1 SAMUEL 10 - LONG LIVE THE KING
1 Samuel 10
Chapter 10 begins with the reminder that what God commissions; He also provisions. God is going to finalize His choice of Saul as the first King over Israel. He will anoint Saul, provide Saul with the evidence of his election; declare His election to the people and stir the hearts of the people for their new king. And yet in the midst of this we will be reminded that at man’s core is a heart of rebellion.
God wants Saul to know that His election is sure. God gives Saul three signs that he is to be king over Israel. First he is to learn that his father is concerned that he is lost. Then he is to be given bread by three men carrying three goats and three loaves. Last, he is to experience the outpouring of God’s Spirit by prophesying.
Likewise God wants His children to also know that their election (or salvation) is sure, by similar signs. Jesus proclaimed that because of God (our heavenly Father’s) concern for us, Jesus was sent to seek and save the lost. Jesus also declared Himself the bread of life and promised “ whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.:” And lastly, as Jesus was departing from this earth back to His Father, He promised that those who would believe in Him would be sealed by His Holy Spirit. In Acts 1:8 we read:
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses ……”
Having assured Saul of his place as King, God then moves to reveal His choice to all of Israel. He gathers the tribes for the coronation but begins the process with an admonition.
… “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….. Samuel 10:18b-19a
The very need for judges and rulers and kings, comes from and is a constant reminder of our sinful nature, which makes us ungovernable. The bible teaches us that sin precedes the law. In Romans 5 we read:
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Romans 5:12-13
So it is not that God created a bunch of rules, which man rejected; it is that man had rejected God’s rule and therefore God was required to create laws to seek to contain man’s wickedness. At the heart of all of man’s troubles is man’s desire to be his own god, to worship his own image and likeness. The children of Israel demanded a king like unto themselves and rejected God’s direct rule. And as if this weren’t sufficiently illustrative of man’s rebellion, chapter 10 will end with those who reject Saul—showing man not only rejects God, but His entire system of order.
And yet God in His mercy and grace will use man’s stubborn rebellion, to teach Israel, and through Israel all of mankind, that not only is there only one God; but that man can’t handle the responsibility of being god, no matter how much it may be our desire.
And so in response to the cries of the people, God will give them the king they desire, a king who will fail, succumbing to his own rebellious heart and turning from God. But God will use this to ultimately give mankind the king that we need; a king after God’s own heart, who will be a servant leader, sacrificing Himself for mankind. That King, God Himself, manifest in the person of Jesus Christ.