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Samuel was very displeased with their request, and he prayed to the
Lord about it. The Lord answered, "Since the day in which I brought
these people out of Egypt until now, they have forsaken me and have
worshipped idols! Know this, Samuel.... in asking for a king, they are
not rejecting your authority, but they are rejecting me as their king.
I will provide a king for them according to their desire, but first I
want you to tell them what they may expect."
Samuel went to the elders of the people and said to them, "The Lord is
going to provide a king for you, but this is what it will mean to you.
The king will take your sons for his chariots and for horsemen. He
will also use them as captains over thousands in his army. He will
take your daughters and make cooks and bakers of them for his own
kitchens. He will take the best fruits of your fields and vineyards
for himself. He will take your servants and your flocks and use them
for his own purposes, and then you will cry out because of all the
injustices, but the Lord will not hear you!"
The people disregarded Samuel's words, and replied, "WE WILL HAVE A
KING OVER US TO RULE US AND FIGHT OUR BATTLES! WE WANT TO BE LIKE ALL
THE OTHER NATIONS AROUND US!"
Samuel prayed for guidance, and the Lord answered him saying, "Listen
to the people and give them a king, Samuel. They shall have their
heart's desire, but I will send leanness to their souls!"
Samuel reported God's answer to the people and said, "Go home and wait
until the Lord selects a king for you." Then a few days later, the
Lord spoke to Samuel and said, " A Benjamite by the name of Saul will
be coming to you to enquire about his father's lost asses. He is the
man you shall anoint over my people, and he shall deliver them out of
the hand of the Philistines."
Several days went by, and as Samuel sat at the gate of his house, Saul
approached and said, "Sir, please tell me where I may find the house
of the prophet."
Samuel responded, "I am the one whom you seek. About your father's
asses, they have been found and returned to your father, so you need
not be concerned about them any longer. Tomorrow you will go with me
to the place of sacrifice on the hill above us, and the Lord will tell
you His purpose for your life ... you will deliver Israel from the
Philistines. But now, you and your servant must dine with me."
Saul was astonished at the prophet's words, and he replied, "I am just
a lowly man from the family of Benjamin! Our tribe is the smallest of
the twelve tribes of Israel, so why do you speak to me of greatness?"
Without any further explanation, Samuel took Saul and his servant into
the house where thirty guests were waiting. Saul was the guest of
honor at the table, and a fabulous feast was enjoyed by those who had
gathered there.
Saul spent the night in the prophet's house, and when they arose to
leave early the next morning, Samuel accompanied the two men for a
short way. Then Samuel said, "Tell your servant to go down the road
while I speak to you in private." When they were alone, Samuel took a
small bottle of oil and poured it upon Saul's head and said to him,
"The Lord has anointed you as ruler of His people. Now, go back to
your father, as he has been frantically seeking for you. I will come
to you again soon and announce what has been done today before all of
the people."
When Saul got home, his uncle met him and said, "Where have you been?
Your father has almost given up hope of finding you!"
Saul answered, "Oh, my servant and I went to search for the lost
asses, and when we were unable to find them, we went to the house of
Samuel the prophet to ask for his help, and we spent some time with
him."
Saul's uncle asked, "What did the prophet tell you?" Saul answered,
"He told us that the asses had been found and returned to my father.
(Saul was careful not to mention anything about Saul anointing him as
king)
Shortly after that, Samuel went to the nearby city of Mizpeh and
called the people together to hear the Word of the Lord.
When the people were assembled before him, Samuel said to them, "The
Lord has brought you out of Egypt and has delivered you from all your
enemies in the land. You have rejected God's authority by demanding a
king to rule over you, and you all know that God is your king! Present
yourselves before the Lord by your individual tribes, and He will show
you the man whom He has chosen to be your king."
When the tribe of Benjamin came before Samuel, he saw that Saul was
not among them. The Lord said to Samuel, "Send men to search for Saul
... he is hiding among the supplies in the shed!"
Saul was found and brought to Samuel. He stood there looking very shy
and humble. Saul was an unusually handsome young man, and he stood
head and shoulders above the rest of the people. Samuel looked at Saul
and then turned to the people and announced, "This is the man whom the
Lord has chosen! You can see that there is no one here who can compare
with him in outward appearance!"
The people shouted with one voice, "GOD SAVE THE KING"
After the ceremony, Samuel dismissed the people and went home. Saul
returned to his house in Gibeah, and a band of men accompanied him.
CHAPTER 2
Saul was a very successful and capable warrior. Soon after he became
king, 300,000 Ammonites came to lay siege against Gilead, a
mountainous region east of the Jordan River. Saul assembled his men
and divided them into three divisions and then sent his troops into
the enemy camp and forced them out completely.
