1 Samuel 8-9

1. 1 Samuel 8-9 Old Testament Bible Studies True Love Church of Refuge Prophetess Delisa Lindsey November 11, 2009

2. 1 Samuel 8 Israel Demands a King

3. Samuel, worn from a life of service and duty to Israel as prophet, priest, king, and judge, quickly matures in age and appoints his sons as judges over Israel. Never before has a judge been appointed for Israel, there were those who acted in the capacity of judge, but not relegated to the office of judge. Samuel was an instructor of many. Apparently he felt those closest to him were more fit to handle the judicial tasks of governing Israel, therefore assuming his rearing as a child paved the path for his leadership of Israel, perhaps he felt his sons would be just as capable. Samuel appointed his two sons, Joel (Jehovah is God), and Abiah (Jehovah is my Father) as judges in Beersheba (well of seven-fold oaths). He felt his sons had his best interest at heart, would honestly represent him before the people and continue to honor him as the spiritual father in Israel. To his dismay and shame, his sons walked contrary to everything he instructed, profited as judges by accepting bribes, and even sold verdicts to the highest bidder. I Samuel 8:1-3

4. The elders of Israel were unwilling to accept unfit leaders, especially in light of Samuel growing older. They refused to accept his son’s leadership and demanded a king to govern them in Samuel’s stead. Therefore they all gathered to visit Samuel at his home in Ramah (hill or fortified place), to discuss Samuel’s sons’ misconduct and to request a king like “all the nations.” The elders of Israel rebelled against and rejected God because heretofore the Lord raised up judges to deliver them from oppression and to turn their hearts back to Him, their King. The Israelites no longer wanted a temporal governmental leader, randomly assigned, they wanted a king, a person who would represent them perpetually and who could compete with the surrounding nations. Although the people did not plainly state that they no longer wanted God to rule as their King, their actions plainly proved they were unsatisfied with Him as their Sovereign King. 1 Samuel 8:4-5

5. How many times have we declared the Lord as our Sovereign Ruler and King with our lips and admonished Him otherwise with our actions? Have we traded our King for a king?

6. Samuel served the people of Israel selflessly all of his life. He was disturbed and disappointed that they would petition of him such a dreadful thing. Adding insult to injury, receiving the unsettling report of his sons’ obnoxious behavior, the prophet of God set himself to seek the Lord in prayer. As a man of God, he had push his personal feelings aside and intercede on behalf of the people. Irregardless to the circumstances, he had to seek the Lord for the solution to this problem and deliver the Word of God to the people. God in return visits Samuel as He answers his prayer. “The people have not rejected you Samuel, they have rejected Me. Give them what they want.” Rejected used in v. 7 is ma’as in the original Hebrew which means, belittle or scorn. In other words, the Lord takes the Israelites’ decision as a direct insult to His Rule and Authority. Even so, as they rejected Samuel, because he represented the Word of the Lord, they rejected the Lord. In essence, in one collective breath, the elders dismissed the Almighty God as their King in exchange for a mere mortal man. God shares with Samuel a bit of history in His dealings with Israel. “They have forsaken me and served other gods.” Be encouraged Samuel, they have done this to Me in the past and this what they are doing in your administration now. Give them what they want, yet warn them subtly of what manner of king they shall have. 1 Samuel 8:6-9

7. Samuel tells them what type of king they were to receive. He will take your sons for slaves to himself, to man his chariots, to ride horseback in battle and to run ahead of the king to protect him as he travels. He will assign them to military duties and to plow his grounds to reap his harvest. They will make instruments of war as blacksmiths, automotive technicians to maintain his chariots. He will make your daughters perfumers, cooks and bakers providing him with the best of fine dining and entertainment. He will require the best of your fields, vineyards, and olive groves, and use the merchandise of them to finance his operations. He will transfer maintenance of your property to his slaves. The temple of the Lord will lay waste because the new king will demand the tenth of your increase and give them to his servants as pay. In other words, the Levites will have to leave their occupation as ministers and intercessors and search for employment. The treasury and upkeep of the temple will suffer as a result. Who will present the offerings? Who will minister before the Lord? Who will represent the people before the Lord? How will the temple operate with depleted resources? 1 Samuel 8:10-15

8. What happens when we reject the Lord as our King? • We make concessions for our spiritual, physical, financial, and social welfare. • We have no more spiritual covering. • We have no propitiation for our sins. • We have no one to sow our seed to that we may reap a bountiful harvest. • Our finances are cursed because we have re-allocated them to another king. • Our personal relationships with our spouses, children, extended family, and neighbors are suffering because we lack the Lord’s favor. • The physical and spiritual House of God lays waste and in ruins. • Our children becomes slaves to sin due to our selfishness. • Generational curses are running through our DNA.

