In The Word
Read: 1 Samuel 10:17-11:15
Saul Publicly Chosen King
17 Now Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah; 18 and he said to the sons of Israel, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘I brought Israel up from Egypt, and I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the power of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ 19 But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your catastrophes and your distresses; yet you have said, ‘No, but put a king over us!’ Now then, present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your groups of thousands.”
20 So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel forward; and the tribe of Benjamin was selected by lot. 21 Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin forward by its families, and the Matrite family was selected by lot. And Saul the son of Kish was selected by lot; but when they looked for him, he could not be found. 22 Therefore they inquired further of the Lord: “Has the man come here yet?” And the Lord said, “Behold, he is hiding himself among the baggage.” 23 So 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. 24 Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? Surely there is no one like him among all the people.” So all the people shouted and said, “Long live the king!”
25 Then Samuel told the people the ordinances of the kingdom, and wrote them in the book, and placed it before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his house. 26 Saul also went to his house in Gibeah; and the valiant men whose hearts God had touched went with him. 27 But certain useless men said, “How can this one save us?” And they despised him and did not bring him a gift. But he kept silent about it.
Saul Defeats the Ammonites
11 Now Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a covenant with us and we will serve you.”2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “I will make it with you on this condition, that I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you, and thereby I will inflict a disgrace on all Israel.” 3 So the elders of Jabesh said to him, “Allow us seven days to send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will come out to you.” 4 Then the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and spoke these words in the hearing of the people, and all the people raised their voices and wept.
5 Now behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen, and Saul said, “What is the matter with the people that they weep?” So they reported to him the words of the men of Jabesh. 6 Then the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and he became very angry. 7 He then took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel, the same shall be done to his oxen.” Then the dread of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out as one person. 8 He counted them in Bezek; and the sons of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah, thirty thousand.9 They said to the messengers who had come, “This is what you shall say to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will be saved.’” So the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh; and they rejoiced. 10 Then the men of Jabesh said, “Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.” 11 The next morning Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp at the morning watch, and struck and killed the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And those who survived scattered, so that no two of them were left together.
12 Then the people said to Samuel, “Who is he that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, so that we may put them to death!” 13 But Saul said, “Not a single person shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has brought about victory in Israel.”
14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, and let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there.” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. There they also offered sacrifices of peace offerings before the Lord; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
Saul had been chosen to be king over Israel by God through the prophet Samuel. This was done privately, and now it was to become public. When all of Israel was gathered to see who among them would be king, Saul, who knew the answer, was hiding in the baggage. He still had the wrong mindset. He was looking at himself as he saw himself, instead of looking at himself as God saw him.
To walk in humility is not to think less of yourself, but to accept who God made you to be and to not be ashamed of it. Even after his public unveiling, Saul went back to plowing in the field instead of starting to walk in his calling. It took a grave circumstance to wake him up and to realize that his calling was not about him, but about helping others. When he got his eyes on the purpose of his calling, the Holy Spirit stirred him to do something about it. The people rallied to his side, and he led God’s people to a great victory. The naysayers were silenced.
Are you hiding in the baggage of life by getting so wrapped up in the things that do not matter around you that you’re not able to walk in your calling? Is it because you are looking at yourself through your eyes and not God’s eyes? When will you open your eyes and ears to the great needs around you and rise up in the power of the Holy Spirit to do something about it? Silence the naysayers, and step into action!