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