seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
1 Samuel 10:14 Now Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where have you been?”
“Looking for the donkeys,” he said. “But when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.”
15 Saul’s uncle said, “Tell me what Samuel said to you.”
16 Saul replied, “He assured us that the donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about the kingship.
17 Samuel summoned the people of Israel to the Lord at Mizpah 18 and said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’ 19 But you have now rejected your God, who saves you out of all your disasters and calamities. And you have said, ‘No, appoint a king over us.’ So now present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and clans.”
20 When Samuel had all Israel come forward by tribes, the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. 21 Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, and Matri’s clan was taken. Finally Saul son of Kish was taken. But when they looked for him, he was not to be found. 22 So they inquired further of the Lord, “Has the man come here yet?”
And the Lord said, “Yes, he has hidden himself among the supplies.”
23 They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others. 24 Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the man the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.”
Then the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
25 Samuel explained to the people the rights and duties of kingship. He wrote them down on a scroll and deposited it before the Lord. Then Samuel dismissed the people to go to their own homes.
26 Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, accompanied by valiant men whose hearts God had touched. 27 But some scoundrels said, “How can this fellow save us?” They despised him and brought him no gifts. But Saul kept silent.
“Looking for the donkeys,” he said. “But when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.”
15 Saul’s uncle said, “Tell me what Samuel said to you.”
16 Saul replied, “He assured us that the donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about the kingship.
17 Samuel summoned the people of Israel to the Lord at Mizpah 18 and said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’ 19 But you have now rejected your God, who saves you out of all your disasters and calamities. And you have said, ‘No, appoint a king over us.’ So now present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and clans.”
20 When Samuel had all Israel come forward by tribes, the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. 21 Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, and Matri’s clan was taken. Finally Saul son of Kish was taken. But when they looked for him, he was not to be found. 22 So they inquired further of the Lord, “Has the man come here yet?”
And the Lord said, “Yes, he has hidden himself among the supplies.”
23 They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others. 24 Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the man the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.”
Then the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
25 Samuel explained to the people the rights and duties of kingship. He wrote them down on a scroll and deposited it before the Lord. Then Samuel dismissed the people to go to their own homes.
26 Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, accompanied by valiant men whose hearts God had touched. 27 But some scoundrels said, “How can this fellow save us?” They despised him and brought him no gifts. But Saul kept silent.
This is from the easy English site.
Many people did not like the groups of prophets. The prophets behaved in strange ways. Perhaps people thought that a bad thing had happened to Saul. Perhaps they did not want him to join with the prophets. In verse 12 the question ‘Who is the leader of these prophets?’ was an insult. It meant ‘We do not know their leader so these prophets are not important’. The people had no respect for the prophets. And the people had no respect for Saul when he behaved like the prophets.
First, Samuel reminded the Israelites that they refused the Lord as their king. Samuel did not declare Saul as their king. Instead, the people saw that God chose Saul. We do not know how this happened. In the Old Testament, the priests used the Urim and Thummim (Exodus 28:30). We do not know what these were. However, they were a definite way that God told the priest his decision. They involved a choice. This contrasts with the messages of the prophets which could be true or false. Each tribe had thousands of people. Probably the leader of each tribe went forward. In verse 19, ‘stand in front of God’ may mean that they stood in front of an altar at Mizpah. Each family group had hundreds of people in it. God was able to choose Saul even when Saul was not there.
Saul knew that God had chosen him but Saul hid. Perhaps he was afraid and did not want to be king. But when the people saw their king, they were very happy. They thought that Saul would be a good king. The Israelites had never had a king before. So Samuel had to explain about the king. The king was not to be like the kings of the nations round Israel. A king had duties. God expected him to do particular things. He had to lead the people the proper way. The king also had rights. He could tell the people to do things for him. God also had rules for a king. He gave these rules to Moses in Deuteronomy 17:14-20. The ‘holy place’ was the place of worship. It may have been a building. When Samuel finished all this, the people went home.
God was kind to Saul. He gave Saul a group of brave men to help him. They stayed with him at Gibeah. But a few people did not like Saul. They wanted to make trouble. They refused the man that God chose. This often happens, even now, when God chooses someone for a job. Saul behaved the right way. He said nothing.
Saul knew that God had chosen him but Saul hid. Perhaps he was afraid and did not want to be king. But when the people saw their king, they were very happy. They thought that Saul would be a good king. The Israelites had never had a king before. So Samuel had to explain about the king. The king was not to be like the kings of the nations round Israel. A king had duties. God expected him to do particular things. He had to lead the people the proper way. The king also had rights. He could tell the people to do things for him. God also had rules for a king. He gave these rules to Moses in Deuteronomy 17:14-20. The ‘holy place’ was the place of worship. It may have been a building. When Samuel finished all this, the people went home.
God was kind to Saul. He gave Saul a group of brave men to help him. They stayed with him at Gibeah. But a few people did not like Saul. They wanted to make trouble. They refused the man that God chose. This often happens, even now, when God chooses someone for a job. Saul behaved the right way. He said nothing.
Well, first of all, let me admit that I had forgotten that God gave out instructions for a future king. Yep... it's back in Deuteronomy and thanks to the easy English site... I have been reminded.... check out the link to Deuteronomy 17:14-20. Egyptian horses, wives and the law are included in the instructions.
This is from Bible.org.
Not all the people see it this way, however, for our text informs us there is a group of men – worthless fellows – who do not look upon Saul as their deliverer. Do these men know the “old Saul” too well? Do they disdain the man for hiding amongst the luggage? Is he not their kind of leader? We really don’t know why they look down upon Saul, but their most serious sin is to doubt and dispute God’s choice of their king. While all the others have gifts for Saul, these worthless fellows do not. Their disdain for Saul is obvious. Nevertheless, Saul chooses to remain silent and do nothing about them for the moment. They will appear again in our text, however.
Well, now all the tribes of Israel know that Israel has a king. It's not a theocracy because there's a king.... but God chose the king and the king is supposed to do what God tells him to do. So it's a theocratic kingdom.... right?
