Our scripture reading this morning comes to us from 1 Samuel 9 and 10. We're going to start our reading at 1 Samuel 9, verse 1. And we're going to close off in 1 Samuel 10, verse 16. 1 Samuel 9, beginning at verse 1, this is the word of God. There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Bekorah, son of Aphia, a Benjamite, a man of wealth. And he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. 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. Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul, his son, take one of the young men with you and arise, go and look for the donkeys. And they passed through the hill country of Ephraim. and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they did not find them, and they passed through the land of Shalim, but they were not there. Then they passed through the land of Benjamin, but didn't find them. When they came to the land of Ziph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, come, let's go back, lest my father cease to care about the donkeys and become anxious about us. But he, that is the servant, said to Saul, Behold, there is a man of God in this city, and he is a man who is held in honor. All that he says comes true, so now let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us the way we should go. Then Saul said to his servant, but if we go, what can we bring the man? For the bread in our sacks is gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have? The servant answered Saul again. Here, I have with me a quarter of a shekel of silver, and I will give it to the man of God to tell us our way. Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he said, come, let us go to the seer, for today's prophet was formerly called a seer. And Saul said to his servant, well said, come, let us go. So they went to the city where the man of God was. As they went up the hill to the city, they met young women coming out to draw water and said to them, is the seer here? They answered, he is. Behold, he's just ahead of you. Hurry, he has come just now to the city because the people have a sacrifice today on the high place. As soon as you enter the city, you'll find him because he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat till he comes, since he must bless the sacrifice. Afterwards, those who are invited will eat. Now go up, for you will meet him immediately. So they went up to the city. As they were entering the city, they saw Samuel coming out toward them on his way up to the high place. Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed to Samuel, tomorrow, about this time, I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have seen my people, because their cry has come to me. When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, here is the man of whom I spoke to you. He it is who shall restrain my people. Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate and said, tell me, where is the house of the seer? Samuel answered Saul, I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me. And in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind. As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not set your mind on them for they've been found. And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father's house? Saul answered, am I not a Benjamite? A Benjaminite from the least of the tribes of Israel? And is not my clan the humblest of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way? And Samuel took Saul and his young men and brought them into the hall and gave them a place at the head of those who had been invited, who were about 30 persons. And Samuel said to the cook, bring the portion I gave you of which I said to you, put it aside. So the cook took up the leg and what was on it and set them before Saul. And Samuel said, see, what was kept is set before you. Eat, because it was kept for you until the hour appointed that you might eat with the guests. So Saul ate with Samuel that day and when they had come down from the high place into the city, a bed was spread for Saul on the roof and he lay down to sleep. Then at the break of dawn, Samuel called Saul on the roof, up that I may send you on your way. So Saul arose and both he and Samuel went out into the street. As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, tell the servant to pass on before us. And when he has passed on, stop here yourself for a while that I may make known to you the word of God. And 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 will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has appointed you to be prince over his heritage. When you depart from me today, you'll meet two men by Rachel's tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelza, and they will say to you, the donkeys that you went to seek are found. And now your father has ceased to care about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, what shall I do about my son? Then you shall go on from there farther and come to the Oak of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three young goats, one carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from their hand. After that, you shall come to Gibeath Elohim, where there is a garrison of the Philistines. And there, as soon as you come to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying. Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. Now when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you. Then go down before me to Gilgal, and behold, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait until I come to you and show you what you shall do. When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day. When they came to Gibeah, behold, a group of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them. And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, what has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets? And a man of the place answered, and who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, is Saul also among the prophets? When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place. Saul's uncle said to him and to his servant, where did you go? And he said, to seek the donkeys. And when we saw that they were not to be found, we went to Samuel. And Saul's uncle said, please tell me what Samuel said to you. And Saul said to his uncle, he told us plainly that the donkeys had been found. But about the matter of the kingdom of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him anything. This is the word of God. In this passage, we see something quite remarkable happen. We see a number of odd things, things that make us question what on earth is going on here. To be honest, I had that happen to me several times while writing this sermon. There are several rather odd, culturally specific things that require some unpacking, but that's not really the point of this passage. This passage doesn't exist to tell you where the proverb, is Saul also among the prophets, came from. This passage exists to peel back the layers of God's work in Israel. See, for all the people of Israel know, Samuel tells them to scatter at the end of chapter eight, right? He says to the men of Israel, go every man to his city. And then he calls them back together again in the middle of chapter 10. Now Samuel called the people back together to the Lord at Mizpah. You could take this section of 1 Samuel 9-10, verse 16, out of the book of Samuel, and by all accounts, it wouldn't change the story all that much. Saul would still get anointed, as we'll see next Lord's Day. He would still be proclaimed king. He would still become king of Israel. Why is this rather lengthy story inserted here between the scattering of the tribes of Israel and the gathering of the tribes of Israel? The stuff that's going on in our passage today is invisible to the vast majority of the people of Israel. It's what's called the hidden work or the secret work of the Most High. And we would do well, as we're reading this passage, to remember that the majority of God's work, perhaps 99.99999% of God's work is hidden. It's invisible to us. And when our lives appear, for all intents and purposes, to be absolutely upside down, when they appear to make no sense at all, we need to remember who it is who's in charge of the story, who it is that's writing the story. God moves, as we'll sing later on, he moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm. And in a later verse, judge not the Lord by feeble sense. but trust him for his grace. Behind a frowning providence, he hides a smiling face." And in a way, this passage is all about God's providence. God is providing a king for his people. And providence, if you want just a very simple definition, providence just means that God rules over everything, and he rules over everything for the very best reason every single time. As R.C. Sproul used to be quite fond of saying, there is not one maverick molecule, there's not even the smallest, most infinitesimally microscopic part of God's creation that He is not ruling over. He is Lord over the kingdoms of this world, over their governments, over our economies, over the hearts of kings, prime ministers, presidents, dictators, but His eye is also on the sparrow. and he's keeping just as close a watch over all the hairs on our heads. In our passage this morning, we'll see how he's Lord both of donkeys and dominions. And as we see the purposes of God being worked out in what seem like the most mundane of instances, we can take comfort knowing that his eye has not grown dim and his arm has not grown weak. He who watches over Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep, and this same God watches over you and me. And his purposes, as we'll sing again, his purposes shall ripen fast, unfolding every hour. The bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower. And so we come to the beginning of a rather lengthy passage this morning. There was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Bekorah, son of Alphaea, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth. Interestingly enough, this passage begins in almost the exact same way that the whole book of Samuel had begun. It's like the author is saying, hey, pay attention here. This is where the second act begins. There's something new beginning here. I want you to pay attention. And just like, you might remember, just like Elkanah, the husband of Hannah, was pushed to the side in favor of his godly wife, so Kish is kind of pushed to the side in favor of his very tall and very handsome son. And Saul is introduced to us in verse 2 as everything we could possibly want in an earthly king. He's tall and he's exceptionally handsome. And his being tall really does matter. If you watch any kind of sport, you know that tall men and women tend to be better athletes. And if they tend to be better athletes, they tend to be better warriors. Tom Brady is 6'4", Aaron Judge is 6'7", LeBron James is 6'9". There are accomplished athletes, true, who are below six feet, but they are very few and far between. Apologies to any... there's a real advantage to being tall when you're a warrior. And we'll see that, of course, in 1st Syngwich after 17, when Goliath is introduced. But Saul's not just tall, he's also very handsome. And true, the handsomeness might be less practical, but you've got to admit, good-looking politicians tend to poll better than their less attractive counterparts. Again, there are exceptions, but when people are judging by what their eyes see, rather than looking at the heart, they will go with what looks