Commentary - 1 Samuel 10:9-13

Bird's-eye view

In this remarkable passage, we see the immediate and powerful confirmation of God's private anointing of Saul. What Samuel did in secret, God now validates in public through a series of dramatic and undeniable signs. The central event is the Spirit of God rushing upon Saul, causing this unassuming son of Kish to prophesy among a band of prophets. This is not a quiet, internal affair; it is a startling public spectacle designed to demonstrate to all that God has set this man apart for the office of king. The reaction of the people, captured in the proverbial question, "Is Saul also among the prophets?" reveals just how unexpected this was. This is God's sovereign choice on full display, confounding all human expectations and showing that He equips whom He calls, often in the most surprising ways. This event is not primarily about Saul's personal salvation, but about his divine commissioning for a covenantal task.

The passage serves as a crucial bridge in the narrative. It follows Samuel's private anointing and prophetic words, and it precedes Saul's public selection by lot. This outpouring of the Spirit is the divine seal, the authentication that the whole project of the monarchy, and Saul's role in it, is being directed by the hand of God Himself. It is a moment of pure, unadulterated divine power, a sign of what could be if the king walks in obedience to the God who so powerfully equipped him.

Outline

Context In 1 Samuel

This episode occurs at a pivotal moment in Israel's history: the transition from the period of the judges to the monarchy. The people have sinfully demanded a king "like all the nations" (1 Sam 8:5), and God, while displeased with their motive, has granted their request. God directs Samuel to anoint Saul, a tall, handsome man from the tribe of Benjamin. After the private anointing (1 Sam 10:1), Samuel gives Saul three prophetic signs that will confirm his calling. The events of our passage describe the fulfillment of the third and most dramatic of these signs. This public display of divine power serves to validate Samuel's authority and Saul's new status before he is formally presented to the nation at Mizpah (1 Sam 10:17-24). It is the moment where God puts His unmistakable stamp on the man He has chosen.

Key Issues

The Unlikely Prophet-King

When God sets a man apart for a particular task, He equips him for it. This is a central lesson of Scripture. He did not call Moses to lead Israel and then leave him to his own stuttering devices. He did not appoint David as king and then leave him to figure it out. And here, as Saul is called to be the first king of Israel, God does not just give him a title; He gives him a transformation. This transformation is both internal and external, culminating in a public display that leaves no room for doubt. God is in this. The events at the hill of God are a divine intrusion into the normal course of affairs, designed to make everyone stop and ask what in the world is going on. And the answer is that God is setting up His king.

Verse by Verse Commentary

9 Then it happened when he turned his back to leave Samuel, God changed his heart; and all those signs came about on that day.

The transformation begins the moment Saul commits to the path Samuel laid out for him. As he turns to go, God acts. The phrase God changed his heart is crucial. This should not be mistaken for the New Covenant work of regeneration, where a heart of stone is replaced with a heart of flesh. Rather, this is a change of disposition and perspective suited for his new office. God gave him the heart of a king, not the heart of a farmer's son looking for lost donkeys. It was a divine equipping, an infusion of courage, gravity, and a new way of thinking. This was a gift for the job. And as a confirmation of this internal work, the external signs Samuel had predicted began to unfold, one after another, all on that same day, demonstrating the precision and faithfulness of God's word through His prophet.

10 And they came to the hill there, and behold, a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him mightily, so that he prophesied among them.

Here we have the climax of the signs. At Gibeah, the "hill of God," Saul encounters a company of prophets. These were likely men dedicated to the study and proclamation of God's word, perhaps in a community led by Samuel. At this moment, the Spirit of God came upon him mightily. This is the language of overwhelming divine empowerment for a specific task. In the Old Testament, the Spirit would "come upon" individuals like Bezalel for craftsmanship, Samson for strength, and here, Saul for prophetic utterance and kingly validation. This is distinct from the permanent indwelling of the Spirit that characterizes the New Covenant believer. The result is that Saul himself prophesied among them. This does not necessarily mean he was foretelling the future. It more likely refers to an ecstatic, Spirit-compelled praise or proclamation of the mighty works of God. He was caught up in the spiritual fervor of the prophetic band, and the power of God was visibly and audibly working through him.

11 Now it happened that all who knew him previously saw, and behold, he was prophesying with the prophets, so the people said to one another, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”

The effect on the local population was astonishment. These were people who knew Saul. They knew him as the son of Kish, a local man from a known family. He was not part of the prophetic circle; he was not known for his piety or spiritual fervor. To see him swept up in this prophetic ecstasy was utterly confounding. Their question, "What has happened to the son of Kish?" is one of genuine shock. The second question, which became a proverb, "Is Saul also among the prophets?" captures the sense of incongruity. It's like seeing a rough-and-tumble construction worker suddenly stand up and conduct a symphony orchestra with perfect skill. It doesn't fit. And that is precisely the point. God's choice and God's power are not limited by our categories or expectations.

12 And a man there answered and said, “Now, who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb: “Is Saul also among the prophets?”

An unnamed man in the crowd provides a profound theological insight. In response to the shock, he poses a counter-question: "Now, who is their father?" He is asking about the spiritual parentage of the prophets themselves. Where do they get their power? Is it from their lineage? Their training? Their natural abilities? The implied answer is no. Their spiritual father, the source of their prophetic gift, is God Himself. And if God is the one who makes men prophets, then He is perfectly free to make anyone a prophet, including the son of Kish. This wise observation cuts through the superficial surprise and gets to the heart of the matter: the sovereignty of God. God can raise up children for Abraham from the stones, and He can certainly make a prophet out of a farm boy. The proverb, then, came to signify any surprising and unexpected transformation or display of gifting in a person.

13 Then he finished prophesying and came to the high place.

The experience, as intense as it was, had a definite end. When the Spirit's purpose was accomplished, Saul finished prophesying. His response is telling: he went to the high place. This was a local center of worship. Having been overwhelmed by the Spirit of God, his immediate action was to go to the place of sacrifice and worship. This was the proper response to such a direct encounter with the living God. It shows that, at this early stage, the new heart God had given him was rightly inclined.

Application

This passage is a potent reminder that God is the one who calls and equips for service in His kingdom. We are often tempted to look at our own backgrounds, our resumes, our natural talents, and conclude that we are not fit for a particular task. The story of Saul is a rebuke to such thinking. God did not choose a man from a prophetic guild; He chose a man looking for donkeys and poured out His Spirit upon him. The question is never whether we are adequate, but whether God has called us. If He has, He will provide the gifting.

At the same time, this passage contains a sober warning. This powerful anointing of the Spirit was for a specific office. It was not, in itself, a guarantee of Saul's ultimate salvation. As we know, Saul's story ends in tragedy, with the Spirit of the Lord departing from him. This teaches us to never confuse spiritual gifts with saving grace. A man can preach, prophesy, and perform mighty works in the name of Christ, and still hear on the last day, "I never knew you."

The ultimate application must drive us to the true King, the Lord Jesus. Saul was a flawed prototype, a king on whom the Spirit came for a time. Jesus is the King who was conceived by the Spirit, filled with the Spirit without measure, and who now baptizes His people with that same Spirit. Unlike Saul, His heart was always perfectly inclined to the Father. He is the ultimate fulfillment of the unlikely king, the root out of dry ground. Our confidence is not in our own gifting or experiences of the Spirit, but in the finished work of the King who was not just found among the prophets, but is the Lord of the prophets Himself.