Ah, well, good evening, friends. Good to see you tonight. We are looking at 1 Samuel,
the book of 1 Samuel, chapters 9 and 10. That's page 231 in the Pew Bible, if you want to turn
there. 1 Samuel 9 and 10. Both chapters, the whole way through. We're going to do it tonight.
It's a big chunk of Bible we're looking at this evening. These two chapters tell the story
of how Israel got its first king, King Saul.
Let me just say a brief prayer for us before we jump in. God, we pray that you would indeed open
our eyes and our hearts and our wills and our affections to hear and to receive what you're
saying to us tonight. Lord, we ask this for Christ's sake. Amen.
So over the next few weeks, we're actually going to be following the story of Saul as we work our
way through 1 Samuel. We're going to look at Saul's rise to the kingship in chapters 9 through 11,
and then in chapter 12 as sort of Samuel's farewell. And then in verses 13, 14, and 15 are sort of
Saul's downfall. So we're going to look at his rise and fall over the coming weeks. But tonight,
in these two chapters, we're focusing on Saul's beginning. Where did he start? In chapter 8,
remember, that we looked at a couple weeks ago, the people demanded a king. And so here he is. In
chapter 9, Saul is introduced. Then in the beginning of chapter 10, as we'll see, Saul's privately anointed
to be king by the prophet Samuel. And then at the end of chapter 10, that choice is made public.
The Lord makes known his choice of Saul before the whole nation. That's basically the flow of these
two chapters. Now, obviously, there's lots that we could learn here, and we won't get to all of it
tonight. So tonight, I want us to just focus on three lessons in particular that we see in these
two chapters. So three lessons. The first that we see in the opening verses is a lesson in God's
providence. So let's pick up the story in chapter 9, verse 1.
There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of
Bechoreth, the son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth. And he had a son whose name was Saul,
a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he.
From his shoulders upwards, he was taller than any of the people. 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. 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 Shalim, but they
were not there. Then they passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them. When they came to
the land of Zuf, Saul said to his servant who was with him, come, let's go back, lest my father cease to
care about the donkeys and become anxious about us. But the servant said to him, behold, there's a man
of God in this city and he has a man who is held in honor. All that he says comes true. Now, so now
let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us the way we should go. And Saul said to his servant, but if we
go, what can we bring the man for the bread in our sacks is gone and there's no present to bring the
man of God. What do we have? The servant answered Saul again, here, I have with me a quarter of a shekel
of silver and I will give it to the man of God to tell us our way. Formerly in Israel, when a man
went to inquire of God, he said, come, let us go to the seer for today's prophet was formerly called
a seer. And Saul said to his servant, well said, come, let us go. So they went to the city where the
man of God was. 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? They answered, he is behold, he's just ahead of you. Hurry. He has
come just now to the city because the people have a sacrifice today in the high place. 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. 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. Now the day before Saul came,
the Lord had revealed to Samuel tomorrow about this time, I will send you a man from the land of
Benjamin and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people, Israel. He shall save my people from the
land, from the hand of the Philistines. For I have seen my people because their cry has come to me.
When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, here's the man of whom I spoke to you.
He it is who shall restrain or govern my people.
Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate and said, tell me, where is the house of the seer?
Samuel answered Saul, I am a seer.
Go up before me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me.
And in the morning I will let you go and tell you all that is on your mind.
As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not set your mind on them,
for they have been found. And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel?
Is it not for you and for all your father's house?
Saul answered, am I not a Benjaminite from the least of the tribes of Israel?
And is not my clan the humblest of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin?
Amen.
Why then have you spoken to me in this way?
Let's pause there.
We know it must have seemed like an ordinary day at the start of it.
Some livestock had gotten loose and wandered away.
And so Saul is sent to find them.
It's a pretty typical scene in ancient Palestine.
Little did Saul know that God was orchestrating one of the most surprising and important days of his life.
Look at all the little details as you scan back over this portion we just read.
Look at all the little details that come together.
The donkeys that just happened to go missing.
The servant who just happens to have a silver coin in his pocket.
The women who just happen to be coming out drawing water.
And at just the right moment, who should meet them but Samuel, the great prophet himself.
And we know that none of this is just mere coincidence.
Look again down at verse 16.
Tomorrow about this time, God says, I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin.
