The Anointing of Saul
January 19, 2025
Welcome to our walking tour through the amazing story of Saul becoming king, a journey in four parts. I’ll be your guide as we explore what this story tells us about God, leadership, and our own lives. Let’s begin.
Our First stop is entitled “The What For”: 1 Samuel 10:17-19
Samuel summoned the people to the Lord at Mizpah and said to the Israelites, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said, ‘No, but set a king over us.’ Now, therefore, present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your clans.”
Samuel begins with the classic prophetic phrase, ‘Thus says the Lord,’ a phrase that, as Walter Brueggemann notes, should make us duck. Why? Because prophets don’t predict the future; they reveal consequences. The people have rejected God’s leadership in favor of a king, despite Samuel’s warnings about what kings do—they take, tax, and conscript. But God, ever patient, responds to human stubbornness with grace, allowing their say in how they shall live. We call this politics, it’s a discussion on how we shall live together. Yet God has a say in who the king shall be, which brings us to our next stop:
We’ve Been Through A Lot: 1 Samuel 10:20-21a
Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families, and the family of the Matrites was taken by lot. Finally he brought the family of the Matrites near man by man,[a] and Saul the son of Kish was taken by lot.
The selection process involves drawing lots, a system we might see as random but which God uses the smallest details, working subtly so that the lots narrow from the 12 tribes to the tribe of Benjamin. From those families to Saul, tall and handsome. He seems like the ideal choice—on the surface. Yet God’s real desire isn’t a king but for each person to use their unique gifts to serve and bless the world. Instead, the people shy away from responsibility, clinging to the safety of a single leader.
God knows and we know that we are more powerful in community. For there are things you know about that I don’t because I don’t have the same life experience. There are things on your radar that aren’t on your neighbors because you survived/endured/experienced/reveled in that they haven’t. And they likewise from you. As Jesus says in Matthew 13:16, “But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.”
There are things that once you see, you can’t unsee. Once you taste, you can’t untaste. Both good, bad, and in between. For those of us who have had kids, experiencing childbirth or being in the room for one is unlike anything I can describe. It’s one of those things that if you know then you know. Once you’ve experienced something you can mentor someone else. Whether it be how to pick a cruise or how to endure chemotherapy. Our experiences can be used to help others.
We here have never experienced devastation like what happened this fall in North Carolina. We have no idea what it’s like to be in a FEMA trailer for months, anxious and stressed. Yet Medina chose to bring up these strangers, these fellow citizens to celebrate the Promise of Christmas last week. We chose to host dinner and give them a small candlelight service. They chose to hop on a bus and come up for something that sounded like a scam. 200 or so folks came up and were welcomed. They felt the love. And they were served by strangers. Because the promise of Christmas is just that: strangers become friends. The world is less scary. Nothing beats fear like a face.
Yet we often chicken out and want someone to do it for us. Thus, the demand for a king.
Saul Among the Baggage: 1 Samuel 10:21b-24
But when they sought him, he could not be found. So they inquired again of the Lord, “Did the man come here?”[b] And the Lord said, “See, he has hidden himself among the baggage.” Then they ran and brought him from there. When he took his stand among the people, he was head and shoulders taller than any of them. Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one whom the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
When the lot falls to Saul, he’s nowhere to be found—he’s hiding among the baggage. God, ever patient, points him out to the people. The bible study group pointed that out, that the people inquire of God and it’s God who says, “He’s hiding over there.” God who holds the planets in their orbit plays hide-and-seek with Israel in this moment. The chosen king is already shrinking from the call. How often do we, too, hide from the opportunities God places before us? Yet God doesn’t give up. Even in our reluctance, God walks alongside us.
Noble Warriors and Worthless Fellows: 1 Samuel 10:25-27
Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people back to their homes. Saul also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went warriors whose hearts God had touched. But some worthless fellows said, “How can this man save us?” They despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace.
Samuel has written a book about the rights and duties of the king, some of which might be recorded in Deuteronomy 17:14-20 which defines the obligation of the king and how he will be accountable before God. Then Samuel sends everyone home. You’d think Saul would give a speech or establish a palace or some such. But everyone goes home. And some warriors whose heart God touched depart with Saul. One way to think of this, is that Saul’s support from influential and powerful people was essential Saul was to have a chance at success. God’s hand was involved in the lots, finding Saul among the baggage, and now with the support.
Yet remember how we started: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel who brought you out of Egypt.” Here’s what I know about God. God chooses the losers. God sides with the worthless. God is the God of a bunch of nobody slaves in Egypt. When God is born among us, it’s an unmarried couple visited by dirty shepherds and foreign magicians. A bunch of nobody’s we celebrate each and every year.
The word here for worthless is the same word used to describe the bribe-taking sons of Eli in 2:12. Yet it’s also what Eli mistook Hannah in 1:14-16. And when Saul falls from glory, it’s these worthless folk who support David. I’m thankful that Saul didn’t immediately say, “Off with their heads” but held his peace because these worthless ones asked the right question.
“How can this man save?” The question from the “worthless fellows” isn’t just about Saul—it’s about all of us. It’s a question that echoes through history, reminding us of the limits of human leadership and the dangers of misplaced trust. Saul, chosen by lots and elevated by human desire rather than divine necessity, serves as a cautionary tale.
The church, for all its beauty and potential, has had its moments of Saul-like failure. Without God at the center, the church has too often become a stumbling block rather than a cornerstone. It’s the church that wielded the sword in the Crusades, believing violence could enforce faith. It’s the church that burned heretics, forgetting that the Spirit brings freedom, not fear. It’s the church that gave us the horrors of the Inquisition, the complicity in slavery, and the silence during the Holocaust. Even today, when God is replaced with power or ideology, the church can wound rather than heal. The exclusion of LGBTQ+ individuals, the protection of abusers in religious institutions, and the focus on dogma and the top givers over love all serve as reminders: the church without God cannot save.
Society fares no better without God’s guidance. When institutions and systems operate apart from God’s justice and mercy, they too fail to save. It becomes those with the gold make the rule. Politics without God becomes a battleground for power, where the loudest voice drowns out the voiceless. Economies without God create vast inequalities, celebrating profit over people. Our entertainment glorifies violence and consumption, numbing us to the needs of our neighbors. Consider our obsession with celebrity culture, where fame is mistaken for wisdom, and our politicians are marketed like products rather than stewards of the common good.
But when God is present, everything changes. The church becomes the body of Christ, a place where strangers are welcomed, the hurting are healed, and the lost are found. Society becomes a reflection of God’s kingdom, where justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream (Amos 5:24).
We’ve seen glimpses of this. During the Civil Rights Movement, the church, when grounded in God, marched for justice, prayed for peace, and sang songs of liberation. After natural disasters, communities have rallied together, inspired by the compassion of Christ, to rebuild lives and restore hope. Even in our personal lives, when we submit our stubborn hearts to God, we discover grace, community, and purpose.
The story of Saul reminds us that neither kings nor pastors nor presidents nor policies can save us. Only God can. And God works with us! When we try to lead without God, we stumble. When we rely on our own wisdom, we fail. But when we seek God first, when we let God lead, even the “worthless fellows” are lifted up, and even the baggage-hiding Saul can be used for the love of God and neighbor.
So, what will we choose? Will we demand our own way, chasing after kings and idols? Or will we open ourselves to God’s invitation to be part of something greater—something eternal? As we leave here today, let us ask ourselves, “Where am I hiding like Saul? Where is God in my life, my church, my community? What needs to change to let God lead?”
For apart from God, nothing and no one can save. But with God, all things are possible. Amen.
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