1.
Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the LORD hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?
2.
When thou art departed from me to day, then thou shalt find two men by Rachel's sepulchre in the border of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say unto thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek are found: and, lo, thy father hath left the care of the asses, and sorroweth for you, saying, What shall I do for my son?
3.
Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor, and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine:
4.
And they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands.
5.
After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy:
6.
And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.
7.
And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee.
8.
And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal; and, behold, I will come down unto thee, to offer burnt offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do.
9.
And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart: and all those signs came to pass that day.
10.
And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.
11.
And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?
12.
And one of the same place answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?
13.
And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place.
14.
And Saul's uncle said unto him and to his servant, Whither went ye? And he said, To seek the asses: and when we saw that they were no where, we came to Samuel.
15.
And Saul's uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto you.
16.
And Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly that the asses were found. But of the matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel spake, he told him not.
17.
And Samuel called the people together unto the LORD to Mizpeh;
18.
And said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you:
19.
And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands.
20.
And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken.
21.
When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found.
22.
Therefore they inquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come thither. And the LORD answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff.
23.
And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.
24.
And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king.
25.
Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.
26.
And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched.
HEARTS DIVINELY TOUCHED
‘A band of men, whose hearts God had touched.’
1 Samuel 10:26
An odd mixture of good and evil was Saul, of strength and weakness, of courage and cowardice, of diffidence and audacity. His election to be king was by no means unanimous. There were three parties—the malcontents, homage givers, and a select band, a little armed troop (as the Hebrew word implies), who joined themselves to Saul’s person and went home with him to Gibeah, resolved to act as his bodyguard, and to fight in his defence; and it is to this valiant, leal-hearted and devoted company that our text refers in these words, ‘A band of men, whose hearts God had touched.’ This threefold division is precisely what we see to-day in the attitude of men towards Him who, in the highest of all senses, is ‘the Lord’s Anointed,’ the Christ of God.
I. There are some who openly despise Him.—They pour contempt upon His name. They say, ‘How shall this Man save us?’ They bring Him no tribute.
II. There is the throng of those who profess no ill-will towards Jesus, and even reckon themselves His friends, but their loyalty brings no self-denial, and spends itself only in empty words.
III. There is yet another class, and they are represented in the text.—Let me fix your thoughts for a little on this chosen band. I don’t know that these men of Israel had any large acquaintanceship with true religion; perhaps not; but their hearts were touched with the finger of God; they perceived in Saul the king of heaven’s selection, ‘the anointed of the Lord,’ and so they swore loyalty to him. Whatever was good in them is traced to Divine grace. If the heart bend the right way it is because God has touched it. You remember that when Deity was incarnate in the person of Jesus, one touch was enough to cure and to save. It cannot be well with any of us unless our heart is in touch with God. This is just where some of us know we are still lacking. Many of us are generous, kindly, amiable, moral; but have not yet been brought into personal contact with Jesus. We want our hearts to be brought in touch with God. It is just at such a time as this, and under such conditions as those amid which we are now assembled, that the Divine and quickening touch is often felt.
Illustrations
(1) ‘The reading in verse 26 should probably be “the men of valour,” instead of “a band of men.” They were brave men, “whose hearts God had touched.” Now that Saul was chosen by God, loyalty to God was shown by loyalty to Saul. The sin of the people’s desire, and the drop from the high ideal of the theocracy, and the lack of lofty qualities in Saul, may all be admitted. But God has made him king, and that is enough. Henceforward God’s servants will be Saul’s partisans. The malcontents were apparently but a small faction. They, perhaps, had had a candidate of their own, but, at all events, they criticised God’s appointed deliverer, and saw nothing in him to warrant the expectation that he would be able to do much for Israel. Disparaging criticism of God’s chosen instruments comes from distrust of God who chose them. To doubt the divinely sent Deliverer’s power to “save” is to accuse God of not knowing our needs, and of miscalculating the power of His supply of them. But not a few of us put that same question in various tones of incredulity, scorn or indifference. Sense makes many mistakes when it takes to trying to weigh Christ in its vulgar balances, and to settling whether He looks like a Saviour and a King.’
(2) ‘It was a regiment of volunteers, a “King’s Own” Life Guard. What a happy start it was for him in his new office that these helpers were at hand to serve him. A band of willing helpers around one takes off more than half the difficulty of a difficult enterprise. Men that enter into one’s plans, that sympathise with one’s aims, that are ready to share one’s burdens, that anticipate one’s wishes, are of priceless value in any business. But they are of especial value in the Church of Christ. Is it not the joy of the Christian minister, as he takes up his charge, if there go with him a band of men whose hearts God has touched? How lonely and how hard is the ministry if there be no such men to help. How different when efficient helpers are there in readiness for the Sunday-school, the Band of Hope, the Missionary Society, and the Choir, and for visiting the sick, and every other service of Christian love.’
27.
But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.