You see, God was working in and through all these ordinary events to bring about his plan for Saul and for Israel.
This chapter is a striking picture of what we often call God's providence.
Here's one way God's providence has been described.
Providence is the almighty and ever-present power of God by which he upholds as with his hand heaven and earth and all creatures.
And so rules them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty.
All things, in fact, come to us not by chance, but from his fatherly hand.
In other words, God orders all things for the good of his people.
Look again at verse 16.
Why is God bringing Saul to Samuel?
Why has he orchestrated things in this way?
Why is God going to make Saul king?
After all, we know from chapter 8 that the people wanted a king for all the wrong reasons, right?
They wanted to be just like the nations around them.
Why does God even entertain the thought?
Well, even though the people are rebellious, you see, God is still merciful toward them.
Here's why God's going to make Saul king.
He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines, for I've seen my people because their cry has come to me.
Verse 16.
That sounds a lot like the hand of Exodus chapter 2, doesn't it?
Where God hears the people groaning in slavery in Egypt.
And the text says he sees and he knows.
And what happens?
He raises up a deliverer.
God's providential control of all things, you see, is motivated by his mercy for his people.
Of course, in the middle of our life stories, we certainly don't see how all of it fits together, right?
I mean, how could we?
Think about Saul.
After the young Saul had trucked all around the hill country in the hot sun, only to not find the donkeys,
the only thing he was probably thinking was, I'm tired of looking for donkeys, and it's time to go home, right?
He wasn't thinking, I know this is part of God's providential plan for my life, and today is going to be a very special day.
No, he didn't know how it was all fitting together.
And yet what he couldn't see was that losing the donkeys meant finding the kingdom.
And there's a lesson here for all of us.
The lesson to trust that God is working through the everyday events of your life to bring about God's good work.
Again, it's not our job to try to figure it all out.
To try to guess in the middle of the story how and why God does certain things.
Because no doubt if we try to do that, we'll probably get it wrong.
But we can trust that even in the little things, God is working his fatherly mercy in our lives.
Now there's a lot more that we could say about that, and maybe afterwards if we have some time we can engage that in Q&A.
But I think that's the first brief lesson we see here, is this lesson about God's providence.
The next thing we have is a lesson in assurance.
Let's pick up in 9, 22.
Then Samuel took Saul and his young man and brought them into the hall and gave them a place at the head of those who had been invited, who were about 30 persons.
And Samuel said to the cook,
Bring the portion I gave you, of which I said to you, put it aside.
So the cook took up the leg and what was on it, it set them before Saul.
And Samuel said,
See, what is kept is set before you.
Eat, because it was kept for you until the hour appointed that you might eat with the guests.
So Saul ate with Samuel that day.
And when they came down from the high place into the city, a bed was spread for Saul on the roof, and he lay down to sleep.
And at the break of dawn, Samuel called to Saul on the roof,
Up, that I might send you on your way.
So Saul rose, and both he and Samuel went out into the street.
As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul,
Tell the servant to pass on before us.
And when he has passed on, stop here yourself for a while, that I may make known to you the word of God.
Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on Saul's head and kissed him and said,
Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people, Israel?
And you shall reign over the people of the Lord, and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies.
And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince over his heritage.
When you depart from me today, you will meet two men by Rachel's tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah.
And they will say to you, The donkeys that you went to seek are found,
and now your father has ceased to care about the donkeys and is anxious about you,
saying, What shall I do about my son?
Then you shall go on from there farther and come to the oak of Tabor.
Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there,
one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread,
and another carrying a skin of wine.
And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread,
which you shall accept from their hand.
After that, you shall come to Gibeath Elohim,
where there is a garrison of the Philistines.
And there, as soon as you come to the city,
you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place
with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying.
Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you,
and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.
Now when these signs meet you,
do what your hand finds to do,
for God is with you.
Then go down before me to Gilgal,
and behold, I'm coming down to you to offer burnt offerings
and to sacrifice peace offerings.
Seven days you shall wait until I come to you
and show you what you shall do.
When he turned his back to leave Samuel,
God gave him another heart,
and all these signs came to pass that day.
When they came to Gibeah,
behold, a group of prophets met him,
and the Spirit of God rushed upon him,
and he prophesied among them.
