CHAPTER 10
Then Samuel
took
a flask
of oil,
poured it out
on
Saul’s head,
kissed him,
and said,
“Has not
the LORD
anointed you
ruler
over
His inheritance?
When you leave
me
today,
you will find
two
men
at
Rachel’s
tomb
in Zelzah
on the border
of Benjamin.
They will say
to you,
‘The donkeys
you seek
have been found,
and now
your father
has stopped
worrying about
the donkeys
and is worrying
about you,
asking,
'What
should I do
about my son?''
Then you will go
on
from there
until you 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.
After
that
you will come
to Gibeah
of God,
where
the Philistines
have an outpost.
As you approach
the city,
you will meet
a group
of prophets
coming down
from the high place,
preceded
by harps,
tambourines,
flutes,
and lyres,
and they
will be prophesying.
Then the Spirit
of the LORD
will rush
upon you,
and you will prophesy
with them;
and you will be transformed
into a different
person.
And you shall go
before
me to Gilgal,
and surely
I
will come
to you
to offer
burnt offerings
and to sacrifice
peace offerings.
Wait
seven
days
until
I come
to you
and show
you
what
you are to do."
As Saul turned
to leave
Samuel,
God
changed
Saul's heart,
and all
the signs
came to pass
that
day.
When Saul and his servant arrived
at Gibeah,
a group
of prophets
met him.
Then the Spirit
of God
rushed
upon him,
and he prophesied
along with them.
All those
who had formerly
known Saul
and saw
him prophesying
with
the prophets
asked
one
another,
“What
has happened
to the son
of Kish?
Is Saul
also
among the prophets?”
Then a man
who lived there
replied,
“And who
is their father?”
So the saying
became
a proverb:
“Is Saul
also
among the prophets?”
Now Saul's
uncle
asked him
and his servant,
“Where
did you go?”
“To look for
the donkeys,”
Saul replied.
“When we saw
they were not to be found,
we went
to
Samuel.”
And Saul
replied,
“He assured us
that the donkeys
had been found.”
But Saul did not
tell
his uncle
what
Samuel
had said
about
the kingship.
and said
to
the Israelites,
“This is what
the LORD,
the God
of Israel,
says:
‘I
brought
Israel
up out of Egypt,
and I rescued
you
from the hands
of the Egyptians
and of all
the kingdoms
that oppressed you.’
But today
you
have rejected
your God,
who
delivers
you
from all
your troubles
and afflictions,
and you have said
to Him,
‘No,
set
a king
over us.’
Now therefore
present yourselves
before
the LORD
by your tribes
and clans."
Then he had the tribe
of Benjamin
come forward
by its clans,
and the clan
of Matri
was selected.
Finally, Saul
son
of Kish
was selected.
But when they looked for him,
they could not
find him.
So again
they inquired
of the LORD,
“Has the man
come
here
yet?”
And the LORD
replied,
“Behold,
he has hidden
himself
among
the baggage.”
So they ran
and brought Saul,
and when he stood
among
the people,
he was a head
taller
than any
of the others.
Samuel
said
to
all
the people,
“Do you see
the one
the LORD
has chosen?
There is no one
like him
among all
the people.”
And all
the people
shouted,
“Long live
the king!”
Then Samuel
explained
to
the people
the rights
of kingship.
He wrote them
on a scroll
and laid it up
before
the LORD.
And Samuel
sent all
the people
away,
each
to his home.
Saul
also
went
to his home
in Gibeah,
and the men of valor
whose
hearts
God
had touched
went
with him.
But some worthless
men
said,
“How
can this man
deliver us?”
So they despised him
and brought
him
no
gifts;
but Saul held
his peace.