1 Samuel 10:25-27 Held His Peace

 ”Then Samuel explained to the people the behavior of royalty, 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. And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and valiant men went with him, whose hearts God had touched. But some rebels said, “How can this man save us?” So they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.“ ‭‭I Samuel‬ ‭10‬:‭25‬-‭27‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Samuel explained to the people the behavior of royalty: Samuel taught them God’s guidelines for both rulers and subjects, probably using Deuteronomy 17:14-20.

b. Wrote it in a book and laid it up before the LORD: It doesn’t seem that this book Samuel wrote is contained in any of the books of the Bible. This doesn’t mean that there is something missing from our Bibles. It simply means God did not want this book preserved in His eternal word.

c. Saul also went home to Gibeah: At the time, there was no palace or capital. So Saul simply walked home with his future leaders, the valiant men who went with him.

i. God called Saul to be king and lead the nation. Yet, this was not something he could do himself. He needed valiant men around him, men whose hearts God had touched.

d. So they despised him…. But he held his peace: Not all of Israel supported Saul yet. Because they never had a king before, it was unlikely they could choose any one man the whole nation could immediately support. Saul reacted to this wisely (he held his peace). At this point, an insecure or unwise leader might feel the need to “crush” any opposition or simply regard them as enemies. Saul did neither, understanding that it might take him some time to win over the doubters.

i. “The Hebrew, as suggested by the margin, is still more striking. ‘He was as though he had been deaf’ - he pretended not to hear. He did hear; every word had struck deep into his soul, but he made as though he were deaf. It is a great power when a man can act as though he were deaf to slander, deaf to detraction, deaf to unkind and uncharitable speeches, and treat them as though they had not been spoken, turning from man to God, leaving with God his vindication, believing that God that sooner or later will give him a chance…of vindicating the true prowess and temper of his soul.” (Meyer)

ii. From this, we see that Saul started with great promise. He was:

· Chosen and anointed by God.

· Filled with the Holy Spirit.

· Supported by a great man of God.

· Given gifts appropriate to royalty.

· Enthusiastically supported by most of the nation.

· Surrounded by valiant men, men whose hearts God had touched.

· Wise enough to not regard every doubter or critic as an enemy.

iii. Despite all these great advantages, Saul could still end badly. He had to choose to walk in the advantages God gave him and choose to not go his own way. The rest of the book of 1 Samuel shows how Saul dealt with that choice. (Guzik)

Held His Peace

This isn’t easy to do yet it is a trait of a true Christian! There will always be rebels, even in the church and it may be best to pretend to be deaf as though not to hear! 

Reread Meyer’s comment and let it sink in!

“It is a great power when a man can act as though he were deaf to slander, deaf to detraction, deaf to unkind and uncharitable speeches, and treat them as though they had not been spoken, turning from man to God, leaving with God his vindication, believing that God that sooner or later will give him a chance…of vindicating the true prowess and temper of his soul.” (Meyer)

Blessings 

1 Samuel 10:21b-24 “but you hide from a heavenly one”

 ”But when they sought him, he could not be found. Therefore they inquired of the Lord further, “Has the man come here yet?” And the Lord answered, “There he is, hidden among the equipment.” So they ran and brought 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, that there is no one like him among all the people?” So all the people shouted and said, “Long live the king!”“ I Samuel‬ ‭10‬:‭21‬-‭24‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Hidden among the equipment: Here Saul showed a healthy embarrassment and humility. He did not look forward to being “center stage” in front of the nation; he seemed to dread it. Saul was not made king because of his personal ambition or to gratify a desire for the limelight.

i. Spurgeon, in his sermon Hiding Among the Stuff, showed how both believers and unbelievers hide, avoiding their crown: 

“There may be some of you here present, who may be doing precisely what Saul did, only you are doing it more foolishly than he did. He did but hide away from an earthly crown, but you hide from a heavenly one.” (Spurgeon)

b. He was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward: The physical description of Saul showed he was exactly what the people wanted – a king that looked good to the other nations. God gave them “the king from central casting.”

c. Long live the king: In their desire for the image and pageantry of a human king, Israel longed to shout these words for a long time. They knew all the other nations got to have royal ceremonies and functions. Now they got to have it all as well.

d. Do you see him…there is no one like him among all the people: Samuel perhaps said this with a note of sarcasm in his voice. He wanted the nation to see the king, and according to what they could see, he was a great king. But from his long conversations with Saul (1 Samuel 9:25-26) Samuel probably knew him well enough to mean something else when he said, there is no one like him among all the people. (Guzik)

“but you hide from a heavenly one”

Spurgeon’s comment strikes me to the core because most of us do exactly that. When we are in public, do we proclaim Long Live the King of Kings?

When we don’t, we are in fact hiding from our heavenly crown!

”And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.“ Mark‬ ‭16‬:‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Why are we so afraid to tell people that Jesus loves and died for them. John 3:16

Blessings

1 Samuel 10:20-21a Chosen

 ”And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was chosen. And Saul the son of Kish was chosen.” I Samuel‬ ‭10‬:‭20‬-‭21‬a NKJV‬‬

a. And Saul the son of Kish was chosen: Saul was already anointed king over Israel. But God did this to show the whole nation that Saul was the right man. It showed that God chose Saul and not any man.

b. Was chosen: It is important to say that Saul did not become king because of the choosing by lot. Instead, he was chosen king because of God’s word to the prophet Samuel. The choosing by lot simply confirmed the word of the LORD through Samuel.

