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.

Today Saul meets Samuel, and things start to change for this man.

1 Samuel 9:11-14

11 As they went up the hill to the city, they met young women coming out to draw water and said to them, “Is the seer here?”
12 They answered, “He is; behold, he is just ahead of you. Hurry. He has come just now to the city, because the people have a sacrifice today on the high place.
13 As soon as you enter the city you will find him, before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat till he comes, since he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now go up, for you will meet him immediately.”
14 So they went up to the city. As they were entering the city, they saw Samuel coming out toward them on his way up to the high place.

Saul and his servant are so close now. By chance, as they were climbing up the hill to the city, they met some young women, and asked about the prophet. Sure – he is here, because the people have a sacrifice today on the high place

Sacrifice on the high place? What is going on there? We must remember that Jerusalem and the temple were not the center of worship at this time, but the tabernacle. By the time of Samuel’s call into the ministry as a young child, the tabernacle may have been replaced with a permanent structure in Shiloh, since it was referred to as the temple of the Lord

1 Samuel 1:9 After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the Lord.

1 Samuel 3:3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was.

Ok, so the temple was available for worship, yet we find the prophet going to a small city for a sacrifice. On a high place no less. The prophets condemned this behavior multiple times in later years, as we see in 1 & 2 Kings.

1 Kings 3:3 Now Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of his father David, except he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

2 Kings 17:11 and there they burned incense on all the high places as the nations did which the Lord had carried away to exile before them; and they did evil things provoking the Lord.

So, some may think of this as an inconsistency in the message of the Bible, that one prophet sacrifices on a high place and other prophets condemn that action. But consider the expanding knowledge God provides, revealing greater and deeper truth as His people grow. What yesterday was not revealed and “allowed” at a later time is revealed and restricted. It is a common theme through the Word, and best described in a passage by another man called Saul at one time.

Romans 3:25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

So, let’s get back to our original passage in 1 Samuel. We see Saul and his servant climbing the hill, and as soon as they enter the city, Samuel appears, heading toward them, on his way to the sacrifice. Saul’s meeting the prophet was that quick. No hunting through the city, no delay or avoidance by the prophet, even though it is a mission that is based on the nations rejection of God.

Samuel comes out to them, obedient to God’s command, as we will see in our next passage. He obeys what I would consider to be a very discouraging task, that is to meet the man who will replace God, and by association his prophet, by the nation of Israel. To do that which is displeasing in order to please the One sending him is part of the believer’s life.

Is there something that is ahead for you that is displeasing to you, yet you know it needs to be dealt with? Unless it is time dependent, that is, it is something that cannot be done until a specific time, take care of it today.

One of my favorite verses on this topic is Proverbs 22:13

The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside;
I will be killed in the streets!”

Today is a good day to do what you need to do.

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