good. Saul is what people think of when they think of a worldly king. He is the ultimate king like the nations. And you'll remember, that's what Israel had demanded in chapter 8. Now Saul's father, Kish's donkeys, they run off. It's an unpleasant thing to be sure, but in a world before barbed wire, far from an uncommon occurrence. And this loss of his donkeys would have been no small loss. Kish is well off, but not well off enough to be letting donkeys go left and right. And so he sends Saul out after them, and he sends a servant with them. And Saul and his servant travel all over the land of Israel, in that region anyway, the hill country of Benjamin, the hill country of Ephraim, looking for these donkeys, and they travel for three days, wandering here and there, and they turn up neither hide nor hair of these donkeys, and Saul's ready to give up. He says to his servant, come on, let's go back home. My dad's worrying about us. But his servant's got one last idea. No, you know what? You know what? We're close to Ramah. And there's a prophet there, a seer, who always says things that come true. Let's go see if he can tell us where the donkeys are. Saul's not so sure, but the servant says, you know what? I'll cover it. I've got a little silver that we can give as a gift to the seer. And Saul says, OK, fine. Well said. Let's go. And they go to the place where Samuel is. And when they get to the city, they find some young women drawing water from the well, and they ask the women, where's the prophet? Remember, he goes from city to city as a rule, judging Israel throughout the land. And the young women say, you're just on time. He's here for the feast. If you hurry, you'll see him in the city. And so Saul and his servant, they rush up the hill to the city, but just as they're about to enter, who comes out the door? Samuel. He comes out of the city, heading toward the high place, which is just outside the city, where the feast the young women mentioned is being held. And we feel like we've got a pretty good handle of what's going on. The author of the book has told us, in just about the most minute detail, exactly what is happening. Why did Saul leave home? Well, he left home because of the donkeys. Why is Saul here? Well, he's here because he couldn't find the donkeys anywhere else. We've got the whole backstory in my new perspective from Saul's perspective. But what we didn't know was that a day earlier, when Saul and his servant were wandering fruitless throughout Shalem, God had appeared to Samuel. And he had told Samuel that this exact moment was a day away from happening. Tomorrow, about this time, the Lord said, I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Now, hold on. Again, why were Saul and his servant in Ramah? Why were they in Ramah on this exact day at this exact time? Well, again, from one perspective, it's rather simple. They were there chasing their donkeys. And the only reason they were in Ramah was because they couldn't find them anywhere else. There's more going on here. What had God said while Saul and his servant were wandering about Shalem? He had said to Samuel, I am going to send you a man from the land of Benjamin. I mean, if you want an example of divine sovereignty, if you want an example of providence, the way that God turns the pages and writes the pages of history, here's an example par excellence. It was no mistake, it was no simple mistake that loosed the donkeys of Kish into the wilderness. It was no simple human folly that tied Paul up in Shalisha and Shalim. It was the design of God, fitting his sovereign will, fitting his purpose that delayed Saul those three days so that his plans might ripen in his precise divine timing. See, God has the happenings of this universe timed to a T. Things happen when he allows them to, no later and no earlier. If it were not so, he would not be God. But the providence of God is never limited simply to timing. Everything in this universe is intimately orchestrated by God. There are no maverick molecules, but everything is orchestrated by God for the sake of his people. You all know Romans 8. All things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. And yes, it's about a thousand years away from being inspired, but it is no less true in Saul's day than it is in ours. The Lord says, I am going to bring you a wanderer. I am going to time his entry into Ramah exactly so that you know when to bump into him, so that you can take him up to the high place, so that you can tell him what I want him to know. I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin and you shall anoint him, God says, to be prince over my people Israel. He will save my people from the hand of the Philistines for I have seen my people because their cry has come to me. And these are really the verses that are at the heart of this passage. And you hear here what God is emphasizing, don't you? There's this phrase that gets repeated over and over and over again. My people. For the sake of my people, God says to Samuel, you shall anoint this tall young man. For the sake of my people, he shall go out and deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines. For the sake of my people, whom I have heard crying out to me for salvation. It is for the sake of his people that God does all that he does in this universe. Don't forget that. God is unspeakably, unimaginably precise in his governing of the universe. But he is that way for the sake of his people, for your sake, for my sake. And it's in the perfect timing of God that he brings salvation, never too early, never too late, though we often quibble about his timing and complain about his timing. It was in the fullness of time, in God's perfect timing, that he sent Saul. It was in the fullness of time, in God's perfect