that Saul receives

at the beginning of chapter 10.

Anointing, by the way,

was a sort of symbolic way

of setting someone apart

for a special role,

for a special task.

And here, this anointing symbolizes

that God is setting apart Saul

to be Israel's king.

And you might ask,

well, why is God doing all of this in private?

Why is he sort of anointing Saul

without anybody around?

And the answer

is probably that God is preparing Saul

for what's about to happen

at the end of chapter 10.

In other words,

he wants Saul to be personally ready

when God makes his choice public.

He's preparing him in advance

and God gives Saul

all these assurances

so he won't be afraid

when that day comes.

God wants Saul to know

that he's chosen him

and that he'll be with him.

And that's what 10-7 is all about.

Look at that verse again.

It says,

Now when these signs meet you,

do what your hand finds to do.

In other words,

be assured of your kingship

for God is with you.

I think there's a lesson here for us

about assurance.

Now, of course,

none of us will have an identical

sort of experience as Saul.

Right?

On the one hand,

none of us in this room

is going to have God come to us

and tell us that we're going to be

the next king of Israel.

I'm pretty confident of that.

Even more so,

I don't think we need to expect

God to use

similar kinds of miraculous signs

or powerful outward manifestations

of the Spirit

to grant us assurance today.

Not that God can't do those things.

He certainly can.

But we need not depend

on those particular kinds

of assurances.

But having said all that,

the reality is, friends,

God doesn't want us

to be timid

or fearful

in our relationship to Him.

He wants us to be reverent.

He wants us to be humble.

But He doesn't want us to be afraid.

He doesn't want us to be timid.

You see, friends,

the New Testament teaches us

that everyone

who turns from sin

and places their trust in Jesus

is completely forgiven

and counted righteous

in God's sight.

That is, they're fully

and objectively justified

before God.

And if that weren't enough,

everyone who's justified in Christ,

the New Testament says,

is also fully adopted

as one of God's own sons

and daughters

with all the rights

and privileges

and joys

that come with that status.

So you see,

we're not just forgiven

and given a perfect legal record

before God in Christ,

but we're also brought

into the family.

And you see, friends,

the deeper you come to grip

those twin truths

that we've been made righteous in Him

and that we've been brought

into the family in Him,

the deeper and deeper

you cling to those

and come to know those

in your heart,

the more and more

your life begins to change

and unfold

in all sorts of ways.

In some sense,

that's the secret

to Christian growth.

Really coming to believe

who we are in Christ.

Forgiven family.

And the question is,

how do we grow

in that deep,

rich assurance

of what we have

in Christ?

And you see here,

the secret is not

to try to replicate

Saul's experience

that we see in this chapter.

The secret is not

to try to hunt down

coincidences

that might confirm it

or try to whip up

ecstatic experiences

that might sort of

bring some assurance.

Look, if God wants

to give you those,

fine, great.

That's fun.

But that's not really

where assurance comes from.

Don't try to replicate

Saul's experience.

Instead,

if you want assurance,

look more and more

to the one

who fulfilled

Saul's experience.

And what I mean is this.

You see,

when Saul was anointed

king of Israel

and when the spirit

rushed upon him,

it's as if God

was tracing

a pattern

into history.

It's as if God

was making an outline

in the midst

of time.

But you see,

Saul himself,

he couldn't fill in

the outline.

He couldn't fill in

and complete the picture.

We'll see in chapters 13

and following

that even though

Saul started well,

he didn't finish well.

He ends up being

one of the most

tragic figures

in the Old Testament.

You see, friends,

Saul was just a trace

of the one to come.

Because there would be

one who would come

who would be

the truly

anointed one.

There would be one

who came

who would be

utterly

and completely

filled with the spirit.

And not in some

sort of momentary way

that sort of came

and went,

but one who would be

filled with the spirit

permanently

in all of his ways.

You see,

when Jesus Christ

began his public

ministry

and was baptized

by John the Baptist,

do you remember

what happened?

the heavens

tore open

and the spirit

descended

and remained

on him.

And then God

the Father

spoke these words

of assurance.

This is my beloved

son

in whom

I am well pleased.

And Jesus

having

began well,

we know

finished well.

He obeyed

his father

to the end.

He ascended

the cross

for our sins

and he rose

again three days

later

demonstrating

that he had

destroyed the power

of sin and death

through his death

on the cross.

And he ascended

to God's right hand

where he sits

right now

enthroned

as the world's

true Lord

and true king.

You see,

that little sketch

that Saul makes

in history

of one who would

be anointed

and filled

and sent out

to ministry,

it was just

an echo

of what God

has done

once and for all

in Jesus Christ

for us

and for our salvation.

And friends,

as we look

to him,

not to ourselves,

as we look

to him

with growing

love

and with growing

trust,

that's where

our assurance

comes from.

It's like the song

we often sing

here at Trinity.

Before the throne

of God above,

I have a strong

and perfect plea.

A great high priest

whose name is love,

whoever lives

and pleads for me.

My name

is graven

on his hands.

My name

is written

on his heart.

I know that

while in heaven

he stands,

no tongue

can bid me

thence depart.

Behold him there,

the risen lamb,

my perfect,

spotless righteousness,

the great

unchangeable

I am,

the king

of glory

and of grace.

