_SAUL ANOINTED BY SAMUEL._
1 SAMUEL x. 1-16.
There is a remarkable minuteness of detail in this and other narratives
in Samuel, suggesting the authenticity of the narrative, and the
authorship of one who was personally connected with the transactions.
The historical style of Scripture is very characteristic; sometimes
great periods of time are passed over with hardly a word, and sometimes
events of little apparent importance are recorded with what might be
thought needless minuteness. In Genesis, the whole history of the world
before the flood is despatched in seven chapters, less than is occupied
with the history of Joseph. Enoch's biography is in one little verse,
while a whole chapter is taken up with the funeral of Sarah, and another
chapter of unusual length with the marrying of Isaac. Yet we can be at
no loss to discover good reasons for this arrangement. It combines two
forms of history--annals, and dramatic story. Annals are short, and
necessarily somewhat dry; but they have the advantage of embracing much
in comparatively short compass. The dramatic story is necessarily
diffuse; it occupies a large amount of space; but it has the advantage
of presenting a living picture--of bringing past events before the
reader as they happened at the time. If the whole history of the Bible
had been in the form of annals, it would have been very useful, but it
would have wanted human interest. If it had been all in the dramatic
form, it would have occupied too much space. By the combination of the
two methods, we secure the compact precision of the one, and the living
interest of the other. In the verses that are to form the subject of the
present lecture, we have a lively dramatic picture of what took place in
connection with the anointing of Saul by Samuel as king of Israel. The
event was a very important one, as showing the pains that were taken to
impress him with the solemnity of the office, and his obligation to
undertake it in full accord with God's sacred purpose in connection with
His people Israel. Everything was planned to impress on Saul that his
elevation to the royal dignity was not to be viewed by him as a mere
piece of good fortune, and to induce him to enter on the office with a
solemn sense of responsibility, and in a spirit entirely different from
that of the neighbouring kings, who thought only of their royal position
as enabling them to gratify the desires of their own hearts. Both Saul
and the people must see the hand of God very plainly in Saul's
elevation, and the king must enter on his duties with a profound sense
of the supernatural influences through which he has been elevated, and
his obligation to rule the people in the fear, and according to the
will, of God.
Though the servant that accompanied Saul seems to have been as much a
companion and adviser as a servant, and to have been present as yet in
all Samuel's intercourse with Saul, yet the act of anointing which the
prophet was now to perform was more suitable to be done in private than
in the presence of another; consequently the servant was sent on before
(ch. ix. 27). It would seem to have been Samuel's intention, while
paying honour to Saul as one to whom honour was due, and thus hinting at
his coming elevation, not to make it public, not to anticipate the
public selection which would follow soon in an orderly way. It was right
that Saul himself should know what was coming, and that his mind should
be prepared for it; but it was not right at this stage that others
should know it, for that would have seemed an interference with the
choice of the people. It must have been in some quiet corner of the road
that Samuel took out his vial of sacred oil, and poured it on Saul to
anoint him king of Israel. The kiss which he gave him was the kiss of
homage, a very old way of recognizing sovereignty (Ps. ii. 12), and
still kept up in the custom of kissing the sovereign's hand after
elevation to office or dignity. To be thus anointed by God's recognised
servant, was to receive the approval of God Himself. Saul now became
God's messiah--the Lord's anointed. For the term messiah, as applied to
Christ, belongs to His kingly office. Though the priests likewise were
anointed, the title derived from that act was not appropriated by them,
but by the kings. It was counted a high and solemn dignity, making the
king's person sacred, in the eyes of every God-fearing man. Yet this was
not an indelible character; it might be forfeited by unfaithfulness and
transgression. The only Messiah, the only Anointed One, who was
incapable of being set aside, was He whom the kings of Israel typified.
Of Him Isaiah foretold: "Of the increase of His government and peace
there shall be no end, upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom, to
order it and to establish it with judgment and with justice, from
henceforth even for ever." And in announcing the birth of Jesus, the
angel foretold: "He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of
His kingdom there shall be no end."