The Israelites were very pleased with Saul's victory over the
Ammonites! Some of the people were so enthusiastic and in favor of
Saul that they demanded the death of anyone who spoke against him.
Saul's answer to that was, "No man shall be put to death for opposing
me! The Lord has wrought a great victory for Israel today!"
Again, Samuel went to Gilgal in the Jordan valley. He called the
people together and confirmed their election of Saul as their
Commander-in-Chief. Things went well for Saul during his first year as
king. Then, in the second year of his reign, Saul systematically
calculated how he would deliver Israel from their long-time enemy, the
Philistines. He gathered a standing army of three thousand choice men
and placed his son Jonathan over them. Jonathan smote the garrison of
the Philistines in the Levitical city of geba as they were camped
outside the city, and the war was officially underway.
Saul stationed his own troops in the Jordan valley near Jericho.
Meanwhile, the Philistines had gathered a huge army consisting of
thirty thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen and foot soldiers so
great in number that they were as the sand on the seashore, and they
assembled in Michmash on the road to Jerusalem to challenge Israel.
Saul knew that his army was in great danger, so he sent for Samuel to
come and make an offering unto the Lord.
Saul waited seven days for Samuel, and some of the men were getting
restless and began to desert, because they were terrified of the
enemy! Saul was desperate! He knew that only a priest had the
authority to offer sacrifices, but he was afraid to wait any longer
for fear that all of his men would leave him! He made a sudden
decision ... he said to his men, "We can't wait any longer for Samuel!
Bring a heifer to me, and I will offer it as a burnt offering to the
Lord!"
As soon as Saul had finished making the sacrifice, Samuel appeared.
Saul went out to meet him and said, "Blessed be thou of the Lord!"
Samuel replied, "What have you done, Saul?"
Saul replied confidently, "You didn't arrive at the appointed time,
and the Philistines were gathered against us at Michmash! My men were
deserting, so what could I do? I have only six thousand men left, so I
forced myself and made a sacrifice to the Lord! You must understand
why I could make no other decision!"
Samuel looked very sternly at Saul and said, "You have done foolishly!
You have not obeyed the command of the Lord your God regarding
offerings, and because you disobeyed the Lord, your sons will not rule
after you! The Lord has found a man after His own heart whom He will
anoint to follow you!"
Saul took his scolding quietly, because he knew it was useless to
argue with God's prophet.
The Lord fought for Israel that day, and they were victorious over
their enemy, but throughout the remainder of his forty-year reign,
Saul had war with the Philistines.
CHAPTER 3
Several years elapsed and Samuel went to Saul and said, "I anointed
you king over God's people. Now listen to the Word of the Lord: 1
remember what Amaiek did to my people when they came out of Egypt. Go
and smite the Amalekites and utterly destroy all that they have! Spare
none of them, but slay both men and women, children and infants, and
also their flocks!' "
(whenever God ordered a total annihilation of a particular group of
people, it was to prevent their gross immorality from spreading to
other nations. Sometimes, in grace, the Lord saved the children who
had not yet reached the age of accountability)
Saul immediately gathered 200,000 infantrymen and 10,000 men of war,
and they destroyed the Amalekites. However, Saul spared the life of
their king, Agag, and he kept the best of their flocks as well.
The Lord spoke to Samuel and said, "I am very displeased with Saul,
because he has deliberately disobeyed me regarding the Amalekites!"
Samuel prayed all night on behalf of Saul, but he rose up early the
next morning and went to meet Saul as the Lord had instructed. Saul
was happy to see Samuel and he greeted him saying, "Blessed be thou of
the Lord! I have performed the commandment of the Lord regarding
Amaiek!"
Samuel questioned, "If what you say is true, Saul, why do I hear the
bleating of sheep in my ears?"
Saul replied, "The people have spared the best of the sheep and oxen
for sacrifice, but the rest we have utterly destroyed!"
Samuel said, "Stand still, Saul, and I will tell you what the Lord has
said to me about your actions!"
Saul replied, "I'm listening."
Samuel continued, "When you were nothing in your own sight, weren't
you anointed king of Israel? After that, the Lord sent you on a
journey and said, "Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites,
and fight against them until they are consumed! Why did you disobey
the Lord by taking spoil for yourselves? You have done evil in the
sight of the Lord!"
Saul attempted to defend himself and said, "I HAVE OBEYED THE LORD! I
went where He sent me, and I only brought their king Agag back with
me, but I utterly destroyed the Amalekites. It was THE PEOPLE who took
the best of the sheep and oxen so that they might use them to
sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal!"
