1 Samuel 10:9 - Meaning and Application

Saul had now left Samuel, and we can well imagine how amazed he was at what had happened to him. He may almost have wondered whether he was awake or dreaming. On the way, everything Samuel had promised came true exactly as he said. But the thing that mattered most to Saul was this, God had given him another heart.

A new fire had been lit within him, a fire he had never known before. Thinking about lost donkeys was gone from his mind. Instead, he now thought about fighting the Philistines, helping Israel deal with its troubles, making laws, carrying out justice, and protecting the people. These were the concerns that filled his mind. He found himself lifted to a level of courage and strength he had never expected. He no longer had the small and ordinary heart of a farmer, concerned only with crops and livestock. He now had the heart of a leader, a commander, and a prince. When God calls someone to serve in any task, he also makes that person ready for it. If God raises someone to a new place of responsibility, he gives that person another heart, to all who truly want to serve him with their strength.

When Saul came near home, he met the prophets just as Samuel had said. The place is called the hill, meaning Gibeah or Geba, both names linked with the idea of a hill. Then the Spirit of God came on him strongly and suddenly, though not in a lasting way. It came upon him for the moment, but it did not remain. Even so, it had a striking effect. Saul joined the prophets in their worship, and he did so with as much order and joy as they did. He prophesied among them.

This was noticed right away by the people who knew him. They saw Saul among the prophets and called each other over to witness something astonishing. This would help prepare them to accept him as king, even though he was one of their own, after they had seen how God had already lifted him to the honor of a prophet. The seventy elders also prophesied before they were appointed judges (Numbers 11:25). People were amazed to see Saul among the prophets. They asked, “What has happened to the son of Kish?” Though the school of the prophets was near his father’s house, Saul had not kept company with them, and had shown them no respect. He may even have spoken lightly of them before. So to see him now prophesying among them was a surprise, just as it was later when Saul of Tarsus, who had once persecuted the gospel, preached it instead (Acts 9:21). When God gives someone another heart, it soon shows itself.

One man, wiser than the rest, asked, “Who is their father, or teacher?” In other words, is it not God? Are they not all taught by him? Do they not all receive their gifts from him? And is he limited? Cannot he make Saul a prophet just as easily as he makes any of them one, if he chooses? Or perhaps he meant Samuel, who under God had been like a father to them. Saul had just been with Samuel, and his servant could have told him about it. It was no wonder for Saul to prophesy if he had spent the night under Samuel’s roof.

From this event a proverb arose in Israel: “Is Saul among the prophets?” People used it when they wanted to express surprise at a bad man becoming good, or at least being found in good company. Saul among the prophets was a wonder that became a saying. We should not give up hope for the worst person, but we also should not trust too much in an outward show of devotion or a sudden change that lasts only for the moment. Saul among the prophets was still Saul.

Saul’s anointing was kept private. When he had finished prophesying, it seems he spoke before the Lord and committed the matter to God’s favor. Then he went straight to the high place, to thank God for his kindness and to pray that those mercies would continue. Yet he carefully hid what had happened from his relatives. His uncle met him, either at the high place or as soon as he returned home, and asked him questions. Saul admitted that they had been with Samuel and that Samuel had told them the donkeys were found, but he did not say a word about the kingdom.

This showed his humility. Many people would have been so lifted up by such an unexpected honor that they would have announced it everywhere. Saul may have been pleased in his own heart, but he did not boast about it to his neighbors. The heirs of the kingdom of glory are content if the world does not know them (John 3:1). It also showed prudence. If he had been quick to tell everyone, envy would have followed, and that could have made trouble for him. Samuel had shared the matter with him as a secret, and Saul knew how to keep it. This also showed that he had another heart, a heart fit for rule. And it showed his dependence on God. He did not try to build support for himself. Instead, he left it to God to carry out his own work through Samuel, and Saul quietly waited to see how it would all unfold.