It is evident that Saul was surprised at the acts of Samuel. We can
readily fancy his look of astonishment after the venerable prophet had
given him the kiss of homage,--the searching gaze that asked, "What do
you mean by that?" Samuel was ready with his answer: "Is it not because
the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over His heritage?" But in so
momentous a matter, involving a supernatural communication of the will
of God, an assurance even from Samuel was hardly sufficient. It was
reasonable that Saul should be supplied with tangible proofs that in
anointing him as king Samuel had complied with the will of God. These
tangible proofs Samuel proceeded to give. They consisted of predictions
of certain events that were about to happen--events that it was not
within the range of ordinary sagacity to foresee, and which were
therefore fitted to convince Saul that Samuel was in possession of
supernatural authority, and that the act of consecration which he had
just performed was agreeable to the will of God.
The first of these proofs was, that when he had proceeded on his journey
as far as Rachel's tomb, he would meet with two men who would tell him
that the lost asses had been found, and that his father's anxiety was
now about his son. It must be owned that the localities here are very
puzzling. If the meeting with Samuel was near Ramah of Benjamin, Saul,
in returning to Gibeah, would not have occasion to go near Rachel's
tomb. We can only say he may have had some reason for taking this route
unknown to us. Here he would find a confirmation of what Samuel had told
him on the day before; and his mind being thus relieved of anxiety, he
would have more freedom to ponder the marvellous things of which Samuel
had spoken to him.
The next token was to be found in the plain of Tabor, but this Tabor can
have no connection with the well-known mountain of that name in the
plain of Esdraelon. Some have conjectured that this Tabor is derived
from Deborah, Rachel's nurse, who was buried in the neighbourhood of
Bethel (Gen. xxxv. 8), but there is no probability in this conjecture.
Here three men, going up to Bethel to a religious festival were to meet
Saul; and they were to present him, as an act of homage, with two of
their three loaves. This was another evidence that God was filling men's
hearts with a rare feeling towards him.
The third token was to be the most remarkable of any. It was to occur at
what is called "the hill of God." Literally this is "Gibeah of
God"--God's Gibeah. It seems to have been Saul's own city, but the name
Gibeah may have been given to the whole hill where the city lay. The
precise spot where the occurrence was to take place was at the garrison
of the Philistines. (Thus it appears incidentally that the old enemy
were again harassing the country.) Gibeah, which is elsewhere called
Gibeah of Saul, is here called God's Gibeah, because of the sacred
services of which it was the seat. Here Saul would meet a company of
prophets coming down from the holy place, with psaltery, and tabret, and
pipe, and harp, and here his mind would undergo a change, and he would
be impelled to join the prophets' company. This was a strange token,
with a strange result.
We must try, first, to form some idea of Saul's state of mind in the
midst of these strange events.
The thought of his being king of Israel must have set his whole being
vibrating with high emotion. No mind can take in at first all that is
involved in such a stroke of fortune. A tumult of feeling surges through
the mind. It is intoxicated with the prospect. Glimpses of this pleasure
and of that, now brought within reach, flit before the fancy. The whole
pulses of Saul's nature must have been quickened. A susceptibility of
impression formerly unknown must have come to him. He was like a cloud
surcharged with electricity; he was in that state of nervous excitement
which craves a physical outlet, whether in singing, or shouting, or
leaping,--anything to relieve the brain and nervous system, which seem
to tremble and struggle under the extraordinary pressure.