timing, that he later sent the Lord Jesus, Israel's perfect King. And it will be in the fullness of time, in God's perfect timing, that he will send Jesus, the Lord Jesus, a second time to judge the living and the dead. The Lord speaks to Samuel in verse 17. When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord spoke to him, here is the man of whom I spoke to you. Told you he was coming, here he is. He it is who shall restrain my people. Now these words might sound strange to you. He it is who shall restrain my people. You'd expect rule, you'd expect save, you'd expect judge, but restrain? But remember for a moment the circumstances that had provoked God to give Israel this king like the nations. Israel was looking for a substitute, not for Samuel, but for God. And God, through Saul, was going to show them where their corrupt desire was going to bring them. And through Saul, and the misery that he ends up bringing, God is going to whet their appetites for a king unlike the kings of the nations. Here is the man of whom I spoke, he it is who shall restrain my people. So Saul comes to Samuel as Samuel is exiting the city of Ramah, and he says, where is the seer's house? I need to find this seer. I've got to find some donkeys. And Samuel says, I'm the seer. Now come on up. I've been expecting you. You're going to eat with me today, and I'm going to send you off tomorrow. And even before Saul has a chance to actually ask his question, the donkeys have been found, says Samuel. So Saul has the advice he came for, but Samuel drops an even bigger bombshell. Israel desires you, Saul. In fact, you are all Israel desires. They have got their hearts set on having a king, and you fit the bill to an absolute T. And Saul responds to Samuel, no way. There's no way that's true. I'm a Benjaminite. I'm from the least of the tribes of Israel. And historically speaking, Saul was right. The tribe of Benjamin was the smallest in Israel, thanks to a civil war that had almost obliterated it. The tribe had nearly been wiped out, and at one time, only hundreds of them remained. So yes, the least of the tribes of Israel. But the rest of Saul's excuses are a bit of a stretch. Is not my clan the humblest of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Come on, Saul. We already know that his father is a very wealthy man, very well off, the narrator told us so. And what's more, Saul himself is an exceptionally impressive young man, a giant of a man. So Saul asks, why then have you spoken to me in this way? See, Saul's assumption is that God works according to human standards, according to human measurements. He thinks it'd be a lot more clever of God to pick somebody from one of the bigger tribes, maybe Ephraim or Judah or Reuben, one of the big tribes, from one of the more powerful families, but that's not how God works as a rule. You might remember from several months ago the lines of Hannah's psalm, where she sang, the bows of the mighty are broken, but it's the feeble who bind on strength. The Lord makes poor. The Lord makes rich. He's the one who brings people low. He's the one who brings people high. He raises the poor from the dust. He lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them, the needy, sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For, and here's the kicker, for the pillars of the earth belong to the Lord, and on them he has set the world. Because God is the creator of heaven and earth, Hannah knew that God could do all he decided to do. He could use a barren woman to bear a prophet. And surely, he could raise someone who was poor from a small clan, someone who was unimpressive to be his king. Hannah knew that the Lord was the creator. She believed that he could do all that he had purposed. The false gods and the feeble kings of the nations are handcuffed by reality as it stands. The God who made the world is literally the definer of reality. Things are strong and stand fast because God tells them to, and things and people are weak only because he leaves them alone. But if God has said that he will honor a man and make him king, you'd best believe that he will do as he says. And so instead of actually answering Saul's objections, his questions, Samuel just brings him up the hill to the high place. He'll let his actions speak for themselves. Saul has said to Samuel, I'm a nobody. But Samuel treats him like a somebody. In fact, he treats him like a king. Before Saul had come in, remember, God had told Samuel that Saul was coming so he could make these plans. Before Saul had come, Samuel had told the cook to save the best part, the most enjoyable part, the drumstick for Saul, the leg of whatever beast was being offered. And Samuel, after setting Saul before all the people, he shows him that he had known this whole time that Saul was coming. Saul wasn't just somebody picked off the street because he was handsome and tall. No, he'd been chosen by God, foreknown by God, foreordained by God for the sake of his people's salvation. There were no mistakes. And Samuel's being as deliberate as possible, bring out the leg that you'll remember I saved, he tells the cook. And then when it's brought out, he says to Saul, look, here's the portion that I saved for you. You didn't RSVP, I didn't even send you an invitation. But here is the portion that I saved for you. Eat it. I saved it for you, the best part of the animal, so that you could eat it at the head of the table as the most honored of all these guests. See, it's one thing to say you're favored by God in private. It's another thing altogether to go public with that honor. And so Samuel exalts Saul, this already very tall man, above all the people at the feast. And pretty soon, I'm sure, the whole city of Ramah was abuzz with questions about this tall, handsome