Saul Chosen, Anointed and Proclaimed to Be King

As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.

Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.

A short review of Saul’s call to be King!

1 Samuel 9:3-4

3 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.”
4 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 Shaalim, but they were not there. Then they passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them.

Saul was on a journey. A journey to destiny! Little did he know of the life changing meeting he would have with a prophet of God while searching for his father’s livestock.

I suppose the first thing I am curious about is the route he took in looking for his animals – through the hill country of Ephraim, through Shalishah, though Shaalim, and through the land of Benjamin.

Best I can tell, the map to the right provides demarcation of the Hill Country, and lands of Benjamin and Ephraim. This journey may have been as much as 100 miles round trip, traveling through hilly country, looking for donkeys.

Donkeys!

When I think of Old Testament Israel, I think sheep, not donkeys, yet these animals were common in the land, even used to transport royalty in the very near future. And Saul, with an assistant was out looking for a heard of donkey’s upon assignment from his father Kish.

Let’s think about this. A prominent, wealthy family looses a herd of donkeys. Does this speak of bad livestock management practices? We need to give Kish and his family the benefit of the doubt as this occurrence was used of God to direct Saul to a fateful meeting with Samuel. To be anointed the first King of Israel, continuing the rejection of God as their King!

What are you talking about Carl – Israel’s rejection of God? You see, Saul was out searching for lost donkeys, spending a considerable amount of time and effort chasing after them. It turns out he never did find them. But he was led to a prophet that had been told of Israel’s rejection of God, of God giving the nation He created, saved and established what they wanted. And what did they want? A replacement leader. Someone instead of God. We will see this as a consistent truth as we venture through the Old Testament, but it is good to understand how this impacts not only Samuel’s life, but more importantly God’s interpretation of Israel’s desires.

1 Samuel 8:7 And the LORD said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.

Sobering thoughts on the desires of a nation, when it simply wants to be like the nations around it.

---

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

Come join us at Considering the Bible