9. Your new king will take your male and female servants and the best of your sons and your animals to use as labor for himself. He will take the tenth of your sheep and you will become your servants. This new king will afflict you sorely until you weep in agony and travail and the Lord will not respond to your cries. Samuel made it very clear, and in no uncertain terms, that the choice they were making was one they were fully aware of and would accept full responsibility for. A new king was not the Lord’s choice, it was the people’s choice. 1 Samuel 8:16-18

10. Despite the graphic details Samuel gave the people regarding their new king, they resisted his warnings and insisted that they wanted a king over them. They wanted someone to stand over them, travel with them in battle and fight for them. They wanted to be like everyone else. Samuel reported to the Lord the people’s insistence on wanting a king. For the third time, the Lord tells Samuel to hearken to their voice and give them what they want. Make them a king. Samuel informed the men of Israel that they needed to return home that he may seek the Lord in terms of selecting their new king. God will never fight against our will. He loves us too much to force us into loving Him back. No matter how much He knows our decisions will ultimately end up harming us, He steps back and allows us to 1 Samuel 8:19-22

11. Unit II The Anointing and Rejection of Saul as King 1 Samuel 9-15

12. 1 Samuel 9:1-27 God Chooses Saul as King

13. Saul comes from the tribe of Benjamin, a proper and prestigious family. He was outwardly and physically handsome. His father’s name, Kish means ‘bent’. Kish was a mighty man of power. This man was wealthy and very influential. Abiel his grandfather name means ‘God is my father’. Saul was the most handsome person in Israel. His physical attraction was enhanced by height. Perhaps this is where we get the saying, ‘Tall, dark, and handsome’. Samuel makes the point that although is the natural sense, Saul would have made the best choice for Israel, spiritually, he was very unattractive. God was giving the people of Israel just what they wanted. They wanted someone they could compare to the kings of other nations. Nothing is mentioned about Saul’s education, or formal training, no religious convictions, only his external appearances. How many of us have decisions or biases based on what we see on the outside? How many times have voted for officials based on what we see or hear externally? How many times have we married individuals based on their looks? Looks can be deceiving. 1 Samuel 9:1-2

14. The donkeys belonging to Kish were missing. He sent Saul along with his servants to locate the missing animals. Again we see the Lord using donkeys to carry out His will for it is through allowing them to stray that Saul in his wanderings meets Samuel. At the point when Saul was about to give up and return home for he had been gone awhile and feared his father would worry about him, he has an encounter. We must learn to change our vocabulary from using the term, coincidence and replace that with divine providence. It was not a coincidence that Saul happened to travel through four cities until he realized he was now in the hometown of a man of God. Saul never found the donkeys but he stumbled across a prophet who would change the course of his life forever. Samuel had a reputation for being a man of honor and integrity. God honored every word he spoke and brought them to pass. Saul knew that if he met the man of God, he would be able to tell them where the donkeys were. Saul sought Samuel for a material blessing. He wanted to return the donkeys to his father. How many times do we limit God by asking for something amiss? God is not interested in blessing us materially as much as He is interested in our spiritual blessings. After seeking His Kingdom, He adds all the other things. But we must seek Him first. 1 Samuel 9:3-6

15. God’s Word is plain concerning caring for those in spiritual authority. The enemy has perverted this principle which has caused too many leaders to swell with spirits of greed and too many Christians to neglect this concept as the result. Nevertheless, let every man be a liar and God and His Word be the truth. God’s Word does not change whether we agree with it or not. Know them which labor among you. I Samuel 9:7 • Saul had respect for the man of God. He could not approach him empty-handed. Contrary to the pro(f)its of today, Samuel did not charge a fee for prophecy, however the laborer is worthy of his reward, 1 Tim. 5:17. • Paul says it best in 1 Cor. 9:11, “If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?” • Romans 15:27, “It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things.” • 1 Corinthians 9:14, “Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.”

16. Because they had been on a long journey, they had eaten all of their bread and had nothing to give to the man of God. The servant brought forth a quarter of a shekel of silver which is equal to 3-11 grams of silver to give to Samuel as an offering for his instruction. Saul understood that Samuel was worthy to reap his temporal thing in exchange for his sowing a spiritual thing in Saul’s life. Samuel did not need their money, he lived off the offerings of the temple which was far more than 3-11 grams of silver, however, he received their token as a symbol of respect and honor. Neither does God need our money. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, but He requires that show Him the respect and honor we have toward Him in monetary terms, 10% and an offering. The few grams of silver is comparable to the widow’s mite in Jesus’ day. He did not refuse the widow for giving her last, but He blessed her as she gave. Jesus knew and knows even now, it was more blessed for the widowed woman to sow her last to reap an eternal reward in Heaven. He remarked that her giving which was equal to 2 pieces of copper or 1cent was worth more than all the others who gave because she, being poor, gave all she had to the work of the Lord, Luke 21:2-4. If your relationship with the Lord is cheap, so will your heart be in giving to His work. God loves cheerful givers because they represent His heart in giving to us. Luke 12:34, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 1 Samuel 9:8

17. Formerly, when a person set themselves to inquire of the Lord, they referred to that person as a Seer. Seer (ra’ah) is one who has spiritual perception or vision, is discerning, and observant in the Spirit. One with spiritual insight. Now this person is called a Prophet. Prophet (nabiy’) is one who is a spokesman, speaker by Divine influence. Those who are prophets, must first be seers. Before one can speak of the things of God, there must first be an insight into the things of God. Saul and his servants set themselves to locate the man of God in Ramah. 1 Samuel 9:9-10