One with himself

I cannot die.

My soul

is purchased

by his blood.

My life

is hid

with Christ

on high,

with Christ

my savior

and my God.

Friends,

that's where

assurance comes from.

That's what

the Holy Spirit

will take

in your heart

and it will cause

to well up

into a deep

confidence,

not in yourself,

but in him.

So God

doesn't want us

to be timid

or fearful.

He wants us

to look to Christ

and know that

we're his

and that he is

with us.

It's a lesson

in assurance.

The last lesson

we learn from this

chapter is a lesson

in dependence.

Let's read the end

of chapter 10

starting in verse 17.

Now Samuel

called the people

together to the Lord

at Mizpah

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.

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.

And Samuel brought

all the tribes

of Israel near

and the tribe

of Benjamin

was taken by Lot.

He brought the tribe

of Benjamin near

by its clans

and the clan

of the Matrites

was taken by Lot

and Saul,

the son of Kish

was taken by Lot.

But when they sought him,

he could not be found.

So they inquired again

to the Lord,

is there a man

still to come?

And the Lord said,

behold,

he's hidden himself

among the baggage.

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.

And Samuel said

to all the people,

do you see him

whom the Lord has chosen?

There's none like him

among all the people

and all the people shouted,

long live the king.

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.

Saul also went

to his home at Gibeah

and with him went

men of valor

whose hearts

God had touched.

But some worthless fellow

said,

how can this man save us?

And they despised him

and brought him no present.

But he,

that is Saul,

held his peace.

So I want to end

just focusing on verse 22.

You know,

it's,

the narrator doesn't say

why Saul was hiding

among the baggage.

But it's one of those details

that when you read this chapter

you just can't forget.

There's Saul

whose head and shoulders

above everyone else

hiding.

You know,

we can only speculate

what was going on

in his mind

and his heart.

You would think

that after the sort of

powerful experiences

that had just happened

to him,

he'd be ready

to sort of take up

this new role

with courage.

But he's hiding

among the baggage.

Maybe it was humility.

You know,

maybe it was

some political prudence.

He didn't want to

sort of just

jump in there.

First king,

who knows what was

going to happen.

You know,

sadly,

maybe it was simply

unbelief.

Maybe Saul doubted

God would be with him

after all.

We just can't say.

We don't know.

But what we do learn

from verse 22

is that the people

of God

are totally

dependent

on the Lord.

And here's what I mean.

Verse 21 ends,

when they sought him,

that is Saul,

he could not be found.

Even after God

confirms

his choice

of a king publicly

through the casting

of lots,

the Lord

has to practically

take the people

by the hand

and lead them

to Saul

who's nowhere

to be found,

who's hiding

among the baggage.

God's got to

take him

the whole way.

You see,

friends,

it's the Lord

the whole time.

When the people

want a king

for all the wrong reasons,

God in his mercy

still acts

in his providence

to send him a rescuer.

When Saul's doubtful

that God could want him,

a mere Benjaminite,

as king,

God showers him

with these

undeniable assurances.

And when at last

the human king

God has chosen

is hiding,

perhaps still

riddled with doubts.

God in his mercy

brings the people

to him.

You see, friends,

we are dependent

on God

from first to last.

And we can do

nothing apart from him.

And that

is completely

and utterly

good news.

Because the God

that we know

in Jesus,

the true king,

is a God

who's utterly dependable.

These two chapters

are all about God

finding a king

for his people

and overcoming

Saul's doubts.

But in Jesus,

we have a king

who comes to find us.

We don't have to go

searching for him.

He comes to search

for us.

So tonight,

do you acknowledge

that you need

a king like that?

Can you admit

that you're needy,

that you're sinful

even,

and that you need

a savior?

friend,

friend,

if you can admit

those things,

then you are so close

to being in the most

secure place

possible.

Because Jesus

is a king

who can be trusted.

If you can admit

that you're needy,

then step

into him

in faith.

we're an utterly

dependent

people.

But what Samuel

shows us here

is that we have

an utterly

dependable God.

Let's pray.

God,

we're thankful

that you

overcome

our fearful

and our timid

hearts

and that,

God,

you come

to find us.

So,

Lord,

I pray tonight

that you would

open the eyes

and hearts

of those

who are seeking

for you

and help

them to see,

God,

that you

have been

seeking them.

Lord,

help us to

trust your

good providence

in our lives.

Lord,

grant us

assurance,

we pray,

of the salvation

that we have

in Christ.

Lord,

and help us

to be a joyfully

dependent people

in you.

We ask this

in Christ's name.

Amen.

The music team

is going to come up.

We're going to

continue worshiping

God together.

Let's stand together.

Well,

it's typically

our practice

in the evening service

to end with just

some time of interaction

and Q&A,

but we're out of time.

So,

I will hang around

up front

if you have

any questions

and want to

sort of

banter

about the passage.

I'd be happy

to do that.

But let me just

end with a couple

quick announcements.

I hope you got a

bulletin

on the way in.

If not,

grab one on the way out.

There's a bunch

of stuff going on

on the way out.

There's a bunch of stuff

going on.

I'll be happy to do that.

There's a bunch of stuff

going on.

I'll be happy to do that.

I'll be happy to do that.