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| 1 Then took Samuel a flask of oil, and poured out upon his head, and kissed him,–and said–Is it not, that Yahweh hath anointed thee over his inheritance, as leader? |
A vial of oil – Typifying the anointing of the holy Spirit. R4197:6, R5636:2
To be captain – Representing Jesus as the head of the Church. R3218:5
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| 2 When thou departest, today, from me, then shalt thou find two men by the grave of Rachel, within the boundary of Benjamin, in Zelzah,–and they will say unto thee, The asses are found, which thou wentest to seek, and lo! thy father hath abandoned caring for the asses, and is concerned for you, saying, What shall I do for my son? |
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| 3 Then shalt thou pass on quickly from thence onwards, and come as far as the oak of Tabor, and there shall find thee there, three men going up unto God, at Bethel,–one, carrying three kids, and, another, carrying three cakes of bread, and, another, carrying a skin of wine;
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| 4 then will they ask thee, of thy welfare,–and give thee two cakes of bread, which thou shalt receive at their hand. |
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| 5 After that, shalt thou come unto the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines,–and it shall be, as thou comest in thither into the city, thou shalt light upon a band of prophets, coming down from the high place, and, before them, a harp, and a timbrel, and a flute, and a lyre, they having been moved to prophesy. |
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| 6 Then will come suddenly upon thee, the Spirit of Yahweh, and thou shalt be moved to prophesy with them,–and shalt be changed into another man. |
Spirit of the LORD – Controlling his words and actions rather than enlightening his mind in respect to the deep things of God. R4197:5
Another man – Similarly, those who believe God's message and accept the anointing of the holy Spirit also find new aims, new impulses, new hopes, new desires. R4197:6
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| 7 And it shall be, when these signs shall come unto thee, then act thou for thyself, as thou shalt find occasion, for, God, is with thee. |
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| 8 And thou shalt go down before me to Gilgal, for lo! I am coming down unto thee, to offer up ascending-offerings, to sacrifice peace-offerings,–seven days, shalt thou tarry, until I come unto thee, then will I let thee know what thou shalt do. |
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| 9 And so it was, that, when he turned away to depart from Samuel, God gave him another heart,–and all these signs came to pass that day. |
Another heart – Fixed his mind upon the more sober things of life and God's relationship to these. R4197:5
In the sense that he no longer had the "disposition" to be a farmer, but a divine "disposition" to be a statesman. It did not signify that he had become a New Creature in Christ. R5637:4
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| 10 And, when they came thither to the hill, lo! a band of prophets coming to meet him,–then came suddenly upon him, the Spirit of God, and he was moved to prophesy in their midst. |
Spirit of God – An invisible power from God. R5637:3
The Bible makes a clean-cut distinction between the holy Spirit's operations upon men before Pentecost and since. R5637:3
God's holy Spirit qualifying Saul for king was a mechanical one and not the spirit of sonship. R5637:4
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| 11 And it came to pass, that, all who knew him aforetime, looked, and lo! with the prophets, he did prophesy. So the people said, one to another–What, now, hath befallen the son of Kish? Is, even Saul, among the prophets? |
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| 12 Then responded one of that place, and said, But who is, their father? For this cause, it became a proverb, Is, even Saul, among the prophets? |
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| 13 And, when he had made an end of prophesying, he came to the high place. |
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| 14 Then said Saul's uncle unto him, and unto his young man–Whither have ye been? And he said, To seek the asses, and, when they were nowhere, to be seen, we came unto Samuel. |
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| 15 And Saul's uncle said,–Do tell me, I pray thee, what Samuel said to you. |
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| 16 And Saul said unto his uncle, He, told, us that the asses were found,–but, as to the matter of the kingdom, he told him not what Samuel had said. |
He told him not – It was in harmony with the prophet's advice that Saul kept the matter of his anointing secret. R4197:1, R3218:2
So now, the people know not the Lord's Anointed, the matter is kept secret for a time. R3218:5
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| 17 Then Samuel called out the people, unto Yahweh, at Mizpah, |
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| 18 and said unto the sons of Israel–Thus, saith Yahweh, God of Israel: I myself, brought up Israel, out of Egypt,–and rescued you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all the kingdoms that distressed you. |
Delivered you – Samuel impressed upon the people the fact that no king could have done them better service than their great King, Jehovah. R3218:2
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| 19 Yet, ye, today, have rejected your God, who, himself, hath been giving you salvation from all your calamities and your distresses, and ye have said to him: A king, shalt thou set over us,–Now, therefore, present yourselves before Yahweh, by your tribes, and by your thousands. |
Your adversities – Calamities or evils sent as chastisements. A125
Before the LORD – Israel's solicitude to have the Lord make the choice is in contrast with present-day wire-pulling for office. R3218:1
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| 20 And, when Samuel had brought near all the tribes of Israel, then was taken the tribe of Benjamin. |
Benjamin was taken – Similarly today, the Lord is passing by the prominent people and choosing the little and the humble. R3218:5
Samuel cast lots so the people might know it was the Lord's choice. R3218:2, R5637:6
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| 21 And, when he had brought near the tribe of Benjamin, by their families, then was taken the family of Matri,–and, when he had brought near the family of Matri, man by man, then was taken Saul the son of Kish; so they sought him, but he was not to be found. |
And Saul – Meaning "Desired"; typifying, in this case, Christ. "The desire of all nations shall come." (Hag. 2:7) R3218:5
They sought him – In due time search will be made to find the Lord's Anointed and he will be found at his second advent. R3218:5
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| 22 Then asked they again of Yahweh, Hath there yet to come in hither a man? And Yahweh said, Lo! he, hath hid himself among the stores. |
Inquired of the LORD – The Christ of God will be the desired one of all nations. R3218:5
Hath hid himself – In marked contrast with some of the chief ones of the world and the nominal church. R3218:4, R5636:2
The stuff – Baggage piled up surrounding the camp. R3218:4, R5637:6
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| 23 So they ran, and fetched him thence, and, when he presented himself in the midst of the people, then was he [seen to be] taller than any of the people, from his shoulders and upwards. |
Fetched him thence – The Lord's Anointed shall be found at his second advent. R3218:5
He was higher – Representing the largeness and grandeur of character in those whom the Lord is choosing. R3218:6
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| 24 And Samuel said unto all the people–Have ye seen him whom Yahweh hath chosen, that there is none like him, among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said–Let the king live! |
None like him – "Chiefest among ten thousand; the one altogether lovely." (Song of Sol. 5:10, 16) R3218:6
The people shouted – So the world of mankind will shout for joy when they shall realize the presence of the Christ of God. R3218:6
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| 25 Then Samuel declared unto the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a scroll, and laid it up before Yahweh. And Samuel sent away all the people, every man to his own house. |
Write it in a book – By divine direction. R1145:3
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| 26 Yea, even Saul, went to his own house, at Gibeah,–and the valiant men whose heart God had moved went with him. |
Went home – Displaying patience, wisdom, humility. R5636:1
Went with him – It is because we see Jesus to be the Father's choice that we unite ourselves to him. R3218:6
A band of men – Typifying the Little Flock. R3218:6
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| 27 But, abandoned men, said–How can this one save us? So they treated him with contempt, and brought him no present,–but he was as one that was deaf. |
Children of Belial – Children of the devil; representing those out of harmony with God, speaking evil of the members of the Body of Christ. R3219:1
They despised him – So mankind is not yet ready for the reign of the Royal Priesthood. R5636:2
He held his peace – Made no attempt to exercise authority, seeing that he had only half-hearted support from the people. R5635:2
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