1 Samuel 10
A young man goes out looking for lost donkeys and comes home the anointed king of Israel. That is the strange shape of 1 Samuel 10. Samuel pours oil on Saul's head in private, kisses him, and names him captain over the LORD's own inheritance. Three signs follow, each landing exactly as Samuel said it would. Then the Spirit of God rushes on Saul and turns him into another man.1
Then comes the public moment, and the new king is nowhere to be found. His name is drawn by lot, and Saul is hiding among the baggage. They have to drag him out. He stands a head taller than the whole nation, and the crowd shouts for him. But some go home with hearts God has touched, and others sneer, “How shall this man save us?” The anointed king and the reluctant king are the same person. Both crowds will turn out to be partly right.
Tap any highlighted phrase to jump to the commentary that unpacks it.
People in this chapter
A tall Benjamite chosen when Israel demanded a king like the other nations. Began with humility, then unraveled into jealousy, paranoia, and rebellion. The Spirit of the Lord left him, and he died on Mount Gilboa by his own hand.
Born in answer to Hannah’s prayer and raised by Eli the priest. Heard God call him as a boy. Anointed both Saul and David. The last of the judges and the bridge into the monarchy.
1 Samuel 10:1The Vial of Oil
1Then 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?
Samuel does not simply perform a ritual; he kisses Saul. The oil consecrates; the kiss seals affection. Samuel is not reluctant about this king - he is endorsing him, embracing the very man he once grieved over choosing. Whatever Samuel's private doubts about Israel's request, his public act is unreserved: this man is the Lord's anointed.123
God calls Israel His “inheritance.” The king is not a ruler over subjects; he is a captain over God's own possession. The title says everything: Saul's authority is never his own - it is stewardship on behalf of the God who owns the land and the people. This will become the standard against which all Saul's later choices are measured.
1 Samuel 10:2-4The First Sign - Lost Donkeys Found
2When thou art departed from me today, 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?
The first sign is tender. Saul came to the prophet to find lost donkeys. Samuel will confirm the anointing by telling him exactly how he will find them - and in the process, Saul will discover that his father has moved from worry about the donkeys to worry about his son. The detail is crucial: God knows Saul's small life, his errands, his father's love. The anointing does not lift him out of his ordinary world; it meets him in the midst of it.
1 Samuel 10:3-4The Second Sign - Three Gifts and a Salute
3Then 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: and they will salute thee, and give thee two loaves of bread; which thou shalt receive of their hands.
The second sign is a meeting with three men on their way to worship at Bethel. They carry provisions - kids, bread, wine - as offerings to God. They will greet Saul, recognize him (though he does not yet know his own importance), and give him bread. The sign says: you are not alone. You are known. Even strangers will offer you provision. The anointed king is sustained by the community God has called him to serve.
1 Samuel 10:5-7The Third Sign - The Spirit Comes Upon You
5After 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: 6And the Spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man. 7And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee.
The third sign is the most intimate and transformative: Saul will encounter a band of prophets worshiping God with music and words. He will join them. He will prophesy - speak forth God's word. He will enter the company of those who know God's voice.
The phrase “as occasion serve thee” is cryptic. It gives Saul freedom to act as the Spirit leads him, as circumstances warrant. After the transformation, he will not be bound by fear or doubt. He will have the liberty that comes from knowing God is with him - and that freedom carries both grace and danger.
1 Samuel 10:8-10Is Saul Also Among the Prophets?
8And 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. 9And 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. 10And 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.
Notice what God changes. Not Saul's circumstances, not his mind, but his heart - in Scripture the seat of will and desire and love. The man who walked away from Samuel wanted different things than the man who had walked in. His capacity to care about God's inheritance was rewired in a single turn of his back. And then, just as Samuel promised, all three signs happen exactly as told. God's word proves true to the last detail.
