17. And Samuel called the people together unto the Lord to Mizpeh:
18. And said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you.
19. And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes, and by your thousands.
20. And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken.
21. When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken; and when they sought him, he could not be found.
22. Therefore they inquired of the Lord further, if the man should yet come thither. And the Lord answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff.
23. And they ran and fetched him thence; and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.
24. And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people! And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king.
25. Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.
26. And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched.
27. But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.
Golden Text: “The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice.” Ps. 97:1.
Note.—The section included in the present lesson study is chapters 8 to 12 inclusive, in which a new era in the government of Israel is brought to view. Samuel was now an old man, and had assisting him in the work of judge his two sons, who were located at Beersheba. These men did not follow in the ways of their father, but took bribes, and perverted the proper use of their office. For this alleged reason and for other causes the people demanded a king. Chapters 8, 9, and 10 tell of Samuel’s guidance in the matter, his meeting with Saul and instructions to him, and the public choosing. The events took place in the same locality described in the preceding lesson, only a few miles from Jerusalem. See the map of tribal divisions for the location of the tribe of Benjamin, to which Saul belonged.
Suggestive Questions
(1) To what place did Samuel call the people together? Verse 17. (2) What did he say the Lord had done for them? Verse 18. (3) In asking for a king, what had they virtually done? Verse 19. Note 1. (4) What were they commanded to do? Same verse. Note 2. (5) What tribe was taken? Verse 20. (6) What family and what member of it was taken? Verse 21. (7) How and where was Saul found? Verse 22. Note 3. (8) What was observed when he was brought forth? Verse 23. (9) How did Samuel call attention to him? Verse 24. (10) How was he greeted by the people? Same verse. Note 4. (11) Concerning what did Samuel then instruct them? Verse 25. Note 5. (12) What was then done? Same verse. (13) Who accompanied Saul? Verse 26. See verse 9. (14) Who refused to acknowledge him as king, and what did they say? Verse 27. Note 6. (15) How did this affect Saul? Same verse. Note 7.
Notes
1. Ye have this day rejected your God.—Heretofore the government of Israel was a pure theocracy, a direct government of God. Such a government, however, is only possible where the people are willing to follow implicitly the guidance of so holy a being. In his wisdom God had foreseen that the people would be influenced by their surroundings, and apostatize from him, and this present call for a king, that they might be like the nations around them, was foretold in prophecy. Deut. 17:14. Had the people been in a right relation to God, this request would never have been preferred. It was conclusive evidence that their spiritual vision was failing. Losing sight of God as he might and should have been seen, they demanded a king, a ruler visible to the physical eye, one who could go out before them and fight their battles for them. This decline and its result Samuel, speaking as the Lord directed, showed clearly to them. But they were in Samuel’s time in a vastly better condition than they had been for a long time before. The national worship, which had previously been well-nigh lost, had been greatly restored. Moreover, in this change that was demanded, and which the Lord had consented to, he was still to be recognized as supreme ruler. He retained the right to select for them a king under himself, and this right was tacitly acknowledged by all.
2. Present yourselves before the Lord.—This was for the purpose of making a proper choice by lot. The heads of tribes would be taken, then representatives of families, and finally the particular person. See Prov. 16:33; Josh. 7:14.
3. Behold, he hath hid himself.—The Lord, speaking through Samuel, revealed the hiding place. Saul was of course aware of what the result of the choosing would be, and no doubt modesty had considerable to do in his act of withdrawing from public gaze. Yet it must be remembered that God had given him another heart. Naturally he was no more perfect than others, and probably would have been lifted up and filled with his own importance at receiving such high honors. But he had been changed by the Spirit of the Lord, and given to see the responsibility of his position, and the true purpose of God’s leading of Israel. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is meekness and lowliness of heart.
4. God save the king.—Margin, “Let the king live.” He pleased the eye. He looked as they imagined a king ought to look, the goodliest in all Israel, head and shoulders above other men. They indeed looked on the outward man, and in the pride of the moment lost sight of what the Lord through Samuel had told them a king would do for them. See 1 Sam. 8:11-18.
5. The manner of the kingdom.—He outlined the duty of the king under the Lord. It was not to be an absolute monarchy. The people had rights, and were to be protected in the enjoyment of them. All these general principles, as a constitution, were written in a book, and laid up before the Lord.
6. The children of Belial.—The matter of a king had been widely agitated, and different tribes and sections had their favorites for the position. Some of the leaders themselves aspired to the place, and when the great rival tribes of Judah and Ephraim were passed by, and a man from Benjamin, the smallest and poorest tribe, was taken, their pride rebelled. “And they despised him, and brought him no presents.” But a company, who saw the hand of the Lord in his selection, whose hearts God touched, went with him, ready to do his bidding.
7. He held his peace.—The margin reads, “He was as though he had been deaf.” That is, it was too small for the notice of a king, and especially one anointed of God—too small, also, to be noticed by any individual whose heart God has touched. Saul returned home, and because of the dissatisfaction of certain ones, did not attempt to assume the reins of government at once. But the time soon came to call all Israel to his standard, and when the call was made (1 Sam. 11) 330,000 rallied around him. The Ammonites were defeated, and at a great gathering immediately convened at Gilgal, his coronation took place without a dissenting voice. Here occurred Samuel’s final address, the faithful judge whom Israel ungratefully asked to step aside, and whose heart sorrow at his ill treatment and the perverse course of the nation was comforted by the great Comforter, in the words, “They have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me.”
