Read 1 Samuel 9-11

God’s Power Overcomes Our Weakness

The first king of Israel was a man from the tribe of Benjamin named Saul. When he was anointed by Samuel, he seemed to be a man of humility. Notice what he told Samuel in 1 Samuel 9:21: “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all he families of the tribe of Benjamin?” Saul did not see himself as a leader at this time, but God had told Samuel otherwise.

His humility is further seen in chapter 10, when Samuel at Mizpah publicly announced the kingship of Saul. Where was Saul when the announcement was made? He was hiding! He did not want the spotlight, but he could not escape this divine calling.

Samuel told Saul that “the Spirit of the LORD will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man” (1 Samuel 10:6). Indeed, it is recorded by inspiration “that God gave him another heart” (1 Samuel 10:9) and that “the Spirit of God came upon him” (1 Samuel 10:10). This is even clearer in the next chapter as he demonstrated righteous indignation at the threat of Nabash the Ammonite (1 Samuel 11:6-7).

God had called Saul to be king; Samuel had declared it before the people; Saul had demonstrated his leadership abilities against the Ammonites. Not only that, but Saul wisely refused to take the credit for his victory. When the people wanted to execute the rebellious Israelites who initially rejected Saul as king, he responded, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the LORD has accomplished salvation in Israel” (1 Samuel 11:13).

What can we learn from Saul during these initial days of his anointing and leadership? We can learn humility. We must recognize that we are generally insignificant and have many shortcomings. On our own, there is little of which we can boast. Yet, when we accept God’s power, there is nothing we cannot accomplish.

We will not be miraculously endowed as Saul was, but the Spirit of God is still mighty through His Word. Submit to His will as revealed in the New Testament and we can accomplish much for Him in spite of our weaknesses.