Skip to main content
Psalmlog Logo

1 Samuel 10

God chooses and equips Saul as king while Samuel confronts Israel’s rejection of the God who has saved them.

Samuel pours oil on Saul’s head and announces that YHWH has chosen him to rule over his people. He gives Saul signs that come to pass, including an encounter with prophets in which God’s Spirit comes upon him. Later, Samuel gathers Israel at Mizpah, rebukes their demand for a king, and presents Saul as God’s choice. Saul is found hiding among the baggage. The people acclaim him, though some refuse to honor him.

leadership weightsermon or Bible study notes
Read
1Then Samuel took the vial of oil and poured it on his head, then kissed him and said, “Hasn’t the LORD anointed you to be prince over his inheritance?
2When you have departed from me today, then you will find two men by Rachel’s tomb, on the border of Benjamin at Zelzah. They will tell you, ‘The donkeys which you went to look for have been found; and behold, your father has stopped caring about the donkeys and is anxious for you, saying, “What shall I do for my son?”’
3“Then you will go on forward from there, and you will come to the oak of Tabor. Three men will meet you there going up to God to Bethel: one carrying three young goats, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a container of wine.
4They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall receive from their hand.
5“After that you will come to the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines is; and it will happen, when you have come there to the city, that you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the high place with a lute, a tambourine, a pipe, and a harp before them; and they will be prophesying.
6Then the LORD’s Spirit will come mightily on you, then you will prophesy with them and will be turned into another man.
7Let it be, when these signs have come to you, that you do what is appropriate for the occasion; for God is with you.
8“Go down ahead of me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace offerings. Wait seven days, until I come to you and show you what you are to do.”
9It was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all those signs happened that day.
10When they came there to the hill, behold, a band of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came mightily on him, and he prophesied among them.
11When all who knew him before saw that, behold, he prophesied with the prophets, then the people said to one another, “What is this that has come to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”
12One from the same place answered, “Who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb, “Is Saul also among the prophets?”
14Saul’s uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” He said, “To seek the donkeys. When we saw that they were not found, we came to Samuel.”
16Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys were found.” But concerning the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel spoke, he didn’t tell him.
17Samuel called the people together to the LORD to Mizpah;
18and he said to the children of Israel, “The LORD, the God of Israel, says ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’
19But you have today rejected your God, who himself saves you out of all your calamities and your distresses; and you have said to him, ‘No! Set a king over us!’ Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your thousands.”
20So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen.
22Therefore they asked of the LORD further, “Is there yet a man to come here?” The LORD answered, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.”
23They ran and got him there. When he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward.
24Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the LORD has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people?” All the people shouted and said, “Long live the king!”
25Then Samuel told the people the regulations of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book and laid it up before the LORD. Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.
26Saul also went to his house in Gibeah; and the army went with him, whose hearts God had touched.
27But certain worthless fellows said, “How could this man save us?” They despised him, and brought him no tribute. But he held his peace.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
1 Samuel 10:1Samuel’s anointing establishes Saul’s authority under YHWH, whose people remain his own inheritance.
1 Samuel 10:10The Spirit’s coming fulfills Samuel’s sign and causes Saul to prophesy, astonishing those who knew him before.
1 Samuel 10:5The prophets’ music and the Philistine garrison frame Saul’s promised encounter with God’s Spirit amid Israel’s unresolved troubles.
Where this chapter reaches

Judges shares the theme of God’s Spirit coming upon chosen leaders, while Numbers also describes the Spirit enabling people to prophesy. The royal anointings in 1 Kings and 2 Kings connect with Samuel pouring oil on Saul’s head to mark his appointment as ruler.

1 Samuel 10's chapter linksAll strongest linksHover or tap a book
Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What tension do you notice between God choosing Saul and Samuel’s rebuke of Israel’s demand?

Write on this

What stands out about Saul’s responses to anointing, public selection, and contempt?

Write on this

Questions people ask about 1 Samuel 10

Why did Saul hide among the baggage?

The text reports Saul’s hiding without explaining his motive. Fear, reluctance, or a sense of inadequacy may fit the scene, but none is stated. The focus falls on YHWH revealing his location and the people bringing him forward as the chosen king.

What does it mean that God gave Saul another heart?

The phrase describes a change God brings about as Saul leaves Samuel. It follows the promise that the Spirit will come upon him and precedes his prophesying among the prophets. The passage connects this change with Saul’s appointment as ruler; it does not settle questions about his lasting faithfulness.

Why did God choose a king if Israel had rejected him?

Samuel says Israel’s demand for a king rejects the God who has delivered them from oppression. Yet YHWH chooses Saul, and Samuel sets out regulations for the kingdom. The chapter holds both facts together: God appoints their ruler while calling their demand a rejection of him.

Read it. Now write it.

Start an entry on 1 Samuel 10. Your words go beside the text, and you get one next step for the week.

1 Samuel · 31 chapters
12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).