man the prophet had honored at the feast. But Saul eats his meal, perhaps sitting a little squeamishly, a little uncomfortably there at the head of the table. And then he and his servant are shown up to the flat roof of Samuel's house, no doubt with their heads all abuzz about what they'd heard and seen and experienced. And then in the morning, as soon as dawn breaks, Samuel calls them back downstairs, and he himself escorts Saul and his servant to the city limits, aiming to send them on their way himself. But just as they're about to set off for Gibeah once more, Samuel takes Saul aside. He says to Saul, tell the servant to pass on before us. And when he's passed on, stop here yourself for a while that I may make known to you the word of God. And you can imagine all the things going through Saul's head at this time. Just the other day, the prophet of God, easily the most important person in Israel, had told Saul that he was the desire of Israel. And then he had sat him down with the very best piece of meat in the very best seat of the house. The head of the table, Samuel, had been treating him like a king. And so now what do we see God's prophet do once the servant has gone on a little? He continues honoring God's anointed. He continues honoring this donkey-chasing king. Samuel takes the anointing oil and he pours it on Saul's head, this sweet-smelling oil that would have symbolized the favor of God. And he tells Saul that not only does Israel desire him, but God has chosen him to be king. And God will use him to free his people from the shackles of the Philistines. And this time Saul doesn't interrupt. he receives the word of God from Samuel. But just so he'll be completely aware that it's God who's crowning him king and not just Samuel, Samuel gives him three divinely orchestrated signs. And you'll notice that these signs are very, very specific. It's not the sort of advice or fortunes you'll get from a fortune cookie or a from a fortune cookie, which might tell you you'll find good fortune today. You'll meet an old friend very shortly. The letter T has very special significance for you. Not nebulous, vague signs, but very, very specific signs. Easily verifiable, easily falsifiable. These signs will be given to Saul to show him that what the Lord has promised is going to come true because the Lord sovereignly rules everything for the sake of his people and for the sake of his king. So Samuel promises Saul these three signs. First, two men. You'll meet two men by Rachel's tomb. Saul will be given news about the donkeys there that they've been found. And then he'll go on, and by the oak of Tabor, Samuel will meet these three men who are going up to Bethel, and they'll give Saul two loaves of bread. And then thirdly, when Paul's near home, he's gonna meet this group of prophets coming down from the high place at Gibeath Elohim, and Saul is going to be given the Holy Spirit. And in short order, these signs take place. The first two signs follow as ordered. The author doesn't even bother telling us how they took place because he expects that we understand the sovereignty of God enough to know that what has been promised will take place exactly as it has been promised. But the third sign is given in rather more detail because there it's God who's equipping Saul for ministry. See, Samuel had anointed Saul externally. with the anointing oil, the sweet-smelling, fragrant oil that symbolized the Spirit of God, that symbolized the favor of God, that symbolized the appointing, the anointing, the equipping of men for God's ministry. But when Saul approaches Gibeath Elohim, when he comes home to Gibeah, God gives him an internal anointing, not just a sign of equipping, but the equipment itself. God gives him another heart. Now, before you go too far with this one, it's important not to confuse this with being given a new heart. The prophets later on will talk about the people of Israel in the new covenant being given a new heart, having the law of God written on their hearts. That's not the language that's being used here. We should not think that Saul here is regenerate, that he's been given the second birth, that he's been born again. But rather Saul, quite similarly to Samson, is being equipped supernaturally for the ministry that God has called him to. So God gives him another heart. And when he comes to Gibeah, his hometown, the place where people know him best, the Spirit of God rushes on him. And you'll remember that language being used in Judges of Samson. And Saul, this donkey chaser, he begins prophesying right alongside the other prophets of God. And so a saying comes from this episode, is Saul also among the prophets? Essentially, wow, that was unexpected, or will wonders never cease? The people of Gibeah remark, and they're amazed, and they're surprised. One of the men of Gibeah has the sense to look deeper. He asks this rather puzzling question, and who is their father? Essentially, yes, we've got a band of prophets here, and Saul is quite unexpectedly among them, but we must consider where prophecy comes from. We must consider where the Spirit comes from. This man realizes there's something going on with this son of Kish. He's been given the Spirit of God. There's something more going on here. The Spirit proceeds from God, prophecy comes from God, so Saul has been given the Spirit of God. There's something deeper going on here. And Saul's uncle seems to have reached the same conclusion. So, Saul, what happened to you? You went out after the donkeys and you came back a prophet? What's going on with that? Where did you go? And Saul responds, well, we went to look for the donkeys. And when we saw that they were nowhere to be found, we went to Samuel. Saul's uncle, mm-hmm, mm-hmm, and that's all. Something