18. Saul sets out to locate Samuel. He approaches young ladies at the well and asked where Samuel was. This question alone enlightens us as to Saul’s lack of a spiritual appetite. Everyone knew of Samuel’s whereabouts. Samuel was so renown and outgoing that his people knew his whereabouts. Even the maid servants at the well knew of his itinerary and Saul, wealthy as he was, had no idea where the man of God was. They gave him excellent details on how to find the man of God. Are we in position to point others in the direction to receive their Word from the Lord? “He is just ahead of you. Hurry up because he has just arrived to make a great sacrifice today.” Divine providence led Saul in a search for donkeys to locate Samuel while he was in Ramah preparing a great sacrifice for the Lord on behalf of the people. I Samuel 9:11-12

19. “As soon you reach the city gates, you will find him there before he takes his seat to eat. The people will not eat until he blesses the sacrifice and afterwards those who have been invited will eat. Hurry up so you can find him in time.” Saul and his men followed the maidens’ instructions and found the place where Samuel was. As they entered the city, Samuel passed them on his way to the high place. The Lord had spoken to Samuel in his ear, just the day before that at the same time the following day he would be sent a man from Benjamin whom he was to anoint as captain over Israel. This man would deliver his people out of the hands of the Philistines because He has heard their cries and has looked upon them in compassion. Saul would be the first king ever anointed. Prior to Saul, only priests and sacred objects were anointed. 1 Samuel 9:13-16

20. As Samuel (sees) Saul, the Lord spoke to him again and said this is the man I told you about. He is to reign over my people. Samuel and the Lord enjoyed a supernatural communication which began in his youth. God spoke in Samuel’s ear because Samuel spoke in God’s ear. Amos 3:7 says that God reveals secrets to his servants the prophets. Perhaps this is why Samuel orchestrated such a feast unbeknownst to anyone else, because he knew God’s secret. The mercy and love of God is strongly demonstrated in the fact that although they rejected Him as their King, he took great lengths to honor their requests and choose them a king, a handsome king, who will lead them. Saul approaches Samuel and asks him the most ridiculous question Samuel has probably ever heard! Can you tell me where the seer lives? Samuel carried himself with such simplicity that Saul thought him to be someone ordinary. Samuel said I am the seer! Go on ahead of me and unto the high place and we will eat together. Tomorrow I will release you and tell you all that is in your heart. I Samuel 9:17-20

21. Samuel further tells Saul not to worry about the donkeys you have been searching 3 days for, they have been recovered. And on you and your family hangs all of Israel’s hopes. Saul, the tallest man in Israel, a wealthy and handsome young man had very low morale and self esteem. “Who me?” I am from Benjamin, the smallest tribe. Besides that, my family is the least in the tribe. Why would you consider me?” The patriarch Benjamin, even as a grown man, was called little, Gen. 44:20. Gideon felt the same sense of inferiority in Jdg. 6:15. Even Apostle Paul called himself the least of all saints in Ephesians 3:8. Samuel does not respond to Saul’s questions, yet he directs them to a place in the dining hall where they were to sit. They sat in a place of honor among the thirty people he invited. 1 Samuel 9:20-22

22. Although Samuel understood and realized that with Saul being anointed as king that there would no longer be a need for him to judge or rule over Israel, he was the first to honor him in complying with the will of God. It did not matter whether Saul was a friend or supporter of Samuel, after all he only received 3-11 grams of silver as an offering, however, he was most loyal to the will of God and the work of God rather than his personal feelings. There is no place for feelings in the Kingdom. When you are a friend of God, you don’t set out to make friends. Samuel tells the cook to bring the portion he told him to set aside. Samuel not only extended to Saul the best seat at the table, but having foreknowledge of this distinguished guest, he prepared a special entrée for him. The chef served Saul the left shoulder of lamb (mutton). Mutton is an older, mature sheep which needs to be cooked longer because the meat is less tender. It has a very strong taste and is very rare. He told Saul that he had prepared this meal for him since he made the invitation to the meal. They dined together that day. Lev. 7:32 requires that the priests eat the right shoulder as recipients of the Lord’s peace offerings. It was an honor to eat the right shoulder of a lamb, but the next highest honor belonged to the one who ate the left shoulder. Shoulder represents strength. Saul’s meal was symbolic in that it represented the government of Israel which would rests on his shoulders. 1 Samuel 9:23-24

23. 1 Samuel 9:25-27 • After dinner, Samuel and Saul talked on the roof of the house. • Perhaps Samuel revealed to Saul the Lord’s purpose and plan for his life. Perhaps he instructed Samuel to remain loyal and faithful to the Lord as Israel’s new king. We will never know what transpired on the rooftop that evening in Ramah. • Early dawn of the next morning, Samuel woke up Saul and told him it was time for them to leave. • He told Saul to send his servants ahead of them for there were some things he needed to reveal to him. • I must show you the Word of the Lord.