But mingling with this, there must have been another, and perhaps
deeper, emotion at work in Saul's bosom. He had been brought into near
contact with the Supernatural. The thought of the Infinite Power that
ordains and governs all had been stirred very vividly within him. The
three tokens of Divine ordination met with in succession at Rachel's
tomb, in the plain of Tabor, and in the neighbourhood of Gibeah, must
have impressed him very profoundly. Probably he had never had any very
distinct impression of the great Supernatural Being before. The worldly
turn of mind which was natural to him would not occupy itself with any
such thoughts. But now it was made clear to him not only that there was
a Supernatural Being, but that He was dealing very closely with him. It
is always a solemn thing to feel in the presence of God, and to remember
that He is searching us and knowing us, knowing our sitting down and
our rising up, and comprehending all our thoughts afar off. At such
times the sense of our guilt, feebleness, dependence, usually comes on
us, full and strong. Must it not have been so with Saul? If the prospect
of kingly power was fitted to puff him up, the sense of God's nearness
to him was fitted to cast him down. What was he before God? An
insignificant worm, a guilty sinner, unworthy to be called God's son.
The whole susceptibilities of Saul were in a state of high excitement;
the sense of the Divine presence was on him, and for the moment a desire
to render to God some acknowledgment of all the mercy which had come
upon him. When the company of prophets met him coming down the hill,
"the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied with them." When in
the Old Testament the Spirit of God is said to come on one, the meaning
is not always that He comes in regenerating and sanctifying grace. The
Spirit of God in Bezaleel, the son of Uri, made him cunning in all
manner of workmanship, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass. The
Spirit of God, when He came upon Samson, magnified his physical
strength, and fitted him for the most wonderful feats. So the Spirit of
God, when He came on Saul, did not necessarily regenerate his being;
alas! in Saul's future life, there is only too much evidence of an
unchanged heart! Still it might be said of Saul that he was changed into
another man. Elevated by the prospect before him, but awed at the same
time by a sense of God's nearness, he had no heart for the pursuits in
which he would have engaged on his return home had no such change
occurred. In the mood of mind in which he was now, he could not look at
anything frivolous: his mind soared to higher things. When therefore he
met the company of prophets coming down the hill, he was impelled by the
surge of his feelings to join their company and take part in their song.
They were returning from the high place where they had been engaged in
worship, and now they seem to have been continuing the service, sounding
out the high praises of God, and thankfully remembering His mercies. It
was the same God who had so wonderfully drawn near to Saul, and
conferred on him privileges which were as exalted as they were
undeserved. No wonder the heart of Saul caught the infection, and threw
itself for the time into the service of praise! No young man could well
have resisted the impulse. Had he not been chosen out of all the ten
thousands of Israel for an honour and a function higher than any
Israelite had ever yet enjoyed? Ought he not, must he not, in all the
enthusiasm of profoundest wonder, extol the name of Him from whom so
suddenly, so unexpectedly, yet so assuredly, this marvellous favour had
come?
But it was an employment very different from what had hitherto been his
custom. That utter worldliness of mind which we have referred to as his
natural disposition would have made him scorn any such employment in his
ordinary mood as utterly alien to his feelings. Too often we see that
worldly-minded men not only have no relish for spiritual exercises, but
feel bitterly and scornfully toward those who affect them. The reason is
not far to seek. They know that religious men count them guilty of sin,
of great sin, in so neglecting the service of God. To be condemned,
whether openly or not, galls their pride, and sets them to disparage
those who have so low an opinion of them. It is not said that Saul had
felt bitterly toward religious men previous to this time. But whether
he did so or not, he appears to have kept aloof from them quite as much
as if he had. And now in his own city he appears among the prophets, as
if sharing their inspiration, and joining with them openly in the
praises of God. It is so strange a sight that every one is astonished.
"Saul among the prophets!" people exclaim. "Shall wonders ever cease?"
