Today we begin 1 Samuel Chapter 10.
For the Complete Jewish Bible, click HERE.
For the King James Version, click HERE.
Chapter 10 kicks off with Samuel anointing Saul king by pouring oil over his head.
Now a couple of points here.
First, there shouldn’t be any chapter break between the last verse of chapter 9 and the first verse of chapter 10
We’re dealing with the same situation here.
Saul’s young servant was dismissed and told to go home…
Then out of the blue Saul pulled out a flask of oil and began pouring its contents over Saul’s head.
Second, do you remember what the Hebrew word for “anointing” is?
It’s MASHIACH or Messiah.
Let me explain why this is significant.
In the Scriptures, the act of anointing one with oil to establish authority is always connected to the priesthood…
And recall that during the dinner banquet scene in chapter 9, Saul was given the priestly portion of the sacrificial animal.
My point is…
Saul is being made the first king of Israel via rituals normally reserved only for the priesthood.
Are you with me homeroos?
There’s a deeper spiritual meaning here we’d be remiss to overlook.
In the Bible, the act of anointing a person with oil symbolizes that person has been validated by God’s Holy Spirit.
The office of King in Israel is a divine institution.
This should bring us great relief.
Because it serves as a strong check and balance should the human king turn evil.
In other words, God in His mercy would not abandon Israel if or when things turned ugly.
The priesthood was God’s vehicle to bestow gifts of the Spirit upon the people.
But now the new earthly ruler of Israel would be taking the steering wheel of that vehicle…
And while driving, he’d have to obey the divine rules of the road.
Just because he’s king doesn’t give him the freedom to make illegal u-turns or whatever.
This is an important point.
Israel’s King may have been set apart from the rest of the people (just like the Levites were)…
But he was still obligated to both enforce AND OBEY God’s Torah or legal code.
Ya feel me?
The King of Israel doesn’t get any special treatment or privileges in this regard.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Do not think that I
have come to abolish
the Law or the Prophets;
I have not come to abolish
them but to fulfill them.”
-Matthew 5:17
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