Chuck Larsen

Chapter Ten of 1 Samuel begins with Saul’s being anointed as King by the prophet. We read, “Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord, and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince over his heritage.” When Samuel anoints Saul as king of Israel, he performs three rituals. First, he anoints his head with oil containing spices. Next, he kisses him on the cheek. Finally, he pronounces him as the “king who will reign over the people of the Lord and will save them from the hand of their enemy.” After the anointing and the kiss, Samuel asked the question, “Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people, Israel?” The correct answer, of course, is “Yes!” Although Samuel was the human instrument, God was the one who chose him.

The King of Israel served as the savior of the People. There are even references that point out Israel’s King was, to me, the “anointed” one. The Messiah of the people would be the King of The Jews. We know that the ultimate Messiah would come through the line of the second King, King David. From the house of David would come the savior of the world, in keeping with how this passage establishes the procedure observed in Saul’s coronation. We see it repeated with Jesus. Even though Jesus was rejected as God’s chosen deliverer at His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the events of that week reveal God’s intentions. Jesus was anointed as King with all three rituals. In Bethany, his head was anointed with oil containing fragrant spices. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas kissed him on the cheek and called him “Lord.” Pilate had a sign hung up on the cross announcing in three languages that this is “The King of the Jews.”

God is the one who chooses and anoints! In the New Testament, we read that Jesus was the anointed one. That’s what Messiah, or Christ, means. Jesus was the one God chose to save his people from their enemy. Unfortunately, Israel wanted their Messiah to deliver them from their earthly enemies. God had a greater salvation in mind. The greatest enemy of us all: Death!  Although the woman, Judas, and Pilate had no idea what they were doing, God was behind it all, accomplishing his purposes in His only begotten son. “For God so loved the world, that he sent his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.”

In chapter 9 of 1 Samuel, we are introduced to Israel’s first king. This is what we learn about him: “There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward, he was taller than any of the people.” Tall, dark (probably), and handsome! Suited to be the national hero in every way. We also know that Kish, his father, is a man of great wealth, so we can add “rich” to the description. He becomes Israel’s first king, so we can also add “famous” to the description. What a way to start out life! He had it all.

We, the common people of the world, will often look at Hollywood celebrities or sports idols as having it all. They have big houses, cars, and bank accounts. The news media always want to know what they think about current issues. I’m not sure what qualifies someone who acts to have profound insights into political issues, but we like to hear what they think. They have everything. King Saul seemed to have it all, also.

We often look at the rich, attractive, and famous people as having everything while we have little. But everyone is born with the absolute same chance of happiness and contentment in life. Tall, dark, handsome, rich, and famous add nothing to our prospects. As a matter of fact, they often cause the most pain and misery. I’ve always loved E. A Robinson’s poem, Richard Cory.

WHENEVER Richard Cory went downtown,

We people on the pavement looked at him:

He was a gentleman from sole to crown,

Clean favored, and imperially slim.

And he was always quietly arrayed,

And he was always human when he talked;

But still he fluttered pulses when he said,

“Good-morning,” and he glittered when he walked.

And he was rich,—yes, richer than a king,—

And admirably schooled in every grace:

In fine, we thought that he was everything

To make us wish that we were in his place.

So on we worked, and waited for the light,

And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;

And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,

Went home and put a bullet through his head.

I can think of many during my lifetime that did what Richard Corey did. There’s Marilyn Monroe. No other woman had what she had. There was the original Superman, George Reeves. There were many others that took the Richard Corey road. Saul, After his many character failures, disobedience to God, and attempts to murder David, Saul ends his own life with his own sword. I think Ben Franklin said, “Contentment makes poor men rich while discontent makes rich men poor.”

Israel finds itself in a world with nations all around them. These nations have kings. They have relationships with those around them and they have the ability to mobilize for war quickly. So, Israel clamors for their own King. Samuel, God’s Prophet, explains the consequences of having a King: High taxes, drafting sons and daughters into government service, taking fields and crops for support of a lavish lifestyle, etc. But the nation either doesn’t care and is willing to pay that price, or they just won’t listen. They insist on becoming like the nations around them. Samuel further warns them that when this oppression becomes too severe for you and you cry out for help from God, “but the Lord will not answer you in that day.” All you’ll get from me and God is, “I told you so.” Psalm 106, verse 15, in the King James Translation, says, “And He (God) gave them their request, but sent leanness into their souls.”  This was specifically referring to Israel’s demand for meat to eat rather than the manna.

Our daily life sometimes seems like we are just getting manna to eat over and over again. It gets boring after a while. Imagine having nothing but manna to eat for 40 years! Be quiet and eat your gruel! I think God wants us to learn contentment in all of our circumstances in life. When Paul wrote his famous passage to the Philippians, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” he was not talking about winning a football game. He was talking about being content in all circumstances of life, even being in prison unjustly. My life often feels like 40 years of “manna.” I can live with that, trusting God to work out his own good plans for me. If we insist on having something we want, God just might give it to us and bring leanness into our souls. We can be confident that when God doesn’t answer our prayers, He has a good reason. Since He knows the future, and we don’t, we should trust His decisions. When he doesn’t give us what we want, it’s often because we don’t actually know what is really good for us. He does! The next time you feel down because you didn’t get what you want, sit tight and be happy because God is thinking of something better to give you. By the way, God doesn’t just give us gruel to eat. At mealtime, I thank God for filling the world with color and giving me eyes. I thank Him for filling the world with music and giving me ears. I thank him for filling the world with good things to eat and giving me the ability to enjoy it. If we’re honest, we have much more in our lives in Christ than just manna!

Courson adds an exhortation to his comments on this idea. He writes, “Be careful, dear saint, what you insist upon, for it could have disastrous results. Unless you are in the center of God’s will, the desire of your heart could lead to leanness in your soul (Psalm 106:15). We make so many mistakes by complaining and griping and murmuring about what God is doing in our lives. And sometimes the Father says, ‘If that’s what you want, have your way.’ Saints, go with the flow of what God is doing. Yes, offer your requests, but always in submission to the perfect will of God.”^[1]

^[1] Courson, Jon. 2005. Jon Courson’s Application Commentary: Volume One: Genesis–Job. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.