“And the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them.” -1 Samuel 10:10
It started out like any other day. Perhaps even a bit more monotonous than usual. Saul’s father had lost some donkeys, so he told his son to get a servant and go out and look for them. They went through the hill country of Ephraim, then through the land of Shalishah, and finally through the land of Benjamin, but still no donkeys! Saul’s servant gets a bright idea, “Maybe we should go to a seer of God!” (In those days prophets were known as seers.) They had heard of one whose words always seemed to come true. This man’s name was Samuel.
It was a good plan, but remember, all they were really looking for was a few donkeys.
The day before they arrived, however, God spoke to Samuel and told him that Saul was on his way and that Samuel should anoint him to be leader over the people of Israel!
So Saul is thinking of donkeys, but God is thinking on a totally different wavelength!
Long story short, they meet up with Samuel, hang out for a little bit, have a meal, and are reassured that the donkeys have been found. All run of the mill, ordinary stuff. That’s when the story begins to get interesting!
They have a meet up on the roof of Samuel’s house!
And after they had come down from the high place into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul on the roof of his house. They got up early in the morning, and just before dawn Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Get ready, and I will send you on your way!” So Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went outside together. As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us, but you stay for a while, and I will reveal to you the word of God.” So the servant went on. -1 Samuel 9:25
Samuel isn’t one of these prophets who spills the beans as soon as he gets a word from the Lord! He’s all about timing and being circumspect. He sends the servant on his way so that he can talk with Saul privately.
Oh, what lessons we could learn from Samuel along these lines!
Samuel pours oil on his head and anoints him then proceeds to prophesy in great detail about the events that are going to take place as Saul begins to make his way home.
As you approach the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place, preceded by harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres, and they will be prophesying. Then the Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be transformed into a different person. When these signs have come, do as the occasion demands, for God is with you. -1 Samuel 10:5
Saul went from a no-name guy looking for his father’s donkeys to King over Israel after the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon him.
This wasn’t some gentle breeze. This wasn’t the Holy Spirit coming down softly as a dove. This is the Holy Spirit making a move on you. This is the mighty rushing wind of Acts chapter 2. This is God coming with such power, such force, such intensity that nothing’s the same afterward. The scripture says that God gave Saul “another heart”.
“When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart…”-1 Samuel 10:9
He didn’t change his heart through a long drawn out process, God simply gave him another heart in an instant.
God changes hearts to do His bidding.
“The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.” -Proverbs 21:1
When the Holy Spirit wants something done He doesn’t ask for permission, He simply does it. It might mess with your idea of free will, but God does whatever He wants with every person, with every nation, with everything on the face of the earth.
“All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?” -Daniel 4:35
If God wants something to happen in my life, it’s unstoppable.
Personally, I like the idea of the Spirit of God rushing upon me! I desire Him to take over and do whatever He wants to do. If I’m going through life unaware of God’s plan and He has something for me, I want Him to bring me into it swiftly. If I need my heart changed, I want Him to change it. He doesn’t need to ask me, He’s my Lord. He bought me with precious blood, and He has the right to do what He wants to do with me.
“You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.” -1 Corinthians 6:19
God didn’t ask Saul whether he wanted to be King. God decided, and simply made it happen.
I love the fact that God has a way of getting things done. That takes a lot of pressure off me worrying that I’m somehow going to mess up His plans. God will get me where He wants to get me, and He’s capable of doing that quicker than I ever dreamed possible.
When the strategic moment of God’s timing arrives everything will come into alignment. My circumstances, the people around me, and my own heart, are all subject to the Spirit of the Living God. The providential hand of God is an amazing thing!
As I close I have just a couple thoughts about this story. First, even though I like the idea of the Spirit of God rushing upon me, I realize I’m no more capable of making that happen then those who were in The Upper Room were capable of causing a mighty rushing wind to blow in. It’s right along these lines that so many people get into trouble. It’s always a dangerous thing to go running after experiences. These are not the kind of things we should be running after. When God does them they’re glorious, but when we go seeking after them we enter the domain of the occult. When we’re experience-driven we open ourselves up to every sort of deception imaginable! Remember, Saul was out looking for some donkeys, just going about his day to day. He had no idea that any of this was going to happen and he didn’t have to seek after it. If God wants to give you some crazy amazing experience He’s totally able to do that without you trying to make it happen.
I think the other thing here that’s noteworthy to consider is that God actually had a purpose in the extraordinary things that happened. He wasn’t just doling out experiences so people could roll around on the floor and be hit by a wave of the Holy Spirit! We need to avoid running after the sensational and the exaggerated. There are people whose ministries center around this sort of thing and people flock to their meetings in order to experience something. The Holy Spirit is not a “Manifestation Vending Machine”! He’s not an energy force that we wield by a wave of our hand and send forth across a crowd of people. He’s the 3rd person of the Godhead, and He’s sensitive. He doesn’t go around creating drama so that people can be entertained. He’s also not under our control. While I understand that the Spirit was given through the laying on of hands in the Book of Acts, it’s God who gives His Spirit, we don’t actually “release Him”. This kind of terminology makes the Spirit a genie who we control at will, and He is definitely not that!
Saul’s story is a clear portrayal of the sovereignty and providence of God. As we think about the person and work of the Holy Spirit in our day it would be profitable to return to the lessons revealed in this wonderful passage of scripture.