Saul encounters the prophets and the Spirit comes upon him. He joins their worship and speaks forth God's word. The promise is fulfilled. The people who know Saul from before are shocked. “Is Saul also among the prophets?” (verse 11) becomes a proverb - a saying marking surprise and incongruity. Saul is not a prophet by training or background. Yet the Spirit of God makes him one in that moment. The anointing is real.
1 Samuel 10:11-16Saul Hides His Secret
11And all that knew him beforetime saw that 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? 12And one of the same place answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?
Someone in the crowd answers the gossip with a riddle - a play on words that cuts both ways. Are the prophets so special, given who fathered them? And who is Saul's father, that we should be shocked he prophesies? Either way the point lands the same. Saul has no prophetic pedigree, no spiritual bloodline, no résumé. The Spirit came on him anyway. Where you came from does not fence in what God can do with you.
13And when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place. 14And Saul's uncle said unto him and to his servant, Whither went ye? And he said, To seek the asses: and when we saw they were no where, we came to Samuel. 15And Saul's uncle said, Tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said unto you. 16And 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.
1 Samuel 10:17-25The King Found Among the Baggage
17And Samuel called the people together unto the Lord to Mizpeh; and said unto them, 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: 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.
Samuel summons all Israel and reminds them: God has rescued you. God has been your King. And you have rejected Him - you have asked for a human king instead. The anointing of Saul is real, and it is also a judgment on Israel's refusal to let God reign over them. Samuel does not hide this. The introduction to the king is also a reminder of what was lost.
18And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken. And 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. 19Therefore 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. 20And 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. 21And 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.
When Saul stands, he is visibly taller than everyone else - head and shoulders above them. He looks like a king. He was made for the role physically. Yet his interior is still uncertain. Physical stature and inward conviction are not the same thing.
1 Samuel 10:26-27Whose Hearts God Touched
22And 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. 23Then 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. 24And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts the Lord had touched. 25But 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.
Saul does not march home with an army he raised. He goes back to Gibeah with a handful of men, and the text says exactly who recruited them: God touched their hearts. No conscription, no campaign, no payroll. Just a quiet stirring that made a few people willing to stand by the king. It is a small company. It is enough, because it is His doing.
Not everyone is moved. A faction of scoundrels - worthless men, the text calls them - sneer at the new king and ask how he could ever save anyone. They withhold the gifts custom demanded. So in the same hour Saul is crowned and despised, embraced and written off. Some hearts God touches; others stay shut. Saul says nothing. He does not defend himself or strike back. Whether that silence is strength or fear, we cannot yet tell.
Further study
- Hannah's PrayerSefariaComplete text and commentary on Hannah's prayer and Samuel's birth.
- Eli and the PriesthoodBible Odyssey/SBLOverview of Eli's role as high priest and the corruption of his sons.
- Shiloh ExcavationIsrael Antiquities AuthorityArchaeological evidence of the Shiloh temple site where Hannah and Eli worshipped.
Where this echoes in Scripture
The Vial of Oil
- Acts 2:1-4And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.The anointing Saul received privately is poured out publicly on all believers at Pentecost.
- Acts 10:38How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power.The title “Christ” spelled out: God anointed Him for His mission.
- 1 John 2:27The anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you.Unlike Saul’s, this anointing does not drain away - it abides.
- Psalm 89:20I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him.The same oil, the next king - and the line that runs to Christ.
The Third Sign - The Spirit Comes Upon You
- John 3:3-7Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.To be born again is to be “turned into another” person - the lasting version of what Saul tasted.
- John 14:16-17He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.The Spirit who came on Saul for a day is given to abide.
- 2 Corinthians 5:17If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away.The inward change Saul felt, made permanent in Christ.
The King Found Among the Baggage
- Zechariah 9:9Behold, thy King cometh unto thee… lowly, and riding upon an ass.The true King enters not on a war-horse but a colt - chosen and unashamed of a humble throne.
- John 6:15When Jesus perceived that they would… make him a king, he departed.Where Saul hid from a crown, Jesus withdrew from one offered too cheaply.
- 1 Timothy 1:15Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.The crowd shouts “God save the king”; the King came to save them.