1 Samuel 10
10
Saul Anointed King
1Then Samuel took the vial of oil and poured it on his head. Then he kissed him and said, “Has Adonai not anointed you ruler over His inheritance?
2When you leave me today, you will find two men near the tomb of Rachel in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you: ‘The donkeys you set out to look for have been found—behold, your father has dropped the matter about the donkeys and is worried about you saying, “What should I do about my son?’”
3Then you will go on from there until you reach the terebinth of Tabor, and there three men going up to God at Beth-el will meet you, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and the other carrying a jug of wine.
4Then they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you will receive from their hand.
5After that, you will arrive at the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is. It will come about, as soon as you enter the town, that you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place, preceded by a harp, a tambourine and a flute, and they will be prophesying.
6Then the Ruach of Adonai will seize you and you will prophesy with them—you will turn into another man.
7Now when these signs happen to you, do for yourself what the occasion requires, for God is with you.
8Afterward, you are to go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice fellowship offerings. Seven days you will wait, until I come to you and instruct you what you should do.”
9Then it happened, as Saul turned his back to leave Samuel, that God transformed his heart, and all those signs came to pass that day.
10When they arrived there, at the hill, behold, a band of prophets did meet him, and suddenly, the Ruach of God overtook him, and subsequently, he prophesied among them.
11So when all who knew him formerly saw him prophesying with the prophets, they said one to another, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”
12(Someone there asked, “Who is their father?”) Therefore it became a proverb, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”
13When he finished prophesying, he came to the high place.
14Now Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, “To look for the donkeys. But when we saw that they could not be found, we went to Samuel.”
15Saul’s uncle said, “Tell me now, what did Samuel say to you?”
16“He assured us that the donkeys had been found,” Saul said to his uncle. But concerning the matter of kingship about which Samuel spoke, he told him nothing.
17Then Samuel summoned the people to Adonai at Mizpah.
18He said to Bnei-Yisrael, “Thus says Adonai, God of Israel: I brought Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.
19But today you have spurned your God, who is your deliverer from all your calamities and your distresses. For you said to Him: ‘No! Rather set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before Adonai by your tribes and by your thousands.”
20So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen.
21Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin by its clans, and the clan of the Matrites was chosen. Finally, Saul son of Kish was chosen. But when they looked for him, he could not be found.
22Therefore, they inquired of Adonai further, “Has the man come here yet?” Adonai answered, “He has just hidden himself among the baggage.”
23So they ran and brought him from there. When he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders up.
24Then Samuel announced to all the people, “Do you see the one Adonai has chosen? Surely there is no one like him among all the people!” Then all the people shouted and said, “Long live the king!”
25Then Samuel explained to the people the rules of kingship, wrote them in a scroll and placed it before Adonai. Then Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.
26Saul also went home to Gibeah, accompanied by men of valor whose hearts God had touched.
27But certain worthless men said, “How can this one save us?” So they despised him and brought him no present. But he kept silent.
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Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
1 Samuel 10
10
“You’ll Be a New Person”
1-2Then Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul’s head, and kissed him. He said, “Do you see what this means? God has anointed you prince over his people.
“This sign will confirm God’s anointing of you as prince over his inheritance: After you leave me today, as you get closer to your home country of Benjamin, you’ll meet two men near Rachel’s Tomb. They’ll say, ‘The donkeys you went to look for are found. Your father has forgotten about the donkeys and is worried about you, wringing his hands—quite beside himself!’
3-4“Leaving there, you’ll arrive at the Oak of Tabor. There you’ll meet three men going up to worship God at Bethel. One will be carrying three young goats, another carrying three sacks of bread, and the third a jug of wine. They’ll say, ‘Hello, how are you?’ and offer you two loaves of bread, which you will accept.
5-6“Next, you’ll come to Gibeah of God, where there’s a Philistine garrison. As you approach the town, you’ll run into a bunch of prophets coming down from the shrine, playing harps and tambourines, flutes and drums. And they’ll be prophesying. Before you know it, the Spirit of God will come on you and you’ll be prophesying right along with them. And you’ll be transformed. You’ll be a new person!
7“When these confirming signs are accomplished, you’ll know that you’re ready: Whatever job you’re given to do, do it. God is with you!
8“Now, go down to Gilgal and I will follow. I’ll come down and join you in worship by sacrificing burnt offerings and peace offerings. Wait seven days. Then I’ll come and tell you what to do next.”
9Saul turned and left Samuel. At that very moment God transformed him—made him a new person! And all the confirming signs took place the same day.
Saul Among the Prophets
10-12When Saul and his party got to Gibeah, there were the prophets, right in front of them! Before he knew it, the Spirit of God came on Saul and he was prophesying right along with them. When those who had previously known Saul saw him prophesying with the prophets, they were totally surprised. “What’s going on here? What’s come over the son of Kish? How on earth did Saul get to be a prophet?” One man spoke up and said, “Who started this? Where did these people ever come from?”
That’s how the saying got started, “Saul among the prophets! Who would have guessed?!”
13-14When Saul was done prophesying, he returned home. His uncle asked him and his servant, “So where have you two been all this time?”
“Out looking for the donkeys. We looked and looked and couldn’t find them. And then we found Samuel!”
15“So,” said Saul’s uncle, “what did Samuel tell you?”
16Saul said, “He told us not to worry—the donkeys had been found.” But Saul didn’t breathe a word to his uncle of what Samuel said about the king business.
“We Want a King!”
17-18a Samuel called the people to assemble before God at Mizpah. He addressed the children of Israel, “This is God’s personal message to you:
18b-19 “I brought Israel up out of Egypt. I delivered you from Egyptian oppression—yes, from all the bullying governments that made your life miserable. And now you want nothing to do with your God, the very God who has a history of getting you out of troubles of all sorts.
“And now you say, ‘No! We want a king; give us a king!’
“Well, if that’s what you want, that’s what you’ll get! Present yourselves formally before God, ranked in tribes and families.”
20-21After Samuel got all the tribes of Israel lined up, the Benjamin tribe was picked. Then he lined up the Benjamin tribe in family groups, and the family of Matri was picked. The family of Matri took its place in the lineup, and the name Saul, son of Kish, was picked. But when they went looking for him, he was nowhere to be found.
22Samuel went back to God: “Is he anywhere around?”
God said, “Yes, he’s right over there—hidden in that pile of baggage.”
23They ran and got him. He took his place before everyone, standing tall—head and shoulders above them.
24Samuel then addressed the people, “Take a good look at whom God has chosen: the best! No one like him in the whole country!”
Then a great shout went up from the people: “Long live the king!”
25Samuel went on to instruct the people in the rules and regulations involved in a kingdom, wrote it all down in a book, and placed it before God. Then Samuel sent everyone home.
26-27Saul also went home to Gibeah, and with him some true and brave men whom God moved to join him. But the riffraff went off muttering, “Deliverer? Don’t make me laugh!” They held him in contempt and refused to congratulate him. But Saul paid them no mind.
Saul Is Crowned King
Nahash, king of the Ammonites, was brutalizing the tribes of Gad and Reuben, gouging out their right eyes and intimidating anyone who would come to Israel’s help. There were very few Israelites living on the east side of the Jordan River who had not had their right eyes gouged out by Nahash. But seven thousand men had escaped from the Ammonites and were now living safely in Jabesh.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.