(Guzik)

Christian you were chosen to!

”just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,“

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1‬:‭4‬-‭5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Predestination is the biblical doctrine that God in His sovereignty chooses certain individuals to be saved.”

Kind of hard to wrap your head around it, isn’t it? This article explains it in detail.

Blessings 

https://www.gotquestions.org/predestination.html

1 Samuel 10:17-19 Rejected Your God!

 ”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.”“ ‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭10‬:‭17‬-‭19‬ ‭ESV‬‬

a. I brought Israel out of Egypt: Before God appointed a king for Israel, God reminded them of all He did for them. God reminded Israel that He was still more than qualified to be their king and their rejection of Him was all because of them and not because of the LORD.

b. But you have rejected your God, who Himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations: The LORD, speaking through Samuel, showed Israel how their rejection of Him made so little sense. It makes no sense to reject the one who Himself saved you from all your adversities and your tribulations. (Guzik)

Rejected Your God!

There’s a day coming when everyone will be judged because we are all guilty of sin. 

”If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.“

‭‭1 John‬ ‭1‬:‭8‬ ‭BSB‬‬

But…

”For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.“ John‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭BSB‬‬

So…..

”Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well.“ ‭‭1 John‬ ‭2‬:‭23‬ ‭BSB‬‬

God gave you free will to decide. Have you rejected your God?

Blessings 

1 Samuel 10:14-16 Where Did You Go?

 ”Now Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where did you go?” “To look for the donkeys,” Saul replied. “When we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.” “Tell me,” Saul’s uncle asked, “what did Samuel say to you?” And Saul replied, “He assured us that the donkeys had been found.” But Saul did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about the kingship.“ ‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭10‬:‭14‬-‭16‬ ‭BSB‬‬

a. Where did you go? This perhaps was a simple, logical question. Or, Saul’s uncle may have wanted to know why Saul had very, very oily hair.

b. About the matter of the kingdom, he did not tell him: It seems strange that Saul did not tell what he experienced. Perhaps Saul was wise, knowing that the LORD had to reveal him as king over Israel. What point was there in saying, “I’m the king now!” until the LORD declared him king? Or perhaps Saul experienced what many do after a powerful encounter with the LORD: an attack from the enemy, making them fearful and cowardly to tell others what God did.

Where did you go?

I remember my brother in law, God bless his soul, my sister asked him where did you go? His reply was, I took a bus ride downtown to tell the people on the bus about Jesus. He had a heart for evangelism!

Then there was pastor Robert telling a story about pastor Pete LaJoy at a buffet style restaurant and when he goes to pay and he’s wondering, where did Pete go? He looks down the buffet and sees Pete with a server, she’s leaning over the buffet table balling her eyes out as Pete was leading her to Jesus! He also has a heart for evangelism!

When we have breathed our last will our loved ones wonder, where did you go?

There is only one of two places that we can go to when we die.

”We are confident, then, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.“ ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬ ‭BSB‬‬

”One day the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. And the rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham from afar, with Lazarus by his side. So he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. For I am in agony in this fire.’“ ‭‭Luke‬ ‭16‬:‭22‬-‭24‬ ‭BSB‬‬

You have free will to decide, where will you go?

Please choose wisely.

Blessings 

1 Samuel 10:9-13 He Got Religion

 ”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.“

‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭10‬:‭9‬-‭13‬ ‭ESV‬‬

a. When he had turned his back to go from Samuel, that God gave him another heart. Samuel could not give Saul another heart. Only the Spirit of the LORD could do it. To demonstrate this, God did not grant this change of heart to Saul until he left the presence of Samuel. God wanted Saul to honor and respect Samuel but to never look to him in the place of the LORD.

i. God gave him another heart: Samuel did not give it. Saul did not even give it to himself. The new heart was a gift from God. We also can have another heart from the LORD but we must receive it from Him. We can’t receive a new heart from anyone except God, and we can never make a new heart in anyone else.

b. Is Saul also among the prophets? This phrase became a proverb describing astonishment that someone was now deeply religious. As some used to say, “He got religion?” Saul was an unspiritual man who became very spiritual at the time when the Spirit of the LORD came upon him.

c. But who is their father? This question asked, “Who is the source of the inspiration upon the prophets?” If God was their inspiration, it wasn’t strange that God inspired an unlikely man like Saul.

d. When he had finished prophesying: Saul prophesied without ever being recognized as a prophet. This shows us that someone can receive prophecy as a gift from the Holy Spirit without really being a “prophet” in the sense of having that office or title.

He Got Religion 

Religion can mean many different things to many people, but how does the Bible define it?

”Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.“

‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭27‬ ‭ESV‬‬

But the Bible also warns us of comprised religion!

”See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.“ ‭‭Colossians‬ ‭2‬:‭8‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Then there is idolatry!

”The woodworker extends a measuring line; he marks it out with a stylus; he shapes it with chisels and outlines it with a compass. He fashions it in the likeness of man, like man in all his glory, that it may dwell in a shrine.“ ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭44‬:‭13‬ ‭BSB‬‬

The list goes on, verses having a life changing relationship with Jesus.

Take Saul of Tarsus for example, he was a religious Pharisee of tradition. Hunting down people of the Way, imprisoning and murdering them until he saw the Light from Jesus on the road to Damascus and was converted into Paul. 

He definitely got religion and everyone noticed!

Do people say of you, (he or she) got religion?

Blessings