And yet Saul was not in his right place among the prophets. Saul was
like the stony ground seed in the parable of the sower. He had no depth
of root. His enthusiasm on this occasion was the result of forces that
did not work at the heart of his nature. It was the result of the new
and most remarkable situation in which he found himself, not of any new
principle of life, any principle that would involve a radical change. It
is a solemn fact that men may be worked on by outer forces so as to do
many things that seem to be acts of Divine service, but are not so
really. A man suddenly raised to a high and influential position feels
the influence of the change,--feels himself sobered and solemnized by
it, and for a time appears to live and act under higher considerations
than he used to acknowledge before. But when he gets used to his new
position, when the surprise has abated, and everything around him has
become normal to him, his old principles of action return. A young man
called suddenly to take the place of a most worthy and honoured father
feels the responsibility of wearing such a mantle, and struggles for a
time to fulfil his father's ideal. But ere long the novelty of his
position wears away, the thought of his father recurs less frequently,
and his old views and feelings resume their sway. Admission to the
fellowship of a Church which sustains a high repute may have at first
not only a restraining, but a stimulating and elevating effect, until,
the position becoming familiar to one, the emotions it first excited die
away. This risk is peculiarly incident to those who bear office in the
Church. Ordination to the ministry, or to any other spiritual office,
solemnizes one at first, even though one may not be truly converted, and
nerves one with strength and resolution to throw off many an evil habit.
But the solemn impression wanes with time, and the carnal nature asserts
its claims. How earnest and how particular men ought ever to be in
examining themselves whether their serious impressions are the effect of
a true change of nature, or whether they are not mere temporary
experiences, the casual result of external circumstances.
But how is this to be ascertained? Let us recall the test with which our
Lord has furnished us. "Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord,
shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of My
Father which is in heaven. Many will say unto Me in that day, Lord,
Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name, and in Thy name have cast out
devils, and in Thy name have done many wonderful works? Then will I say
unto them, I never knew you; depart from Me, ye that work iniquity." The
real test is a changed will; a will no longer demanding that self be
pleased, but that God be pleased; a will yielding up everything to the
will of God; a will continually asking what is right and what is true,
not what will please me, or what will be a gain to me; a will
overpowered by the sense of what is due in nature to the Lord and Judge
of all, and of what is due in grace to Him that loved us and washed us
from our sins in His own blood. Have you thus surrendered yourselves to
God? At the heart and root of your nature is there the profound desire
to do what is well-pleasing in His sight? If so, then, even amid
abounding infirmities, you may hold that you are the child of God. But
if still the principle--silent, perhaps, and unavowed, but real--that
moves you and regulates your life be that of self-pleasing, any change
that may have occurred otherwise must have sprung only from outward
conditions, and the prayer needs to go out from you on the wings of
irrepressible desire, "Create in me a clean heart, O Lord, and renew a
right spirit within me."
Two things in this part of the chapter have yet to be adverted to. The
first is that somewhat mysterious question (ver. 12) which some one
asked on seeing Saul among the prophets--"But who is their father?"
Various explanations have been given of this question; but the most
natural seems to be, that it was designed to meet a reason for the
surprise felt at Saul being among the prophets--viz. that his father
Kish was a godless man. That consideration is irrelevant; for who, asks
this person, is the father of the prophets? The prophetic gift does not
depend on fatherhood. It is not by connection with their fathers that
the prophetic band enjoy their privileges. Why should not Saul be among
the prophets as well as any of them? Such men are born not of blood, nor
of the will of man, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God.
The other point remaining to be noticed is Saul's concealment from his
uncle of all that Samuel had said about the kingdom. It appears from
this both that Saul was yet of a modest, humble spirit, and perhaps that
his uncle would have made an unwise use of the information if he had got
it. It would be time enough for that to be known when God's way of
bringing it to pass should come. There is a time to speak and a time to
keep silence. Saul told enough to the uncle to establish belief in the
supernatural power of Samuel, but nothing to gratify mere curiosity.
Thus in many ways Saul commends himself to us in this chapter, and in no
way does he provoke our blame. He was like the young man in the Gospel
in whom our Lord found so much that was favourable. Alas, he was like
the young man also in the particular that made all the rest of little
effect--"One thing thou lackest."