Wednesday, January 23
God’s Choice for King of Israel
EVIDENCE
Key Text: 1 Sam. 10:24
God's choice of Saul as king of
Israel was not random. As al-
ways, God had a well-thought-out
plan. One thing is sure: God did
not choose Saul because of his im-
portance and high political
standing within Israel.
In The Daily Study Bible Ser-
ies, David F. Payne points out
that Saul was from the tribe of
Benjamin, a small tribe that
could never have aspired to domi-
nate other, larger tribes. In
addition, the tribe of Benjamin
was located between two powerful
rivals, Ephraim and Judah. “A
king from Benjamin could well be
expected to reduce, rivalries and
help unify Israel.”
But God had greater uses for a
king than quelling disputes be-
tween the larger tribes of Israel.
For it was through Saul and
David that the Philistine menace
was forever shattered.
The SDA Bible Commentary
suggests several other possible
reasons God chose Saul to be
king, even though Saul would not
obey Him in the future:
1. God does not limit our free-
dom of choice.
2. In spite of the people’s un-
wise choice, God would restrain
the evil influences that came with
the monarchy.
3. Israel had to learn by ex-
perience that what we sow we
must reap.
4. National departure from the
path of God’s choosing does not
prevent individuals within that
nation from living in harmony
with His will and receiving His
blessing.
At first, Saul was mystified at
Samuel’s treatment of him. “But
am I not a Benjamite, from the
smallest tribe of Israel, and is not
my clan the least of all the clans
of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do
you say such a thing to me?”
(1 Sam. 9:21, NIV). And not every-
one within Israel was ready to
accept Saul as king. For after
Saul was anointed, and later
chosen by drawing lots, “some
troublemakers said, ‘How can this
fellow save us? They despised
him and brought him no gifts”
(10:27, NIV).
But despite his lowly back-
ground Saul had strengths. In
1 Samuel 10:24 Samuel pro-
claims: “Do you see the man the
Lord has chosen? There is no one
like him among all the people”
(NIV).
If Saul’s strengths in leader-
ship had not manifest themselves
before Saul’s appointment as
king, they certainly became ap-
parent when the Ammonite
attack on Jabesh took place.
When Saul heard of the Am-
monite threat, “the Spirit of God
came upon him in power, and he
burned with anger” (11:6, NIV).
Payne points out three quali-
ties of leadership the Lord
implanted within Saul upon hear-
ing of the Ammonite threat. First,
by Rob Hensel
Rob Hensel is an electrical engineer at Synektron Corporation, Portland,
Oregon.