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.

In our last study, Samuel provided Saul the message that he was going to be king over the people of God, and that he was to reign over them and protect them from enemies. In this portion of Scripture, Samuel addresses the nation, informing them of how God see’s their decision, demanding a king to be like the rest of the nations.

1 Samuel 10:18,19

18 And he said to the people of Israel, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’
19 But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said to him, ‘Set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your thousands.”

How does God understand the Israelis decision to demand a king? We have mentioned His understanding of this decision a number of times, but this passage makes it abundantly clear. The nation of Israel, the people of God, have rejected God from being their king.

Rejected! Wow. That is so harsh Samuel. Surely the people of God did not intend to hurt God’s feelings, or make it seem like He wasn’t good enough to be King. Surely this option of installing a human king was allowable, for the people of God had multiple judges before and currently a prophet had been leading them for decades by now. Installing a king – What difference does that make?

Well, when Samuel used the term “rejected”, he wasn’t candy coating the message. The Hebrew word is מָאַס mâʼaç, and is translated in numerous ways. Abhor, cast away, despise, disdain, become loathsome… I think you get my point.

By demanding a king, a human king that is, the people of God showed their disdain for God, considered God loathsome, and were casting God to the side. They knew of a better way, and rejected the very One who created them, redeemed them, rescued them and protected them.

Earlier I had asked why installing a king was such a big deal. Can anyone provide a guess? I have my opinion, (I always have my opinion!) but I would like to see if any of my readers have a better idea. Let me know in the comments.

The last phrase of this passage is where I would like to end for this post. Notice that Samuel tells the nation to present themselves before the LORD. The twelve tribes of Israel were to “take a stand” before the LORD, and in our next portion of this Scripture, we will discover how the king was chosen. Samuel knows who is going to be king, and Saul knows who is going to be king, but to have their king, the nation needs to present themselves before God, understanding they have rejected God.

We will look at the choosing next time, but consider how you would feel, if you were told that a decision you made amounted to rejecting God. Then told to present yourself before Him.

Uncomfortable much?

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