1 Samuel 10–12

10TH CHAPTER

Saul Anointed by Samuel

¹Samuel took a flask of olive oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “The Lord has anointed you to be ruler of his people Israel. You will rule his people and save them from all their enemies. This will be the sign that the Lord has anointed you^ato be ruler of his people. ²When you leave me today, two men will be at Rachel’s grave on the border of Benjamin at Zelzah. They’ll tell you, ‘We’ve found the donkeys you went looking for. Your father no longer cares about them. Instead, he’s worried about you. He keeps asking, “What can I do ⸤to find⸥ my son?” ’ ³Keep going until you come to the oak tree at Tabor. There you will find three men on their way to worship God at Bethel: One will be carrying three young goats, one will be carrying three loaves of bread, and one will be carrying a ⸤full⸥ wineskin. ⁴They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you should accept from them. ⁵After that, you will come to the hill of God, where the Philistines have a military post. When you arrive at the city, you will meet a group of prophets prophesying as they come from the worship site. They will be led by men playing a harp, a tambourine, a flute, and a lyre. ⁶Then the Lord’s Spirit will come over you. You will be a different person while you prophesy with them. ⁷When these signs happen to you, do what you must, because God is with you. ⁸Go ahead of me to Gilgal. Then I will come to sacrifice burnt offerings and make fellowship offerings. Wait seven days until I come to tell you what to do.” 

Saul’s Anointing Confirmed by Signs

⁹When Saul turned around to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s attitude. That day all these signs happened. ¹⁰When Saul came to the hill, a group of prophets came to meet him, and God’s Spirit came over him. He prophesied with them. ¹¹When all who had known him before saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people asked one another, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul one of the prophets?” ¹²But a man from that place asked, “But who’s the chief prophet?” So it became a proverb: “Is Saul one of the prophets?” ¹³And when he had finished prophesying, he came to the worship site. 

¹⁴Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where did you go?” 

Saul answered, “To look for the donkeys, and when we couldn’t find them, we went to Samuel.” 

¹⁵Saul’s uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” 

¹⁶“He assured us the donkeys had been found,” Saul answered his uncle. But Saul didn’t tell him what Samuel said ⸤about his becoming king⸥. 

The Lord Chooses Saul

¹⁷Samuel called the people to ⸤come into the presence of⸥ the Lord at Mizpah. ¹⁸He said to the Israelites, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: I brought Israel out of Egypt and rescued you from the power of the Egyptians and all the kings who were oppressing you. ¹⁹But now you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and distresses. You said, ‘No! Place a king over us.’ Now then, stand in front of the Lord by your tribes and family groups.” 

²⁰When Samuel had all the tribes of Israel come forward, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. ²¹When he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward by families, the family of Matri was chosen. Then Saul, the son of Kish, was chosen. They looked for him but couldn’t find him. ²²They asked the Lord again, “Has he arrived here yet?” 

The Lord answered, “He’s hiding among the baggage.” 

²³They ran and got him from there. As he stood among the people, he was a head taller than everyone else. ²⁴Samuel asked the people, “Do you see whom the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” 

Then all the people shouted, “Long live the king!” 

²⁵Samuel explained the laws concerning kingship to the people. He wrote the laws on a scroll, which he placed in front of the Lord. Then Samuel sent the people back to their homes. ²⁶Saul also went home to Gibeah. With him went some soldiers whose hearts God had touched. ²⁷However, some good-for-nothing people asked, “How can this man save us?” They despised him and wouldn’t bring him presents, but he didn’t respond. 

11TH CHAPTER

Saul Defeats Ammon

¹King Nahash of Ammon was severely oppressing the tribes of Gad and Reuben. He would poke out everyone’s right eye and allow no one to rescue Israel. There was no one among the Israelites east of the Jordan River whose right eye King Nahash of Ammon had not poked out. However, seven thousand men had escaped from the Ammonites and gone to Jabesh Gilead. About a month later^aNahash the Ammonite blockaded Jabesh Gilead. All the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we’ll serve you.” 

²Nahash the Ammonite responded, “I’ll make a treaty with you on this one condition: I’ll poke out everyone’s right eye and bring disgrace on all Israel.” 

³The leaders of Jabesh told him, “Give us seven days so that we can send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. And if there’s no one to save us, we’ll surrender to you.” 

