When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. The oldest was named Joel, and the second was Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba, except they did not walk in the ways of their father and turned away after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.
All the elders of Israel gathered and told Samuel that his sons could not be judges because they did not walk in his ways. They wanted to appoint a king to judge them like all the other nations had.
This displeased Samuel and he prayed to the Lord. The Lord said to Samuel,
“Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.
According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you.
Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”
1 Samuel 8:7-9
So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. He warned them of all the things that would happen with a king reigning over them:
- “He will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots.
- He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots.
- He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.
- He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants.
- He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants.
- He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work.
- He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves.
- And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”
But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel and they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”
This is really how they thought? They weren’t considering what the Lord had done for them over and over again? They wanted a king to judge them and go out before them and fight their battles. Is that not what God had been doing since the beginning for the people of Israel? Wow, these people were really lost, again/still! Continuing on…
There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, and he had a son named Saul. Saul was a handsome young man, and there was not another man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.
One day, his father’s donkeys got lost. So Saul and another guy set out in search of them. They looked all over and could not find them, and decided to return home so his father wouldn’t worry about them now too.
The other guy said that the next town had a man of God in the city, and they should go ask him about the donkeys. They knew they shouldn’t show up empty handed to ask the seer for help, but all they had to take to the man was a quarter of a shekel of silver. So that would have to do and they continued on their way.
As they were entering the city, they saw Samuel coming out toward them.
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 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 is the man of whom I spoke to you! He it is who shall restrain my people.”
Samuel invited them to go up before him to the high place and eat with him. Then, in the morning he would tell him everything that was on his mind. He also assured him not to worry about the donkeys, for they had been found.
So Saul ate with Samuel that day and when they came down from the high place a bed was spread for Saul. They woke up the next day and went on their way. As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel told Saul to have the servants pass on ahead and he should stop for a while. He needed to make known to him the word of God.
Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said that the Lord had anointed him to be prince and reign over all the people of Israel. He would save them from the hands of their surrounding enemies.
He told him of the signs he would see to know that the Lord had anointed him to be prince over his heritage:
- He would meet two men by Rachel’s tomb and they would tell him that the donkeys were found, but now his father was anxious about his whereabouts.
- From there he would go to the oak of Tabor and meet three men. One man would be carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. They would greet him and give him two loaves of bread that he would accept.
- After that he would enter a city and meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying. Then the Spirit of the Lord would rush upon him and he would prophesy with them and be turned into another man.
Samuel told Saul that when these signs happened to him, he was to do what his hand found to do for God was with him. He told him to go down before him to Gilgal and wait for him. Samuel would be coming to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Saul would wait for seven days.
When Saul turned away to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to happen that day.
Samuel called all the people together to the Lord at Mizpah and spoke to them. He reminded them how God had brought them out of Egypt and saved them from all their oppressors, and still they rejected Him and wanted a king.
He had all the people present themselves by their tribes. However, when he got to the tribe of Benjamin he did not see Saul there. They found him hiding in the baggage and they ran and took him from there.
When he stood among the people, he was taller than any of them. And Samuel said to the people, “Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? There is 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 to their homes.
Samuel went home too, and with him were men of valor whose hearts God had touched. But some worthless fellows questioned how Saul could save them. And they despised him and did not bring him a present. But he held his peace.