First Samuel 9:3

The Bible says in First Samuel 9:3-10, “And the asses of Kish Saul's father were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses.[4] And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found them not: then they passed through the land of Shalim, and there they were not: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not.[5] And when they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come, and let us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us.[6] And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honourable man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he can shew us our way that we should go.[7] Then said Saul to his servant, But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God: what have we?[8] And the servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way.[9] (Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.)[10] Then said Saul to his servant, Well said; come, let us go. So they went unto the city where the man of God was.” One of the things that we see in the life of Saul is how merciful God is. God knew the future, but God still tried to use Saul. God still worked in Saul’s life. God works in everyone’s life to try and bring them to Christ. God blesses everyone. God whispers in everyone’s ear from time to time: “this is the way: walk ye in it. Believe in me. I love you.” And God was trying to bless Israel, even when they made the wrong choices. They should not have asked for a king like the heathen. But God granted their request, and God found the best possible candidate at the time: Saul. It was not an accident when “the asses of Kish Saul's father were lost.” It was the hand of God in order that Saul would be sent out to find them, and so that Saul would meet the prophet Samuel.

The Bible says in First Samuel 9:11-16, “ And as they went up the hill to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water, and said unto them, Is the seer here?[12] And they answered them, and said, He is; behold, he is before you: make haste now, for he came to day to the city; for there is a sacrifice of the people to day in the high place:[13] As soon as ye be come into the city, ye shall straightway find him, before he go up to the high place to eat: for the people will not eat until he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice; and afterwards they eat that be bidden. Now therefore get you up; for about this time ye shall find him.[14] And they went up into the city: and when they were come into the city, behold, Samuel came out against them, for to go up to the high place.[15] Now the LORD had told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came, saying,[16] To morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me.” Samuel was God’s servant, and therefore, God had something for Samuel to do. Because God had something for Samuel to do, anoint Saul as king over Israel, the Lord communicated to Samuel what Samuel should do. Hopefully, you are a servant of the Lord because you believe in Jesus. In the age in which we live, the Spirit will guide you using the Word of God. Make sure you go the way that the Spirit leads you. The point is that God let Samuel know what God wanted Samuel to do, and God will let you know what He wants you to do. It was not God’s will for Samuel to be king. Samuel was only going to help identify the new king.

The Bible says in First Samuel 9:17-21, “And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my people.[18] Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer's house is.[19] And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the seer: go up before me unto the high place; for ye shall eat with me to day, and to morrow I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that is in thine heart.[20] And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father's house?[21] And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?” One thing is very clear from verse twenty-one: along with all his other good attributes as a young man, Saul was also humble. Unfortunately, the kind of person that Saul eventually became with all of his negative attributes is a pattern that has happened to many a young person. It is not only the person that you are now, but the person that you will become because of the direction that you are heading. You are either growing in the Lord, or you are going away from Him. Be careful. You have a lot to lose.

The Bible says in First Samuel 9:22-27, “And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them into the parlour, and made them sit in the chiefest place among them that were bidden, which were about thirty persons.[23] And Samuel said unto the cook, Bring the portion which I gave thee, of which I said unto thee, Set it by thee.[24] And the cook took up the shoulder, and that which was upon it, and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, Behold that which is left! set it before thee, and eat: for unto this time hath it been kept for thee since I said, I have invited the people. So Saul did eat with Samuel that day.[25] And when they were come down from the high place into the city, Samuel communed with Saul upon the top of the house.[26] And they arose early: and it came to pass about the spring of the day, that Samuel called Saul to the top of the house, saying, Up, that I may send thee away. And Saul arose, and they went out both of them, he and Samuel, abroad.[27] And as they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the servant pass on before us, (and he passed on,) but stand thou still a while, that I may shew thee the word of God.” Samuel was not in a hurry. His goal was to see God’s will accomplished. God’s will was that Saul become king. But Saul was still a free moral agent. Saul could reject becoming king, if he wanted to. And so Samuel was a great host for Saul. Samuel fixed ma special meal for Saul, and Samuel made sure that Saul got a good night’s sleep, and then Samuel showed Saul “the word of God” as it says in verse twenty-seven. The goal is to give people the Word of God, and to do everything that we can think of from a human standpoint to make them feel welcome so they will be receptive to it.

The Bible says in First Samuel 10:1, “Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?” The anointing of the Lord was given to Saul in order to signify that Saul was God’s chosen vessel. God had a purpose for Saul. God had a plan for Saul. Every Christian has an anointing. We are anointed by the Holy Spirit who brought us to Christ, who entered into us, and who teaches us. It says in First John 2:27, “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you…” God has a purpose and a plan for every Christian.

The Bible says in First Samuel 10:2-7, “When thou art departed from me to day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel's sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?[3] Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine:[4] And they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands.[5] After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy:[6] And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.[7] And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee.” First of all, in these verses we see that God knows the future. Everything is arranged by God: even each person that you meet and what they say to you. The infinite mind of God has a purpose to all things. The Lord knows all about your life. Just like Saul, God has a plan for you. If you are a lost soul, God is working in your life each day to bring you to a saving knowledge of Christ. If you are already saved, God is working in your life with each person that you meet in order to teach you more things or in order to use you for His glory. Saul was meeting people who would help him with material things such as finding the animals and returning to his father. Saul was also meeting believers who would help on his important spiritual journey.

The first phrase of verse six is interesting because what happened to Saul is exactly what happens to every believer in the age in which we live. It says, “And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee…” If you know Jesus as Savior, the Spirit of the Lord has come upon you too. It says in Romans 8:9, “…If any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” Saul was told that after he was filled with the Spirit that he would “prophesy.” That means to speak forth the Word of God. In the New Testament there are certain gifts of the Spirit that Christians receive that make them able servants of the Word of God. Every Christian has one or more spiritual gifts, and some Christians have gifts for teaching or preaching the Gospel and the Bible. Apostles and prophets were gifts in the first century evidently for the establishing of the church after Jesus ascended into heaven. Three of the ministering gifts that are still in effect are evangelists and pastor-teachers. Find out what spiritual gift you have and look for opportunities to develop it and to put it into practice. Do not attempt to preach or teach unless you have the spiritual gift to do so. If you do not have one of those gifts, then you have some other gift: maybe the gift of helps, or the gift of administration, or the gift of love whereby you can help a congregation be everything it can be.

At the end of verse six Saul was told that he would “be turned into another man.” That is exactly what happens to us when we come to know Christ as our Savior. It says in Second Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” If you did not become a new person when you accepted Christ, then you might need to seriously question your salvation. One of the truths about being a true Christian is that when you sin, if you do not confess your sins and get back in fellowship with Christ, then you are chastised by the Lord. It says in Hebrews 12:5-7, “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.[7] If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?[8] But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.”

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