The Making of a King: Anointing, Signs, and the Spirit Text: 1 Samuel 10:1-8
Introduction: When God Makes a Point
We live in an age that prides itself on its alleged sophistication, which is really just a high-toned word for cynicism. We are allergic to the supernatural. We want a God who minds His own business, who stays in His lane, which is a very narrow, spiritual lane that never intersects with the material world of politics, business, or our daily lives. But the God of the Bible is not a deistic clockmaker who wound up the universe and then went on vacation. He is an intensely personal, interventionist God. He gets involved. He anoints kings, He gives signs, He sends His Spirit, and He makes men new.
The story of Saul’s anointing is a frontal assault on our modern sensibilities. It is earthy, tangible, and inescapably supernatural. God is not just whispering spiritual platitudes; He is pouring actual oil on a man's head. He is not just offering vague encouragement; He is orchestrating a series of specific, verifiable encounters on the road. He is not just suggesting a change of heart; He is promising to overwhelm a man with His Spirit and turn him into someone else entirely. This is not the tidy, manageable god of the therapeutic age. This is the living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and He is demonstrating His sovereign prerogative to choose a leader for His people.
Israel had demanded a king "like the other nations," which was a sinful request rooted in a rejection of God's direct rule. But God, in His confounding wisdom, condescends to their weakness. He doesn't just say, "Fine, have your stupid king." He takes their sinful request and wraps it in His own sovereign purposes. He chooses the man, He equips the man, and He validates the man. This entire chapter is a lesson in how God works. He works through means, He confirms His word with signs, and He empowers His chosen instruments with His Spirit. This is not just an interesting historical anecdote about Israel's first king. It is a paradigm for how God establishes authority and accomplishes His will in the world.
We must pay close attention, because the patterns established here, anointing, confirmation, and spiritual empowerment, are patterns that find their ultimate fulfillment in the true King, the Lord Jesus Christ, and are then extended, in a different fashion, to His people. If we misunderstand how God made Saul a king, we will misunderstand how Christ is King, and how we are to live as citizens of His kingdom.
The Text
Then Samuel took the flask of oil, poured it on his head, kissed him, and said, “Has not Yahweh anointed you a ruler over His inheritance? When you go from me today, then you will find two men close to Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; and they will say to you, ‘The donkeys which you went to search for have been found. Now behold, your father has ceased to be concerned about the donkeys and is anxious for you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?” ’ Then you will go on further from there, and you will come as far as the oak of Tabor, and there three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a jug of wine; and they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread. And you will take them from their hand. Afterward you will come to the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is; and it shall be as soon as you have come there to the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and a lyre before them, and they will be prophesying. Then the Spirit of Yahweh will come upon you mightily, and you shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man. Now it will be when these signs come to you, do for yourself whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you. And you shall go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice peace offerings. You shall wait seven days until I come to you and make you know what you should do.”
(1 Samuel 10:1-8 LSB)
The Anointing and the Kiss (v. 1)
The chapter opens with the private, decisive act that sets everything in motion.
"Then Samuel took the flask of oil, poured it on his head, kissed him, and said, 'Has not Yahweh anointed you a ruler over His inheritance?'" (1 Samuel 10:1)
This is the moment of consecration. The oil is not symbolic in some flimsy, sentimental way. In the Old Testament, anointing with oil set a person or object apart for God's exclusive use. It signified being chosen and equipped by God for a specific task. Prophets, priests, and kings were anointed. This act declared that Saul was no longer his own man; he belonged to Yahweh for the purpose of ruling His people. The oil represents the gift and equipping of the Holy Spirit, which will be dramatically demonstrated later in the chapter.
Samuel then kisses him. This is not a mere formality. It is a sign of personal allegiance and honor. Samuel, the great judge and prophet, the man who had led Israel for decades, is submitting to God's chosen king. He is modeling the loyalty that the people are to show Saul. Even though Samuel knew the people's request was sinful, he honors the office God has established. This is a crucial lesson for us. We are to honor the offices God has ordained, even when we have misgivings about the men who fill them. The kiss is Samuel’s pledge of fealty. He is the first to do so.
Notice the question: "Has not Yahweh anointed you?" This is a rhetorical question that functions as a powerful declaration. It is not Samuel's idea. It is not the people's choice, though they will later ratify it. Fundamentally, this is Yahweh's doing. God is the one who establishes authorities. All earthly authority is delegated authority, and this is the foundation of its legitimacy and its limits. Saul is to be a ruler, a "nagid" or prince, over God's "inheritance." Israel does not belong to Saul; they belong to God. Saul is a steward, a manager, not the ultimate owner. This is the principle that every Christian in a position of authority must remember: you are stewarding God's property, whether that is in the family, the church, or the state.
A Cascade of Confirmations (v. 2-6)
God does not just anoint Saul and then leave him to wonder if it was all a dream. He provides a series of three specific, predictive signs to confirm the reality of the calling. This is a profound act of grace. God knows Saul's insecurities, and He condescends to bolster his faith.