Then Samuel said, "Do you think the Lord prefers sacrifices rather
than obedience to His Word? Rebellion is the same as witchcraft in His
sight, and stubbornness is Idolatry! Now, because you have rejected
the Word of God, He has rejected you as the leader of His people!"
Saul bowed his head and said, "I have sinned! I disobeyed the Lord
because I was afraid I would lose my popularity among the people. I
listened to them instead of obeying the Lord. Now, I pray you will
pardon my sin and worship the Lord with me!"
Samuel replied, "I will not worship with you, for you have rejected
the Word of God, and He has rejected you!" Samuel turned away to
leave, and Saul grabbed hold of his mantel, and it tore in Saul's
hands.
Samuel turned back and said, "Today, the Lord has torn the kingdom
from you and has given it to another who is more worthy than you! God
is not a man that He should change His mind!"
Once more Saul pleaded with Samuel, "I have truly sinned, but please
don't embarrass me before the people!" Then Samuel went with him, and
Saul worshipped the Lord.
When Agag was brought before Samuel, Agag said, "Surely the bitterness
of war has passed!"
Samuel replied, "As your sword has made women childless, so shall your
mother be childless today!" Then he called for a sword, and he
executed Agag before the Lord and in the sight of all the people.
Samuel returned to his house in Ramah and did not see Saul again until
the day of Saul's death. However, Samuel mourned for Saul, because he
loved him.
CHAPTER 4
After Samuel died, the Philistines threatened Israel again, and Saul
knew his men were outnumbered. He prayed for guidance, but the Lord
did not answer him. He didn't know what to do next! Samuel was not
there to help him, and the Lord wouldn't answer his prayer. Suddenly,
he made a decision to do something that he knew was definitely wrong
in the eyes of the Lord. He called some of his men and said to them,
"Go out at once and look for a woman who has supernatural powers of
witchcraft. Perhaps we can get some help through her."
One of the men said, "I've been told that there is a witch who lives
in Endor."
Saul replied, "Let's go there and find her right away! I will disguise
myself so she won't know who I am."
Saul took two of his men and went to Endor. They found the woman, and
Saul said to her, "By the use of your demon powers, I want you to
bring someone back from the dead for me. I must question him about a
very important matter!"
She looked at him with surprise and then said, "You surely know that
the king executed all of the witches and wizards in the land. Why do
you want to endanger my life? Someone is sure to tell the king about
me!"
Saul replied, "I swear to you by the Lord that you will not be
punished! Please do this for me, and I will reward you handsomely!"
The witch considered his words and then asked, "Whom shall I bring up
for you?"
Saul answered, "Bring up Samuel for me."
The woman went into a trance and then suddenly screamed loudly and
said to Saul, "Why have you deceived me? You are king Saul!"
Saul said, "Don't be afraid! Tell me what you saw that frightened you
so badly."
She replied, "I saw a spirit ascend out of the earth!"
Saul questioned, "What was the form of the spirit you saw?"
She answered trembling, "I saw an old man with a mantel over his
head."
Saul knew at once that it had to be Samuel that she saw, and he
stooped down to the earth and waited for Samuel to speak, (the Lord
had caused this miracle so that Samuel could give Saul information
about his future)
Samuel spoke to Saul and said, "Why have you disturbed me, Saul?"
Saul answered, "I am panic-stricken! You weren't here to counsel me,
and the Lord will not answer my prayers! The Philistines are going to
attack us, and we are greatly outnumbered!"
Samuel replied, "Why do you ask me for advice since the Lord has
become your enemy? Hear the word of the Lord, Saul: 'Your kingdom has
been taken from you and given to David. You refused to obey Me in the
matter of Amaiek; therefore, I will deliver your army into the hands
of the Philistines. Also, you and your sons will die in the battle,
and you will all be with Me tomorrow."
When Saul heard those words, he fell down on the ground! There was no
strength left in him, as he had not eaten anything that night or the
previous day.
The witch saw that Saul was deeply troubled, so she approached him and
said, "Let me set a little food before you so you may regain your
strength before you go on your way."
Saul replied, "I will not eat!"
His men urged him, and he finally got up from the ground and ate a
little of the food that the woman prepared for him. Then Saul and the
two men with him left under cover of darkness, and the following day
they joined the rest of the army and fought against the Philistines.
Just as Samuel had told him would happen, Saul and his three sons died
in battle the next day.
Saul made his own misery because of his persistent mental attitude of
envy and jealousy of David, but in particular, his constant refusal to
obey the Word of God! His pathetic legacy can be found in I Chronicles
10:13:
"So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the
Word of the Lord which he kept not; and also for asking counsel of one
who had a familiar spirit to
enquire of it."
THE END
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