When Saul meets Samuel

Last time we were in 1 Samuel in church, the people of Israel demanded a king. Samuel was too old and his sons were too dishonest. God wasn't happy with their desire to be "like the nations" but He commanded Samuel to grant their wish. In 1 Samuel 8, Samuel warns Israel what life will be like having a king. But, as the chapter ends, they demand a king...and they will get one. But who? The next story introduces us to a man named Saul, the son of Kish...a Benjamite.

Chapter 9 has Saul embark on what appears to be an uneventful journey. Kish has lost his donkeys and sends Saul out to find them. They look everywhere! They looked in the hill country, the land of Shalishah and Shaalim and Benjamin and Zuph. Eventually, Saul wonders if they should return before Kish starts worrying about them being lost even more than the donkeys. But Saul's servant encourages him to go see the prophet in Zuph...who just so happens to be Samuel.

Before Saul arrives, the Scripture tells us that God told Samuel to look for a man from Benjamin and to anoint him as king over Israel. Lost donkeys leads to a found prince! Samuel tells Saul to stay with him overnight, and eases his mind, saying, "as for your donkeys...do not set your mind on them, for they have been found."

Now, we must backtrack to the very beginning of chapter 9...Saul was an impressive figure. He was more handsome than any man in Israel...and he was a head taller than anyone. But here, as Samuel heaps praise on Saul and treats him like royalty, we see Saul's internal view of himself. To Saul, he isn't handsome (probably doesn't have a mirror!)...To Saul, he isn't a giant. He says to Samuel, "aren't I from the smallest/weakest tribe of Israel? And my clan of Benjamin, aren't we the weakest clan from the weakest tribe?"

After a meal and special treatment after special treatment...Samuel gets some "alone time" with Saul. He anoints him as king, and gives him a sign that this is true and from God. He tells Saul all that will happen next. And everything that Samuel tells him comes to pass. Saul eventually meets up with his uncle and his uncle asks him what Samuel told him. Saul says that Samuel said the donkeys were found, but doesn't say anything about being king.

At one point, the Scriptures tells us that when Saul left Samuel, God gave him another heart...Samuel also told Saul that "the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you" - and that takes us straight to the theme of our series: "After the heart of God" - the BIG QUESTION we need to think about is the heart of Saul. What does the heart of Saul look like? Is it a heart after the heart of God? This Sunday, we will pick up the story in 1 Samuel 10. At this point, Saul's heart has been changed, but the kingdom is not his yet. The story gets quite complicated from this point on...