As Saul and his servant approach Ramah, they found the prophet Samuel,
whom the Lord had prepared. “Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a
man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my
people Israel . . . When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, “Here is the man
of whom I spoke to you”” (1 Samuel 9:16–17a, ESV).
Note a couple things at the outset. The events described in the
previous blog were clearly orchestrated by the Lord. He “sent” Saul to Samuel. Secondly, note the purpose for God’s ordination
of Saul for kingship: “He shall save my people from the hand of the
Philistines. For I have seen my people, because their cry has come to me.”[1] This echoes Joseph’s understanding of his exile in Egypt. Note: “As for you, you meant evil against
me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be
kept alive, as they are today” (Genesis 50:20, ESV). Clearly Israel’s choice of a human king was
for evil; God chose it for redemptive purposes.
The Story
Samuel reveals that Kish’s donkeys are safe. The discussion turns to Saul’s kingship. Saul is
surprised at Samuel’s plan to anoint him king. “Saul answered, “Am I not a
Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel? And is not my clan the
humblest of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to
me in this way”” (1 Samuel 9:21, ESV)? Samuel showed great hospitality to Saul and
the next morning, in the absence of Saul’s servant, Samuel communicated God’s
will to him. We read that “Samuel
took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, “Has not
the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign
over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their
surrounding enemies.” (1 Samuel 10:1a ESV).
Samuel also told Saul of signs that would confirm this calling of
God. The first sign authenticated the
finding of the donkeys. The second sign
was the meeting of three men that will bring him offerings. A procession of prophets
will be the third sign. Saul himself will experience a Spirit-induced prophetic
expression with these prophets. Samuel
says, “Now when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, for God
is with you” (1 Samuel 10:7, ESV). Samuel then told Saul to wait in Gilgal until
he comes to sacrifice.
Then we read: “When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him
another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day.” (1 Samuel 10:9,
ESV)
On returning home Saul’s uncle as about what happened and what Samuel
had said. Saul only communicated the
matter regarding the donkeys, not the “kingdom”.
From the communication of special knowledge given to Samuel
from God to the private anointing ceremony with oil, to the new heart given to Saul
after this anointing, to the sign that included the company of prophets whereby
Saul experienced a special experience of the Spirit – all this gives us
evidence to the Holy Spirit’s work in the Old Testament.
The Heart of Saul
This account of Saul’s life raises some important
theological issues, particularly issues in relation to the Holy Spirit in the Old
Testament. A question that takes us to an important concern is, “Was Saul saved?”
At the outset let me say that we do not
know. In 1 Samuel 10:9a (ESV), we read, “When
he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart.” Literally, “God changed him for another heart.” The promise of Saul (“Then the
Spirit of the Lord will rush upon
you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.” (1
Samuel 10:6, ESV)) “to be turned into another man” sounds a lot like “Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold,
the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV). But is it?
The problem is that this "new-heartedness" stands in stark contrast to Saul’s life. We will learn that Saul’s legacy will be a record
of jealousy, hatred, and murder; his kingship characterized by failure and
rebellion[2]. His end is judgment and suicide. The Bible indicates that the evidence of a
new heart is quite different than this:
1. The natural, carnal heart cannot understand God. “But
to this day the Lord has not given
you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear.” (Deuteronomy
29:4, ESV)
2. A circumcised heart is required in order to love God. “And
the Lord your God will circumcise
your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul, that you may live.” (Deuteronomy 30:6, ESV)
3. A new heart is a heart whereby God overcomes the
rebellion bringing into reality an obedient heart. “And I will give you a
new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart
of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my
Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey
my rules.” (Ezekiel 36:26–27, ESV)
4. A new heart is a heart that delights to do God’s will. “For
this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those
days, declares the Lord: I will
put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be
their God, and they shall be my people.” (Jeremiah 31:33, ESV) (cf: Romans
7:21)
5. A new heart fears God and will never turn away from Him. “I
will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their
own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an
everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I
will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.”
(Jeremiah 32:39–40, ESV)
The first letter of John gives us more insight into the new
heart. For example: “No one born of
God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot
keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.” (1 John 3:9, ESV)
I would find it quite difficult to believe that Saul
displayed the fruit of a new heart. Yet
there are others who woefully sinned against God, men like Samson and David
himself. Yet these men find the
commendation of the New Testament. Saul
never does.
So what was this heart that God gave to Saul? I believe Saul had no “heart” for kingship. He felt inadequate for starters (1 Samuel 9:21 (ESV)). When Samuel
was to publicly proclaim Saul’s leadership, “he could not be found . . . he has
hidden himself among the baggage.”[3] I think his new heart was simply a heart to
accept and take the kingship. Like New
Testament elders, “The saying is trustworthy: If
anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.” (1
Timothy 3:1, ESV), there ought to be an inner desire.
So, the matter of salvation is
ultimately known to God. But God clearly
called Saul to be king of Israel and equipped him with a heart to serve in that
capacity and the enabling grace of the Spirit to help him. Unfortunately, when
he compromised his calling, the Spirit of God was taken away from him. Leaving the issue of regeneration aside,
Christian leaders can forfeit their ministry and have God’s anointing withdrawn. David was fearful of that (“Cast me
not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.” (Psalm
51:11, ESV)). Churches can also lose
their effective presence in the community when they neglect what is important (Revelation
2:5).
[1] The Holy Bible:
English Standard Version. (2016). (1 Sa 9:16). Wheaton, IL:
Crossway Bibles.
[2] “He directly disobeyed God (1
Samuel 15:1–35) and broke God’s law by offering a sacrifice that only
priests were to offer (1
Samuel 13:1–14). Saul was visited by evil spirits on several occasions (1 Samuel
16:14; 18:10; 19:9).
Saul spent much time and energy trying to murder David (1 Samuel
18:10; 19:10; 23:14);
he even tried to murder his son Jonathan once (1 Samuel
20:33). Incredibly, King Saul ordered the slaughter of eighty-five innocent
priests and their families (1
Samuel 22:18–19). He consulted a witch and asked her to conjure Samuel up
from the dead—another direct violation of God’s Law (1
Samuel 28:1–20). Saul ended his life by committing suicide (1 Samuel
31:4).” - https://www.gotquestions.org/was-King-Saul-saved.html
[3] The Holy Bible:
English Standard Version. (2016). (1 Sa 10:21–22). Wheaton, IL:
Crossway Bibles.
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