This lesson is based upon First Samuel 10:1-7 which speaks of the Anointing of King Saul as the first king of Israel. This was an anointing for leadership to cause Saul to become a civil leader to vanquish those who oppressed the nation of Israel.

1 Samuel 10:1-7 (NIV)

¹ Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on Saul's head and kissed him, saying, "Has not the LORD anointed you leader over his inheritance?

² When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel's tomb, at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, 'The donkeys you set out to look for have been found. And now your father has stopped thinking about them and is worried about you. He is asking, "What shall I do about my son?"'

³ "Then you will go on from there until you reach the great tree of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there. One will be carrying three young goats, another three loaves of bread, and another a skin of wine.

⁴ They will greet you and offer you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from them.

⁵ "After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, tambourines, flutes and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying.

⁶ The Spirit of the LORD will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.

⁷ Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.

Saul’s Anointing for Leadership

1. Anointing of Saul

1 Samuel 10:1-11 (NLT2)

¹ Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it over Saul’s head. He kissed Saul and said, “I am doing this because the LORD has appointed you to be the ruler over Israel, his special possession.

The anointing of King Saul as the first king of Israel relates to the anointing of leadership given by God for a civil servant like a king. It should be noted however that God knows the future and God already knew that Saul would later fall out because of disobedience. Saul however serves as an example to teach believers of following generations about the principles related to obedience to God.

The life of King Saul also serves as an illustration for those men God has called to become leaders whether they are Levite leaders of the Fivefold Ministry or Layman leaders serving as civil servants or other community leaders. A leader chosen by God is to rule and make decisions according to God’s direction without adding anything to God’s directions nor taking anything away from them.

Deuteronomy 12:32 (NIV)

³² See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.

A leader chosen by God is to follow God’s commands in exact obedience without adding anything to God’s instructions nor taking anything away from God’s instructions by omission.

I previously shared a story of a man who was warned by his own utterance in tongues and interpretation of those tongues which warned him that he was headed toward two disasters. The prophetic word indicated that he would enter the army and come out in a "near-death" condition and he would also become the "son-in-law" of a certain manipulating Levite woman. As it turned out this man did not heed God’s warning and did not run the other way as he should have. Instead he misinterpreted God’s message and thought it was a confirmation of God's will rather than a warning. He was then determined that he would fulfill those very things which he was warned about in advance. He however failed to understand that God can see the future and knows what path he would take and can warn him of that path even before he takes that path. The prophecy he received from God was therefore not a confirmation of God’s will but rather a warning of the future. He should have determined to go in the opposite direction and not join the army and not marry the daughter of this controlling Levite woman.

See the link “Defining God’s Direction” for more details.

This lesson referenced in the link above shows that the future is not fixed and it is a product of human choices. God however can see the future and warn someone about the bad results of taking a certain path even before someone takes the path they are about to go down. Such a warning allows them to change routes and avoid the negative consequences they will reap if they continue in the direction in which they are headed.

The man in this example was building a huge church project and his manipulating mother-in-law ended up attaching her own project in addition to the projects God called this man to build. She instigated building an apartment building in order to generate income but this project was of human origin and she attached this “flesh-project” on top of the “God-given” project to build a large church. The result of this attached “work-of-the-flesh” project was that it caused the finances to dry up. This caused such great financial pressure that this pastor almost committed suicide! None of this would have happened if he had not married the daughter of this manipulating woman and if he would have stopped her from meddling in the church affairs.

The main point to make her is that God requires his leaders to have complete obedience doing nothing more and nothing less than exactly what he told them to do. They cannot allow anyone to add to or take away from the exact instructions God has given to them.

Deuteronomy 12:32 (NIV)

³² See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.

Again, God’s leaders must have complete obedience and not add to or omit anything from all of God’s commands.

Proverbs 30:6 (NASB)

⁶ Do not add to His words Or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar.

A prophet also cannot add to God’s words and include anything of his own human origin.

Revelation 22:18 (NASB)

¹⁸ I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book;

The book of Revelation also says that no one is to add to any of the things God has written in his word or they will have God’s judgment added to them as their punishment.

The theme is clear that God expects those he appointed as leaders to follow exactly what he has said without omitting anything and not adding anything of their own human invention to what God has said.

If God told a man to build a church project then he is not to add anything to it (like an apartment complex) because that is adding to God’s instructions.

God Knew Saul Would Fall Out

I say all of this because God knew that Saul would fall out by disobedience even before Saul was appointed as king. Yet God chose King Saul as the first king of Israel because his life-story serves as an example for all future generations concerning the importance of having “complete” obedience to God’s commands.

1 Samuel 15:7-9 (NASB)

⁷ So Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah as you go to Shur, which is east of Egypt.

⁸ He captured Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.

⁹ But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly; but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.

Saul did not utterly destroy everything according to God’s commands but he kept back what he wanted and destroyed the rest. So, this is called “selective-obedience” to obey those parts that he wanted to obey but then he refused to obey God completely in all the things which he was instructed to do.