"When you go from me today, then you will find two men close to Rachel’s tomb... they will say to you, 'The donkeys which you went to search for have been found... your father... is anxious for you...'" (1 Samuel 10:2)
The first sign deals with the mundane. Saul had set out looking for lost donkeys. This sign tells him that the very problem that set him on this journey has been resolved. God is in control of the small things as well as the great. The donkeys are found, but Saul has found a kingdom. God uses the ordinary frustrations of life to lead us to our divine calling. The message is clear: "Stop worrying about the donkeys; God has bigger things for you, and He has already taken care of the small stuff." God is demonstrating His detailed providence.
"Then you will go on... and there three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a jug of wine; and they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread..." (1 Samuel 10:3-4)
The second sign is one of provision. These men are on their way to worship at Bethel, a historic place of encounter with God. They are carrying provisions for sacrifice and fellowship, goats for offering, bread and wine for a meal. And out of their own provisions, they give two loaves to Saul. This is a picture of God's people providing for their king. It is a token of the tribute and support he will receive. God is showing Saul that He will provide for him through the hands of his subjects. The king is to live from the offerings of the people, and here is the first installment.
"Afterward you will come to the hill of God... you will meet a group of prophets... prophesying. Then the Spirit of Yahweh will come upon you mightily, and you shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man." (1 Samuel 10:5-6)
The third sign is the climax. It is the sign of empowerment. Saul will encounter a band of prophets, ecstatic with the worship of God, and the Spirit of Yahweh will "come upon him mightily." This is not a gentle nudge. The Hebrew word implies a rushing, a powerful seizing. This is an Old Testament Pentecost. The Spirit empowers Saul for his kingly task. The external sign of this internal reality is that he will begin to prophesy with them. Prophecy here is not necessarily foretelling the future but speaking forth the praises of God under divine inspiration.
And the result is transformative: he will be "changed into another man." This is not regeneration in the New Covenant sense of receiving a new heart of flesh. It is, rather, a radical equipping for a new office. God gives him a "kingly heart," the disposition, the courage, and the gravitas necessary for leadership. He is being lifted from the status of a farmer's son to that of a monarch. God fits the man to the office. This is a work of the Spirit. Without the Spirit's empowerment, no man is fit for any office in God's kingdom.
The Mandate to Act (v. 7-8)
After the signs are given, Samuel provides Saul with his commission and his first test of obedience.
"Now it will be when these signs come to you, do for yourself whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you." (1 Samuel 10:7)
This is a crucial moment. The signs are not for mere personal edification; they are the green light for action. Once God has confirmed His word, Saul is to act with confidence and initiative. "Whatever your hand finds to do" means he is to seize the opportunities that present themselves, to act with kingly authority, because he has the assurance that "God is with you." This is the basis of all faithful leadership. We do not act on our own authority or in our own strength. We act on the basis of God's confirmed promise and in the confidence of His presence. This is a call to courageous, faith-filled action.
"And you shall go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice peace offerings. You shall wait seven days until I come to you and make you know what you should do." (1 Samuel 10:8)
But this freedom to act is immediately framed by a command to obey. Initiative is bounded by obedience. Saul is given his first specific command, which will become the great test of his kingship later on (1 Samuel 13). He is to go to Gilgal, the place of covenant renewal, and wait. He must wait seven days for Samuel. This is a test of patience and submission. Will Saul trust God's timing? Will he honor the authority of God's prophet? His freedom to act in verse 7 is not absolute autonomy. It is freedom within the boundaries of God's revealed will. Herein lies the seed of Saul's entire tragedy. He was good at the "do whatever your hand finds" part, but he failed miserably at the "wait for God's word" part. True authority is always under authority.
The Greater Saul
This entire narrative is a shadow, a type, pointing forward to the true King, Jesus Christ. Everything that happened to Saul in a preliminary way happens to Jesus in its ultimate fulfillment.
Like Saul, Jesus was anointed. But He was not anointed with a flask of literal oil by a prophet. At His baptism in the Jordan, the heavens were torn open, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove, and the Father's voice declared from heaven, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:16-17). This was His anointing for His kingly mission. Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, which means "the Anointed One."
Like Saul, Jesus's ministry was confirmed by signs. But His signs were not just finding donkeys or receiving bread. His signs were turning water into wine, healing the sick, casting out demons, calming the storm, and raising the dead. These were not just to bolster His own faith, but to declare to all of Israel that the King had arrived, that the Kingdom of God was at hand.
Like Saul, the Spirit of Yahweh came upon Jesus mightily. But the Spirit did not just come upon Him for a time or for a task; the Spirit was given to Him without measure (John 3:34). He was not merely "changed into another man"; He was the God-man, eternally begotten of the Father. He did not just prophesy; He was the very Word of God made flesh.
And like Saul, Jesus had His Gilgal, His great test of obedience. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He was commanded to wait for the cup of God's wrath. His human will recoiled, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me." But unlike Saul, He submitted in perfect obedience: "Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done" (Luke 22:42). Where the first king failed the test of waiting and obedience, the final King passed with perfect faithfulness, and by that obedience, He secured our salvation.
And now, through faith in this true King, we too are brought into this pattern. We are anointed with His Spirit. We are made part of a royal priesthood, a holy nation (1 Peter 2:9). The Spirit does not just come upon us; He indwells us. He does not just change us into another man; He makes us a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). And He empowers us to act boldly, to do whatever our hand finds to do for the glory of His kingdom, confident that God is with us. But we too must always act within the bounds of obedience, waiting for His word and trusting His timing, until the King returns in glory.