⁴The messengers came to Saul’s town, Gibeah. When they told the people the news, the people cried loudly. ⁵Just then Saul was coming from the field behind some oxen. “Why are these people crying?” Saul asked. So they told him the news about the men of Jabesh. ⁶When he heard this news, God’s Spirit came over him, and he became very angry. ⁷Saul took a pair of oxen, cut them in pieces, and sent them by messengers throughout the territory of Israel with the following message: “This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who doesn’t follow Saul and Samuel ⸤into battle⸥.” So the people became terrified by the Lord, and they came out united ⸤behind Saul⸥. ⁸When Saul counted them at Bezek, there were 300,000 troops from Israel and 30,000 troops from Judah. ⁹They told the messengers who had come, “This is what you are to say to the men of Jabesh Gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun gets hot, you will be rescued.’ ” When the men of Jabesh received the message, they were overjoyed. 

¹⁰They said ⸤to Nahash⸥, “Tomorrow we’ll surrender to you, and you may do to us whatever you think is right.” 

¹¹The next day Saul arranged the army in three divisions. They came into the ⸤Ammonite⸥ camp during the morning hours and continued to defeat the Ammonites until it got hot that day. The survivors were so scattered that no two of them were left together. 

¹²Then the people asked Samuel, “Who said that Saul shouldn’t rule us? Let us have them, and we’ll kill them.” 

¹³But Saul said, “No one will be killed today, because today the Lord saved Israel.” 

¹⁴Samuel told the troops, “Come, let’s go to Gilgal and there acknowledge ⸤Saul’s⸥ kingship.” ¹⁵Then all the troops went to Gilgal, and there in the Lord’s presence, they confirmed Saul as their king. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings to the Lord. Saul and all of Israel’s soldiers celebrated. 

12TH CHAPTER

Samuel’s Spotless Leadership

¹Then Samuel said to all Israel, “I have listened to everything you have said to me and appointed a king over you. ²And now, here is the king who will lead you. I am old and gray, but my sons are with you. I have led you from my youth until this day. ³Here I am. Testify against me in front of the Lord and in front of his anointed king. Did I take anyone’s ox? Did I take anyone’s donkey? Did I cheat or oppress anyone? Did I take a bribe from anyone to look the other way? ⸤If so,⸥ I will give it all back.” 

⁴They answered, “You didn’t cheat us, oppress us, or take anything from anyone.” 

⁵Samuel told them, “The Lord is a witness to what you’ve said, and his anointed king is a witness today that you’ve found nothing in my hands.” 

“He is a witness,” they answered. 

⁶Samuel told the people, “The Lord appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your ancestors out of Egypt. ⁷Now, stand up while I put you on trial in front of the Lord and cite all the righteous things the Lord did for you and your ancestors. ⁸When your ancestors went with Jacob to Egypt ⸤and were oppressed⸥, they cried out to the Lord, who sent Moses and Aaron to bring them out of Egypt. The Lord settled them in this place. ⁹But they forgot the Lord their God. So he handed them over to Sisera, who was the commander of the army of Hazor, to the Philistines, and to the king of Moab. All of them fought against your ancestors. ¹⁰Then they cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned. We have abandoned the Lord and served other gods and goddesses—the Baals and the Astartes. But rescue us from our enemies now, and we will serve you.’ 

¹¹“Then the Lord sent Jerubbaal, Bedan, Jephthah, and Samuel and rescued you from your enemies on every side so that you could live securely. ¹²But when you saw King Nahash of Ammon coming to attack you, you told me, ‘No, a king should rule over us,’ though the Lord your God was your king. 

The New Kingship

¹³“Now, here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for. See, the Lord has put a king over you. ¹⁴If you fear the Lord, serve him, obey him, and don’t rebel against what he says, then you and your king will follow the Lord your God. ¹⁵But if you don’t obey the Lord, if you rebel against what he says, then the Lord will be against you as he was against your ancestors. ¹⁶Now then, stand still and watch this great thing the Lord is going to do right before your eyes. ¹⁷Isn’t the wheat being harvested today? I will call on the Lord, and he’ll send thunder and rain. Then you will realize what a wicked thing you did in the Lord’s presence when you asked for a king.” 

¹⁸Then Samuel called on the Lord. That day the Lord sent thunder and rain so that all the people feared the Lord and Samuel very much. 

¹⁹All the people pleaded with Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for us so that we will not die. We have added ⸤another⸥ evil thing to all our other sins by asking for a king.” 

²⁰“Don’t be afraid,” Samuel told the people. “You did do all these evil things. But don’t turn away from the Lord. Instead, serve the Lord wholeheartedly.…