must have happened. Please, tell me what Samuel said to you. It's like he's saying, hey, Saul, you're not tricking me. I know there's something more going on here. But his uncle's fishing, but Saul's not taking the bait. He told us plainly that donkeys had been found. But about the matter of the kingdom of which Samuel had spoken, he didn't tell him anything. Saul tells him about the sign, but not about the substance. It's like if you went home from church this afternoon and somebody asked you, so what happened in church this afternoon? And you said, well, a baby got wet, but said nothing about the gospel that was portrayed in the sacrament or preached in the sermon. All you saw was the sign. You didn't see the substance. That's all Saul's reporting on, the sign, not the substance. He doesn't let on. He doesn't tell his uncle, well, you know what, uncle? Samuel has anointed me to be king of Israel. He doesn't let on. Now what's going on here? Commentators are divided. Some see Saul continuing the secrecy of Samuel. You'll remember that Samuel had only anointed Saul when it was just the two of them together. He didn't let the servant see. So Paul could be continuing this pattern of secrecy, but others say, no, no, Saul is being rather timid. He's been that way before, denying the possibility that he was the desire of all Israel, and he'll be timid again. When it comes time to crown him publicly, he'll be hiding behind a pile of luggage. And timidity is not to be confused with humility. Timidity, refusing to believe what God says is true, is a form of pride. And let me just say, in all honesty, I don't know. The author doesn't tell us. It's left a mystery. It could be one, it could be the other. And I think that's the point. There's some deliberate ambiguity here. The author's not telling you what's going on in the heart of Saul. And with Saul, so much of his reign is gonna be exactly like that. He's gonna be teetering back and forth between obedience and disobedience, between faithfulness and faithlessness. He's half-hearted. He's got a divided heart. Yes, like Samson, he does great things when the Spirit of the Lord rushes upon him, but left on his own, he's a rather small, very tall man, if you know what I mean. He looks rather impressive. He's just the sort of man the nations want to be their king. Tall, handsome, strong. But he's not a king whose heart is fully, completely devoted to God. He's a divided man. But he's God's man for this period of time. And he will do what God has planned for him to do. He'll send the Philistines packing. He'll defend God's people from the Ammonites. He'll win victories against the Amalekites. But he'll always be a man ill-suited to the true task of Israel's kings. He'll be like a small man wearing a big suit. It's not made for him, and he's going to trip over the pants before too long. Saul's a king designed to fight Israel's enemies, to bring them a temporary, temporal peace. He's what Israel desires because that's the kind of peace that Israel wants. That's the problem that Israel sees most clearly. but God knows better than men. And so in his timing, again, his perfect timing, his perfect providence, he's gonna raise up a new king, a king with a heart like his very own heart, a man after God's own heart, King David. But given enough time, even the sweet singer of Israel will fail in his task. So Israel will await another king, a perfect king, King Jesus. who wasn't the king that Israel's heart desired, wasn't the king Israel expected, who was the exact king that they needed, a king who came not to be served like Saul, but to serve, to save his people from their true enemies, not just the Philistines, but to save them from God's enemies. A king who came in humility, not standing head and shoulders above them, not handsome or attractive by physical standards, but acceptable and pleasing in the sight of God. A king not anointed with mere oil, but a king anointed and filled with God's own spirit. A king whose ministry was accompanied by sign after sign after sign after sign. A king who finally conquered death itself. A king whose reign continues to this very day. who has been given all authority and power, but who wields it with gentleness and kindness and peace. A king who critically never waived in his obedience to God, a king that you never needed to ask questions about. Is he or is he not obeying God here? A king who said to God, I delight to do your will, oh my God, your law is within my heart. And this is the king who sends his spirit into our hearts. so that we can say the very same thing, so that more and more our hearts may be weaned from fleshly desires to his own desires, so that we too may rightly reign with him over all creation for all time. But remember, dear Christian, getting back to the heart of this passage, that it was the compassion in God's heart, the mercy deep within the heart of God that sent Saul, For I have seen my people, God says, and their cry has gone up before me. And it was out of love that God sent his son so that whoever believes in him should never perish but have everlasting life. And having seen Saul, this brief glimpse of this flip-flopper, you must understand that no king is better than Jesus. No rule is better than his. No kingdom is sweeter than his, and so the question comes, of course, dear friends, is he your king? And if he is your king, are you living as a subject of his peace-filled kingdom? Or are you demanding small areas of that kingdom for yourself, where you can express yourself, where you can be your own ruler, your own king, where you can determine truth for yourself? Question remains, and the question must be answered. Do you find his sovereignty sweet, or do you find it suffocating? Is the Lord Jesus your king? Let's pray.