And when all who knew him previously saw
how he prophesied with the prophets,
the people said to one another,
What has come over the son of Kish?
Is Saul also among the prophets?
And a man of the place answered,
And who is their father?
Therefore it became a proverb,
Is Saul also among the prophets?
When he had finished prophesying,
he came to the high place.
And Saul's uncle said to him and to his servant,
Where did you go?
And he said to seek the donkeys.
And when we saw that they were not found,
we went to Samuel.
And Saul's uncle said,
Please tell me what Samuel said to you.
And Saul said to his uncle,
He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.
But about the matter of the kingdom
of which Samuel had spoken,
he did not tell him anything.
So it's clear from these verses
that God had chosen Saul
to be Israel's first king.
And here we see how God goes to incredible lengths
to give Saul such rich assurance of this fact.
First, there's this feast, right?
Imagine how Saul must have felt.
He hadn't met Samuel before in his life,
but Samuel in essence says,
Ah, I've been expecting you.
Here, sit at the head of the table,
and I'll tell the cook to bring
the choice portion of meat
that I'd set aside for you.
That must have been really strange for Saul.
Here he is a stranger
being welcomed as the guest of honor.
Next, there are these signs
that Samuel tells him will come true.
And notice how concrete and specific they are.
Two men by Rachel's tomb
who will give you word about the donkeys.
Three men going up to Bethel
who will give you bread to eat.
You know, these aren't your sort of general,
horoscopy, could probably come true
in a lot of different ways sort of things, right?
They're super specific
because God wants to give Saul assurance.
And then comes the third sign.
The spirit rushes upon Saul at Gibeah
and he begins prophesying
along with a group of prophets there.
And Gibeah, as we find out a little later
in chapter 10, is Saul's hometown.
So some of his neighbors see this and say,
is Saul also among the prophets?
Which ends up becoming this sort of
slang way of saying,
well, you don't see that every day.
That's kind of hard to believe.
Those two things don't usually go together.
Is Saul among the prophets?
The feast, the signs,
the rushing of the spirit,
all of this is confirmation
of the anointing that Saul receives
at the beginning of chapter 10.
Anointing, by the way,
was a sort of symbolic way
of setting someone apart
for a special role,
for a special task.
And here, this anointing symbolizes
that God is setting apart Saul
to be Israel's king.
And you might ask,
well, why is God doing all of this in private?
Why is he sort of anointing Saul
without anybody around?
And the answer
is probably that God is preparing Saul
for what's about to happen
at the end of chapter 10.
In other words,
he wants Saul to be personally ready
when God makes his choice public.
He's preparing him in advance
and God gives Saul
all these assurances
so he won't be afraid
when that day comes.
God wants Saul to know
that he's chosen him
and that he'll be with him.
And that's what 10-7 is all about.
Look at that verse again.
It says,
Now when these signs meet you,
do what your hand finds to do.
In other words,
be assured of your kingship
for God is with you.
I think there's a lesson here for us
about assurance.
Now, of course,
none of us will have an identical
sort of experience as Saul.
Right?
On the one hand,
none of us in this room
is going to have God come to us
and tell us that we're going to be
the next king of Israel.
I'm pretty confident of that.
Even more so,
I don't think we need to expect
God to use
similar kinds of miraculous signs
or powerful outward manifestations
of the Spirit
to grant us assurance today.
Not that God can't do those things.
He certainly can.
But we need not depend
on those particular kinds
of assurances.
But having said all that,
the reality is, friends,
God doesn't want us
to be timid
or fearful
in our relationship to Him.
He wants us to be reverent.
He wants us to be humble.
But He doesn't want us to be afraid.
He doesn't want us to be timid.
You see, friends,
the New Testament teaches us
that everyone
who turns from sin
and places their trust in Jesus
is completely forgiven
and counted righteous
in God's sight.
That is, they're fully
and objectively justified
before God.
And if that weren't enough,
everyone who's justified in Christ,
the New Testament says,
is also fully adopted
as one of God's own sons
and daughters
with all the rights
and privileges
and joys
that come with that status.
So you see,
we're not just forgiven
and given a perfect legal record
before God in Christ,
but we're also brought
into the family.
