Saul's first test

In the book of 1 Samuel, chapter 11 starts by examining the king of the Ammonites, King Nahash, and how he was gearing up for battle over Israel.

He took over the city of Jabesh, in the Gilead territory.  He then asked for their surrender.

King Saul heard this as he was bringing two of his oxen in from the field and became furious.  He slaughtered his two oxen, divided them up in pieces, and distributed them to all corners of the land of Israel.  And with them became a stern warning against not joining the war with the Ammonites.

Saul gathered up thousands to join in the battle.

He sent one final warning towards King Nahash, that if he would surrender, he would be treated fairly.

That night, Saul sent the men and killed most of the Ammonites.

What righteous people have

In the 10th chapter of the book of Proverbs, we come to the first of many of Solomon's Proverbs.

It touches on dishonesty, and how one who is honest will be wealthy.  And speaking of wealthy, two things working in sync will allow one to obtain wealth: first, one must be honest; second, hard work alone will not help build wealth--one must have the blessing of the Lord.

Much of the later half is comparing righteous people with those who are not.  In a nutshell, righteous people:

1) know what to say

2) speak wisdom

3) get what they want

4) will always have security

Israel's New King

In the book of 1 Samuel, chapter 10 the Lord appoints Saul as king of Israel.

Saul wasn't expecting this honor.  In the previous chapters, he was out looking for his father's donkeys when he happened upon Samuel.

After Samuel annoints Saul, he gives him specific instructions on where he must go and who he will meet.  These events then happen just as Samuel told him.

He is then brought before the people of Israel, to introduce himself as their new king.

There once was a man named Saul

Saul was the son of a wealthy man.  In the book of 1 Samuel, chapter 9, Saul is sent with a servant to go look for his father's donkeys.  They search high and low, but no sign of them.

They come to the town where, ironically, Samuel has also arrived at.  The day before, the Lord told Samuel that he will meet a man from the tribe of Benjamin, and he was to annoint him the ruler of Israel.

Saul asked Samuel about the donkeys, and Samuel told him the donkeys were already found.  He then invivted Saul to a grand feast and even gave him a place to sleep.

The next morning, Samuel led Saul to the edge of town . . . and annointed him the ruler of Israel.