1 Samuel 10

Samuel privately anoints Saul and gives him three signs to confirm that God has chosen him. The Spirit changes Saul, yet he stays quiet and humble. Then Samuel gathers Israel at Mizpah, rebukes them for asking for a king, and the lot falls on Saul, who is found hiding. The people cheer, though a few despise him.

1 Samuel 10:1

Samuel pours oil on Saul’s head and kisses him. Oil marked a person as set apart for God’s work. Samuel reminds him that the people are God’s own inheritance. Saul is to serve them as God’s steward, not as an owner.

BSA: anointed (“set apart, consecrated”): The oil showed that Saul was set apart for a holy task, not simply promoted. inheritance (“property, promised land, spiritual heritage”): Israel belongs to the LORD, so Saul rules what is God’s, not his own.

See also: 1 Samuel 16:13.

1 Samuel 10:2

Samuel gives the first sign. Saul will meet two men near Rachel’s tomb who say the donkeys are found. The sign also shows that Samuel knows what Saul went out for and what his father is feeling. God knows our small concerns and our larger calling.

BSA: worrying (“being anxious, concerned”): Kish’s anxiety moved from the lost animals to his missing son, which shows a father’s heart.

See also: Genesis 35:19-20.

1 Samuel 10:3-4

The second sign comes at the Oak of Tabor. Three men on pilgrimage to worship at Bethel will give Saul two loaves. Saul is to accept the gift. It is a small sign that God provides for the one he calls, and that others will honor him.

1 Samuel 10:5

The third sign comes at Gibeah of God, where a Philistine outpost stood. This shows Israel was under foreign pressure, and the new king would be needed there. Saul will meet prophets coming down from worship with music, speaking God’s praise.

BSA: prophesying (“speaking under the influence of the divine spirit”): Here it means inspired speech and praise given under God’s power, not only telling the future.

1 Samuel 10:6

God’s Spirit will come on Saul with power, and he will be changed into a different man. This is God equipping a person for the task he gives. The change is real, though later chapters show Saul still had to keep trusting and obeying.

BSA: transformed (“completely changed”): Saul is given a new capacity for leadership, as if he were made into another man.

Hebrew: וְצָלְחָה (vetsalechah, H6743) — “will rush, come mightily.” The word pictures the Spirit rushing on a person with force. It is the same word used of Samson’s strength.

See also: Judges 14:6.

1 Samuel 10:7

After the signs, Saul may act as the moment requires. The ground of his confidence is plain: God is with him. The signs are there to give him courage, so that he need not wait for further instruction at every step.

BSA: signs (“wonders, beacons”): Each sign stands like a marker on the road that confirms God’s call.

1 Samuel 10:8

Saul is told to go to Gilgal and wait seven days for Samuel, who will come to offer sacrifices and give direction. This is a test of patience and obedience. It looks ahead to chapter 13, where Saul fails to wait.

BSA: Wait (“be patient, hope in”): Faithful leadership includes waiting on God’s appointed time and way.

See also: 1 Samuel 13:8-9.

1 Samuel 10:9-10

As Saul turns away, God gives him a new heart, meaning a new readiness for his work. The signs happen the same day, and the Spirit comes upon him among the prophets. Everything Samuel said comes true, which shows that the call is truly from God.

BSA: changed (“overturned, transformed”): God himself turned Saul’s inner life around, so the change was not Saul’s own doing. heart (“inner being, mind and spirit”): The heart in Scripture is the center of thought and will, so the change goes deep.

1 Samuel 10:11-12

Those who knew Saul are astonished to see him among the prophets. A bystander asks who their father is, perhaps meaning that prophets do not come from a family line, since God raises them up as he wills. The question became a proverb.

BSA: proverb (“a short saying, a wise maxim”): The phrase stuck as a saying for any surprising turn of events.

See also: 1 Samuel 19:23-24.

1 Samuel 10:13

When the prophesying ends, Saul goes up to the high place, a local site of worship. He returns to ordinary life after an extraordinary experience. God’s gift to him was real, and now he has to live it out.

1 Samuel 10:14-16

Saul’s uncle asks where he has been. Saul tells him about the donkeys and about Samuel, but keeps quiet about the kingdom. He is modest and keeps the matter private. God’s appointment did not need him to announce it himself.

BSA: kingship (“royal authority, realm of a king”): Saul says nothing about the royal office he has just been promised.

1 Samuel 10:17-19

Samuel calls Israel to Mizpah and reminds them how the LORD saved them from Egypt and every oppressor. Their demand for a king amounts to a rejection of God as their saviour. They are not trusting him to be their deliverer. Then they are told to present themselves before him by tribe.

BSA: rejected (“turned away from, spurned”): Asking for a king like the nations meant turning away from the God who had always saved them. rescued (“delivered, saved”): God’s long record of delivering them makes their request all the more grievous.

See also: 1 Samuel 8:7; Exodus 14:30.

1 Samuel 10:20-21

Lots are cast, the way Israel often sought God’s decision. The choice narrows from tribe to clan to family, until Saul son of Kish is taken. But he cannot be found. The choice is God’s, and Saul did not push himself forward.

BSA: selected (“taken, chosen by lot”): The Hebrew word literally means ’taken,’ as the lot fell on each in turn.

See also: Proverbs 16:33.

1 Samuel 10:22-23

They ask the LORD where Saul is, and he answers that Saul is hiding among the baggage. Saul may have felt unworthy or afraid. When brought out, he stands a head taller than everyone. He looked like a king, but looks are not the whole story.

BSA: hidden (“concealed, withdrawn”): Saul’s hiding shows fear or humility before the weight of the office.

See also: 1 Samuel 16:7.

1 Samuel 10:24

Samuel presents Saul as the one the LORD has chosen, and the people shout for joy. The king is God’s choice, though the people asked for him in the wrong spirit. God works through what they asked.

BSA: Long live (“may he have a long and prosperous life”): The shout is a loyal wish for the king’s life and good success.

1 Samuel 10:25

Samuel explains the rights and duties of kingship and writes them in a book before the LORD. This puts the king under God’s law, not above it. The king is not to rule by whim. Then everyone goes home.

BSA: rights (“manner, laws, and duties”): The word covers the proper way a king should rule, and what he can and cannot do.

See also: Deuteronomy 17:14-20.

1 Samuel 10:26-27

Saul returns home to Gibeah, with brave men whose hearts God had touched. Some worthless men scorn him and bring no gifts. Saul says nothing in reply. His self-control here is a good beginning, and it shows God’s work in some hearts while others stay closed.

BSA: touched (“reached, struck, or motivated”): God himself moved these men to loyalty, so their support did not come from Saul’s own persuasion. despised (“held in contempt”): They judged him by his rural background and ignored God’s choice.