And you see, friends,
the deeper you come to grip
those twin truths
that we've been made righteous in Him
and that we've been brought
into the family in Him,
the deeper and deeper
you cling to those
and come to know those
in your heart,
the more and more
your life begins to change
and unfold
in all sorts of ways.
In some sense,
that's the secret
to Christian growth.
Really coming to believe
who we are in Christ.
Forgiven family.
And the question is,
how do we grow
in that deep,
rich assurance
of what we have
in Christ?
And you see here,
the secret is not
to try to replicate
Saul's experience
that we see in this chapter.
The secret is not
to try to hunt down
coincidences
that might confirm it
or try to whip up
ecstatic experiences
that might sort of
bring some assurance.
Look, if God wants
to give you those,
fine, great.
That's fun.
But that's not really
where assurance comes from.
Don't try to replicate
Saul's experience.
Instead,
if you want assurance,
look more and more
to the one
who fulfilled
Saul's experience.
And what I mean is this.
You see,
when Saul was anointed
king of Israel
and when the spirit
rushed upon him,
it's as if God
was tracing
a pattern
into history.
It's as if God
was making an outline
in the midst
of time.
But you see,
Saul himself,
he couldn't fill in
the outline.
He couldn't fill in
and complete the picture.
We'll see in chapters 13
and following
that even though
Saul started well,
he didn't finish well.
He ends up being
one of the most
tragic figures
in the Old Testament.
You see, friends,
Saul was just a trace
of the one to come.
Because there would be
one who would come
who would be
the truly
anointed one.
There would be one
who came
who would be
utterly
and completely
filled with the spirit.
And not in some
sort of momentary way
that sort of came
and went,
but one who would be
filled with the spirit
permanently
in all of his ways.
You see,
when Jesus Christ
began his public
ministry
and was baptized
by John the Baptist,
do you remember
what happened?
the heavens
tore open
and the spirit
descended
and remained
on him.
And then God
the Father
spoke these words
of assurance.
This is my beloved
son
in whom
I am well pleased.
And Jesus
having
began well,
we know
finished well.
He obeyed
his father
to the end.
He ascended
the cross
for our sins
and he rose
again three days
later
demonstrating
that he had
destroyed the power
of sin and death
through his death
on the cross.
And he ascended
to God's right hand
where he sits
right now
enthroned
as the world's
true Lord
and true king.
You see,
that little sketch
that Saul makes
in history
of one who would
be anointed
and filled
and sent out
to ministry,
it was just
an echo
of what God
has done
once and for all
in Jesus Christ
for us
and for our salvation.
And friends,
as we look
to him,
not to ourselves,
as we look
to him
with growing
love
and with growing
trust,
that's where
our assurance
comes from.
It's like the song
we often sing
here at Trinity.
Before the throne
of God above,
I have a strong
and perfect plea.
A great high priest
whose name is love,
whoever lives
and pleads for me.
My name
is graven
on his hands.
My name
is written
on his heart.
I know that
while in heaven
he stands,
no tongue
can bid me
thence depart.
Behold him there,
the risen lamb,
my perfect,
spotless righteousness,
the great
unchangeable
I am,
the king
of glory
and of grace.
One with himself
I cannot die.
My soul
is purchased
by his blood.
My life
is hid
with Christ
on high,
with Christ
my savior
and my God.
Friends,
that's where
assurance comes from.
That's what
the Holy Spirit
will take
in your heart
and it will cause
to well up
into a deep
confidence,
not in yourself,
but in him.
So God
doesn't want us
to be timid
or fearful.
He wants us
to look to Christ
and know that
we're his
and that he is
with us.
It's a lesson
in assurance.
The last lesson
we learn from this
chapter is a lesson
in dependence.
Let's read the end
of chapter 10
starting in verse 17.
Now Samuel
called the people
together to the Lord
at Mizpah
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.
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.
And Samuel brought
all the tribes
of Israel near
and the tribe
of Benjamin
was taken by Lot.
He brought the tribe
of Benjamin near
by its clans
and the clan
of the Matrites
was taken by Lot
and Saul,
the son of Kish
was taken by Lot.
But when they sought him,
he could not be found.
So they inquired again
to the Lord,
is there a man
still to come?
And the Lord said,
behold,
he's hidden himself
among the baggage.
Then they ran
and took him from there
and when he stood
among the people,
he was taller
than any of the people
from his shoulders upward.
