1 Samuel 10: King Saul

Outline

• Saul is given three signs
• Saul is given the Spirit
• Saul is given the Kingdom

Introduction

Don’t judge a book by its cover is the key lesson of Saul’s life. His good looks, His height, that fact of his apparent humility and even the fact that he appears to have the Spirit all warn us a king, a leader, a fighter, a follower of God is more and must be more than just these things. God is giving Israel the king they want and the king they deserve. God will use this king despite himself to accomplish His purposes, He will even use a bad king to a good end in defeating some of Israel’s enemies. God is good and God is merciful, but just because God in His kindness and power does and can draw a straight line with a crooked stick does not mean the stick is okay. In this chapter Saul is anointed King, but please notice that God is going to a lot of trouble to give Israel something that is a chastening act from Him. You might come away from this chapter seeing Saul humility, God’s miraculous providence on His behalf and the Spirit being poured out upon Saul as a good beginning and forget that God is not giving them what they need but what they want. The success, and the spirituality, it is all skin deep and we need to keep this in mind in order to properly understand what God is doing here.