Today we see the appointment of Saul as the first king of Israel. The chapter is stuffed full of God preparing Saul to be the best king he can be. Yes, the people out of the evil in their hearts demanding a king over God. And yes, God would give them the king their hearts deserve. But in the true nature of God, He did not recklessly sabotage the appointment, ensuring that great harm and hardship would find His people. He did not undermine Saul and set him up for failure. In fact, we see here in 1 Samuel chapter 10 just the opposite, God out of His endless love, mercy, and grace, sets up Saul to succeed in every way.
The chapter opens with Saul being anointed by Samuel. Being anointed is one of the most beautiful pictures we see in God’s Word. It was a physical pouring of fine oil over the individuals head that symbolized the Spirit of God overcoming and overtaking the individual. And this was not a few drops of oil, it was a lot of oil. The oil would drench, cover, and consume. In fact, we get a vivid picture of an anointing in Psalm 133:2
“It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes!” Psalm 133:2
And speaking of anointing, did you know that if you have called upon Christ for Salvation that you have been anointed? Yep, in the same beautiful, picturesque way, God’s Holy Spirit pours over you, drenching you and covering you completely. It covers you in the absolute goodness of God. What a grand and glorious event, an individual being anointed by the very Spirit of Almighty God.
Saul was anointed and as a result, received the Spirit of God which granted him “another heart.” (1 Sam 10:9) Now if you know the full story of Saul, you have to wonder if it was a “new” heart or just a “different” heart. Regardless, God sets Saul up for great success as a king by granting him a heart for God. Saul also had the support of a great man of God, Samuel. Until the very bitter end of Saul’s life, he enjoyed the full support of Samuel. What a joy to have the support of Godly men and women in your life. He was also lavished with gifts as he took the office of king. A tribute and affirmation that he would be honored and respected as king. Saul was also supported by most of the entire Israelite nation. As he is formally declared king, a great sea of people shouted, “long live the king!” (1 Sam 10:24) He was chosen by God, anointed by God, given the Spirit of God, supported by God’s man, and was chosen by God’s people…well, that is, most of them. You see, he had the support of the majority of the people. But what about the minority? And it is here we will look closer.
There has always been a minority. That is, “a culturally, ethnically, or racially distinct group that coexists with but is subordinate to a more dominant group.” (Britannica.com) And because they are a physically smaller group, they feel their message is unheard and they work hard to get their message to the forefront of society. We think that we somehow in our society today, have a monopoly on minority groups, but not so. God’s Word continues to remind us that this merry go round was spinning long before we got to the party.
We see at the very end of the chapter that not all supported or even wanted Saul as king. Very odd that we’re specifically told “the people” wanted a king, (1 Sam 8:19-22) but yet here we see a group that did not. At the appointment we get a glimpse of this faction and a lesson we can all benefit from greatly today.
“But some worthless fellows said, “How can this man save us?” And they despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace.” 1 Samuel 10:27 ESV
Remember that God’s Word is just that, the very Words of God. As you read and study God’s Word, don’t miss out on the very specific words he chooses to use. He picked them for a reason. I also encourage you to take advantage of every Bible translation you can find. I use online study sites such as BibleHub.com and BibleStudyTools.com. These sites allow you to look at over 27 different Bible translations quickly, easily, and for free. Historically as translations moved from Hebrew to Latin to Greek to English, the words can vary quite a bit. Utilize them all to get a vast picture of what God is saying.
We see that God calls this group “worthless” in my ESV translation. But in other versions they are called “evil” (BST), “good for nothing” (GNT), “wicked” (NET), “trouble-makers” (ISV), “rebels” (NKJ), “scoundrels” (NIV) and even “sons of Belial” (ERV) which means the sons of satan. (Belial references – 2 Cor 6:15, Judges 19:22, 1 Sam 2:12) You can see the value here of comparing many different versions. God gives us a very clear picture of this group that is vocally protesting Saul as king. They were a group of good for nothing, wicked, evil, worthless, rebelling, trouble-making scoundrels with the heart of satan. I think that no matter what God would have done or what person God would have given them, they would have protested bitterly, standing in opposition to anything that God or society offered.
But notice very carefully how the heart that God installed into Saul responded to this group. He didn’t fight and argue with them. He didn’t sue them. He didn’t launch his own counter-protest. He didn’t have them all arrested under the king’s order and tossed into prison to rot. He didn’t go to social media to deface them. He didn't attack their character or beliefs. He simply held his tongue. What? Let’s once again, look at different translations to see just exactly how Saul handled these trouble-makers in a way that pleased God.
He “kept silent” (NIV), he “ignored them” (NLT), he “held his peace” (NKJ), he “said nothing” (CSB), he “kept calm” (CEV), he “didn’t respond” (GWT), he “acted as though he heard not” (DRB), he “was as one deaf” (DBT). What a picture we see here. These evil, mean, bitter, people that wanted nothing more than to hurt, anger, damage and dethrone Saul…and he simply ignored them. He did not listen. He did not respond. It was simply as if he was deaf to their hate filled message.
There is a tremendous lesson for us here today Christian brother and sister. You cannot verbally battle with the sons of Belial, there is no point. My pastor always says that our Christian frustrations come “when we expect people that don’t know God to act like they do.” So true. Today as the verbal assaults fly in your direction, hold your peace. Today as the personal attacks land their blows and cause you great pain, remain silent. Today as you feel you want to attack those that first attack you, ignore them as if you were deaf. Today as someone accuses you on social media, remain silent, don’t respond. It sounds eerily reminiscent of when King Jesus stood accused before the evil priests of the Sanhedrin doesn't it?
"The high priest stood up and came forward and questioned Jesus, saying, “Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?” But He kept silent and did not answer." Mark 14:60-61
God knew that a heart that belonged to Him could not properly respond to a heart that was rooted in the evil and wickedness of satan. The silence of God speaks volumes in the presence of the noise of evil.
Today, rise above. As a follower of Jesus Christ, your home is not here but your true citizenship is in Heaven. As you live today, abide by the rules of Heaven, not Earth.
Be blessed.
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