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1SAMUEL
CHAPTER 10

1 Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance? 2 When thou art departed from me to day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel's sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son? 3 Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine: 4 And they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands. 5 After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy: 6 And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man. 7 And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee. 8 And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do.

Samuel anointed Saul and told him that he was to be king over all Israel. Then Samuel gave Saul explicit directions and detailed accounts of what would happen to him in the next few days. It's good to have a mentor.
In verse 2, he will be assured by two men (in a specific place) that the donkeys have been found. The specific place is the tomb of his ancestor Rachel who died in childbirth with Benjamin. All kings in this earth must realize that death is their end. But there is a King Who resides in eternity and presides over eternity.
In verses 3-4, he will meet 3 men who will give him bread. These men will be headed to worship God and offer sacrifices at Bethel. The bread they will give Saul is obviously part of their sacrifice. Bread is referred to as the "staff of life." Perhaps Saul will be reminded by this gift that the real Bread of life is God's Word.
In verses 5-6, he will be met by a "company," or a small group of prophets. At this time the Spirit of the Lord, God will come upon him in a significant way, and Saul will prophesy with the prophets. Perhaps the most important statement here is "..thou...shalt be turned into ANOTHER MAN." (verse 6)
Indeed, when we meet the Lord, and His Spirit comes into our lives, we are CHANGED! Jesus said that change was so radical it was like being "born again."
Samuel tells Saul taht he is to do as he "has occasion" until such time as he NEEDS Samuel. Then he should go to Gilgal and wait seven days, and then Samuel will come to him.
When Samuel meets him there, he will tell Saul what to do next.
After having received Christ, and revelation of how we should grow in Him, we are to go and grow and do as we can for the Lord. But when a tough decision faces us then we should WAIT until He gives us explicit directions for ministry.

9 And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day. 10 And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. 11 And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets? 12 And one of the same place answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets? 13 And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place.

Saul left Samuel and everything that Samuel said happened. When Saul met the company of prophets, the Spirit of God caused him to prophesy with them.
This was recognized far and wide in Israel. The Lord has told us that in those days the visions and word of God was at a standstill, except through Samuel and those prophets who were with him. And now Saul is recognized as being one of those prophets.
In today's world, when a person is "born again," he/she receives the Spirit of God. He/she is then a different person. When we receive the Spirit of God, He makes us able to tell the good news of the Bible - which is the ESSENCE of prophecy.

14 And Saul's uncle said unto him and to his servant, Whither went ye? And he said, To seek the asses: and when we saw that they were no where, we came to Samuel. 15 And Saul's uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto you. 16 And Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spake, he told him not.

When Saul returned home, his uncle asked him what took place. Saul told him of meeting Samuel, and that Samuel had told him the donkeys were found. But Saul did not tell his uncle about becoming a king.
I wonder why?
Saul's perception of the anointing (while separated from his servant and alone with Samuel) was that it was to be KEPT a secret. Therefore, he would not reveal it.
Some things are best kept quiet until the right time.

17 And Samuel called the people together unto the LORD to Mizpeh; 18 And said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you: 19 And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands. 20 And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken.

Samuel now calls a general assembly of all the tribes to Mizpeh. He addresses them and rehearses the deliverance of God from the slavery of Egypt.
Samuel tells them they have rejected a theocracy and chosen instead to have a king. And he tells them to present their tribes, one by one, so that he can choose one of the tribes under the direction of God. And the tribe of Benjamin was chosen.

21 When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found. 22 Therefore they inquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come thither. And the LORD answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff.

Out of the tribe, then, the families came by. The family of Matri was chosen, and then finally Saul's name was chosen.
They tried to find Saul, but he was hidden among the "stuff" (literally: baggage).
Here, I just simply MUST interject a quote from Matthew Henry. He says, "Honour, like the shadow, follows those that flee from it, but flees from those that pursue it."
While under the Spirit and direction of the Lord, God, Saul did not want to be brought to the forefront. Later, when he strayed from God and became proud and vain, he will seek honor and not be able to find it.

23 And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. 24 And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king. 25 Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. 26 And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched. 27 But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.

Saul was "head and shoulders" taller than anyone. He must have been a very tall man. Isn't this the way the world measures people? We look for appearances. We look for social standing, ability, strength. Very seldom is a man sought out for leadership based on his character and integrity. But he is usually chosen by whether he can command performance.
God was giving Israel just what they wanted. Just as he gave Adam and Eve just what they wanted. But it proved to be an awful mess!
Let us desire what GOD wants, and not what we want!
Samuel wrote in a book the way that the king should conduct the affairs of government and left it there in the holy place so that reference could be made.
Saul went his way, and a few men followed him because God had directed them to do so.
Some people made fun of Saul, and didn't believe he could do anything. They were called men of "Belial" (worthless men).
When we seek to choose a leader, and the choice is made in democratic fashion, we should get behind them and help them on their way. It is a feat of worthlessness to belittle one who is chosen properly.

Keep in mind, through the next chapters, that no man ever had a finer beginning as king than Saul.

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