📅 18 december 2025
📚 BELIEVE HIS PROPHETS
📖 Daily Bible Reading
👑 1 Samuel 10 – Anointed, called, and presented
✨ When God gives a new heart — and a person must learn to live in it
🌐 Read online here
🔵 Introduction
After God has prepared Saul in secret, He now takes a decisive step toward the public eye. 1 Samuel 10 connects two levels: God’s hidden calling and its public confirmation before the people.
This chapter powerfully shows that divine election does not automatically mean human maturity — and that a new heart must learn to truly trust God.
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🟡 Commentary
Alone, away from the crowd, Samuel takes the flask of oil. He pours the oil over Saul’s head, kisses him, and speaks words that irreversibly change Saul’s life: The Lord has anointed you ruler over His inheritance. No applause, no throne — only God, a prophet, and a young man.
Samuel gives Saul precise signs along the way. They are meant to confirm that it was not people, but God Himself who acted. Each sign is fulfilled exactly: the news about the found donkeys, the encounter with men on the way to Bethel, the gift of bread — and finally the group of prophets at the hill of God.
When Saul meets them, something decisive happens: the Spirit of the Lord comes upon him. Saul prophesies. The quiet, searching young man is inwardly transformed. Scripture states clearly: God gave him another heart.
The people who knew Saul are astonished. They ask in amazement: Is Saul also among the prophets? A proverb is born — an expression of surprise at God’s unexpected work.
Yet although Saul is touched inwardly, he does not speak about his anointing. When his cousin asks, he speaks only about the donkeys. He keeps the kingship to himself. Perhaps out of humility — perhaps out of insecurity.
Then comes the public moment at Mizpah. Samuel reminds the people that they have rejected God by demanding a king. Nevertheless, God allows their choice. Through the casting of lots, Saul is clearly selected. But when they look for him, he is nowhere to be found. Finally, he is discovered — hiding among the baggage.
Hesitantly, Saul steps before the people. Tall in stature, outwardly kingly — inwardly reserved. The people shout: Long live the king!
Samuel once again explains the rights of kingship and dismisses the people. Saul returns to Gibeah. Some men, whose hearts God has touched, follow him. Others openly despise him. Saul remains silent. He hears it — but he does not respond.
Thus Saul’s kingship begins not with power, but with tension: between divine calling, human insecurity, and divided reactions.
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🟢 Summary
Saul is anointed by Samuel in secret.
God confirms his election through clear signs.
The Spirit of the Lord comes upon Saul — God gives him a new heart.
Before the people, Saul is chosen as king, even though he hides.
Early support and early rejection accompany his beginning.
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📢 Message for us today
God does not call people because they are finished, but because He wants to transform them. A new heart is a gift — but it requires trust, obedience, and growth.
This chapter reminds us: spiritual experiences do not replace daily dependence on God. Calling does not protect us from fear. Anointing does not replace humility.
God often begins quietly. What matters is not a strong beginning, but a faithful path afterward.
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💬 Thought prompt
🤔 Where has God already given me a “new heart” — and where am I still living in hiding?
🤔 Am I more afraid of people than of trusting God?
👑 Am I ready to follow my calling, even when it overwhelms me?
🙏 The God who gave Saul a new heart is still at work today — not only to touch, but to lead permanently.