And Samuel said
to all the people,
do you see him
whom the Lord has chosen?
There's none like him
among all the people
and all the people shouted,
long live the king.
Then Samuel told the people
the rights and duties
of the kingship
and he wrote them
in a book
and laid it up
before the Lord.
Then Samuel sent
all the people away,
each one to his home.
Saul also went
to his home at Gibeah
and with him went
men of valor
whose hearts
God had touched.
But some worthless fellow
said,
how can this man save us?
And they despised him
and brought him no present.
But he,
that is Saul,
held his peace.
So I want to end
just focusing on verse 22.
You know,
it's,
the narrator doesn't say
why Saul was hiding
among the baggage.
But it's one of those details
that when you read this chapter
you just can't forget.
There's Saul
whose head and shoulders
above everyone else
hiding.
You know,
we can only speculate
what was going on
in his mind
and his heart.
You would think
that after the sort of
powerful experiences
that had just happened
to him,
he'd be ready
to sort of take up
this new role
with courage.
But he's hiding
among the baggage.
Maybe it was humility.
You know,
maybe it was
some political prudence.
He didn't want to
sort of just
jump in there.
First king,
who knows what was
going to happen.
You know,
sadly,
maybe it was simply
unbelief.
Maybe Saul doubted
God would be with him
after all.
We just can't say.
We don't know.
But what we do learn
from verse 22
is that the people
of God
are totally
dependent
on the Lord.
And here's what I mean.
Verse 21 ends,
when they sought him,
that is Saul,
he could not be found.
Even after God
confirms
his choice
of a king publicly
through the casting
of lots,
the Lord
has to practically
take the people
by the hand
and lead them
to Saul
who's nowhere
to be found,
who's hiding
among the baggage.
God's got to
take him
the whole way.
You see,
friends,
it's the Lord
the whole time.
When the people
want a king
for all the wrong reasons,
God in his mercy
still acts
in his providence
to send him a rescuer.
When Saul's doubtful
that God could want him,
a mere Benjaminite,
as king,
God showers him
with these
undeniable assurances.
And when at last
the human king
God has chosen
is hiding,
perhaps still
riddled with doubts.
God in his mercy
brings the people
to him.
You see, friends,
we are dependent
on God
from first to last.
And we can do
nothing apart from him.
And that
is completely
and utterly
good news.
Because the God
that we know
in Jesus,
the true king,
is a God
who's utterly dependable.
These two chapters
are all about God
finding a king
for his people
and overcoming
Saul's doubts.
But in Jesus,
we have a king
who comes to find us.
We don't have to go
searching for him.
He comes to search
for us.
So tonight,
do you acknowledge
that you need
a king like that?
Can you admit
that you're needy,
that you're sinful
even,
and that you need
a savior?
friend,
if you can admit
those things,
then you are so close
to being in the most
secure place
possible.
Because Jesus
is a king
who can be trusted.
If you can admit
that you're needy,
then step
into him
in faith.
we're an utterly
dependent
people.
But what Samuel
shows us here
is that we have
an utterly
dependable God.
Let's pray.
God,
we're thankful
that you
overcome
our fearful
and our timid
hearts
and that,
God,
you come
to find us.
So,
Lord,
I pray tonight
that you would
open the eyes
and hearts
of those
who are seeking
for you
and help
them to see,
God,
that you
have been
seeking them.
Lord,
help us to
trust your
good providence
in our lives.
Lord,
grant us
assurance,
we pray,
of the salvation
that we have
in Christ.
Lord,
and help us
to be a joyfully
dependent people
in you.
We ask this
in Christ's name.
Amen.
The music team
is going to come up.
We're going to
continue worshiping
God together.
Let's stand together.
Well,
it's typically
our practice
in the evening service
to end with just
some time of interaction
and Q&A,
but we're out of time.
So,
I will hang around
up front
if you have
any questions
and want to
sort of
banter
about the passage.
I'd be happy
to do that.
But let me just
end with a couple
quick announcements.
I hope you got a
bulletin
on the way in.
If not,
grab one on the way out.
There's a bunch
of stuff going on
on the way out.
There's a bunch of stuff
going on.
I'll be happy to do that.
There's a bunch of stuff
going on.
I'll be happy to do that.