Day 1018: If I prophesy - 1 Samuel 10 vs 1 - 12

1 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on Saul's head and kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince. 2-4 When you depart from me today, you will meet two men by Rachel's tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you, ‘The donkeys that you went to seek are found, and now your father has ceased to care about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?”’ Then you shall go on from there farther and come to the oak of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from their hand.

5-6 After that you shall come to Gibeath-elohim, (Hill of God) where there is a garrison of the Philistines. And there, as soon as you come to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying. Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. 7-8 Now when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you. Then go down before me to Gilgal. And behold, I am coming to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.”

9-10 When he (Saul) turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day. When they came to Gibeah, behold, a group of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them. 11-12 And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, “What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” And a man of the place answered, “And who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” 1 Samuel 10:1-12 English Standard Version

I suspect that some who might preach from this incident in the Bible may look for 'hidden meanings' in the three young goats, loaves of bread, and skin of wine. And while such a sermon might be entertaining, we must take care when preachers read more into a story than what the Bible itself tells us, or doesn't tell. The background to these unusual incidents was that Israel was about to take a huge step. The people had demanded that God give them a King, and, through Samuel, God gave unmistakable signs as to who He'd chosen for the job.

What also made this a momentous moment in Israel's history is that we're told there was a garrison of the Philistines at the place called Gibeath-elohim. So Israel was an occupied country, and Saul was going to need both of the things God did for him. We read that, as he turned away from Samuel, 'God gave him another heart'. And, after meeting the group of prophets, we read that 'the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them'. This event especially had a big effect on those who saw and heard of it, and it became a proverb in Israel. The people began to realize that God's hand was upon Saul.

In the light of the New Testament, however, there's a lesson we can take from these things. God used signs when He was doing something new. He enabled Moses to perform miracles before Pharaoh when He brought Israel out of Egypt. The life of Jesus was full of significant miracles, and God granted the apostles to do signs and wonders as they took the gospel into the world. But signs and wonders are, in themselves, not a guarantee that the one receiving them is always to be followed. The apostle Paul put it this way: “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:2)

Sadly, this proved to be the case of Saul, as we see later in this book. The changed heart God gave him, and the experience of ecstatic prophecy, were lost through his disobedience that followed. It is God's love rather that sensational signs we need to pursue.