1 Samuel 15:13-23 (NASB)

¹³ Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, "Blessed are you of the LORD! I have carried out the command of the LORD."

¹⁴ But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?"

¹⁵ Saul said, "They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice to the LORD your God; but the rest we have utterly destroyed."

¹⁶ Then Samuel said to Saul, "Wait, and let me tell you what the LORD said to me last night." And he said to him, "Speak!"

¹⁷ Samuel said, "Is it not true, though you were little in your own eyes, you were made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the LORD anointed you king over Israel,

¹⁸ and the LORD sent you on a mission, and said, 'Go and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are exterminated.'

¹⁹ "Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD, but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the LORD?"

²⁰ Then Saul said to Samuel, "I did obey the voice of the LORD, and went on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.

²¹ "But the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the LORD your God at Gilgal."

²² Samuel said, "Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.

²³ "For rebellion is as the sin of divination, And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has also rejected you from being king."

Saul was instructed to utterly destroy everything but he was selective in his obedience and he only destroyed those things that were worthless and he kept the good things for himself.

Saul Feared Humans More Than God

1 Samuel 15:24 (NASB)

²⁴ Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned; I have indeed transgressed the command of the LORD and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice.

God gave specific directions to King Saul but he obeyed the parts he wanted then he disobeyed the rest of the instructions. He was told to destroy everything but he kept back the best of the livestock because he feared the people whom he was supposed to be leading. This resulted in God rejecting Saul from his office of being king.

If any man fears humans, more than he fears God then he will be controlled and manipulated by them and he could end up being judged by God as a result.

In the case of this pastor of this large church he was being manipulated by a controlling woman who was his mother-in-law but he did not stand up to her and put a stop to this disorder and she caused him much trouble until the time she finally passed away.

But this sort of thing has application to many circumstances because a man is not to allow a wife to control him and any leader is also not to allow others to control him. He has to be able to carry out God’s plans in specific manner without adding anything to them nor taking anything away from God’s instructions by omission.

This is the entire reason that God raised up King Saul only to have him fall and become disqualified by his own incomplete obedience. King Saul serves as an example for all following generations of believers that they are never to disobey God or have incomplete obedience and they are to never add to what God has told them to do nor leave anything out. They must have full-obedience in every detail and this is part of believers living under “lordship” to God.

Prophetic Word Given for Judah

Genesis 49:10 (NLT2)

¹⁰ The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor.

It was already prophesied long before the time of Saul that the scepter (kingship) would come from the lineage of Judah (not from the lineage of Benjamin).

1 Samuel 9:1-2 (NIV)

¹ There was a Benjamite, a man of standing, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin.

² He had a son named Saul, an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites--a head taller than any of the others.

Saul the son of Kish was from the tribe of Benjamin so he was not qualified to fulfill the prophecy that the scepter of leadership would come from Judah.

1 Samuel 9:15-17 (NIV)

¹⁵ Now the day before Saul came, the LORD had revealed this to Samuel:

¹⁶ "About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him leader over my people Israel; he will deliver my people from the hand of the Philistines. I have looked upon my people, for their cry has reached me."

¹⁷ When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the LORD said to him, "This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern my people."

God sent a man from the tribe of Benjamin and appointed him to be the first king of Israel. But at the same time, it must be noted that God already knew that Saul was going to fall out. But God permitted him to become king to serve as a living example of what happens to men who have incomplete obedience and fall out and are rejected by God. The biblical account of King Saul continues to serves as a written testimony for all generations of believers until present time.

Not God’s Will to Have Benjamite King

1 Samuel 12:16-19 (NIV)

¹⁶ "Now then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes!

¹⁷ Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call upon the LORD to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the LORD when you asked for a king."

¹⁸ Then Samuel called upon the LORD, and that same day the LORD sent thunder and rain. So all the people stood in awe of the LORD and of Samuel.

¹⁹ The people all said to Samuel, "Pray to the LORD your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king."

The dry season occurred in Israel during the wheat harvest so normally it never rained during this season of the year. But God gave a demonstration to the people to show them that they were evil in asking for a king for themselves. So, God caused it to thunder and rain during the dry season and this unnatural event terrified the people when they saw this amazing sign from heaven that confirmed that they had indeed sinned when they had asked for a king.

God gave them a king just as they asked for and sometimes God will give people what they insist on having even if it is against God’s will. Yes, God chose Saul (the Benjamite) as the first king of Israel but God also knew he was going to fall out before he was ever appointed as king.

Hosea 13:11 (NASB)

¹¹ I gave you a king in My anger And took him away in My wrath.

God gave the people what they demanded when he gave them King Saul as their first king. But later God took this same King Saul away when Saul disqualified himself by his incomplete obedience. Saul became a living example of what happens when believers add anything to God’s commands or take anything away from his instructions.

1 Samuel 8:5-7 (NIV)

⁵ They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have."

⁶ But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD.

⁷ And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.

The people wanted to be like the other godless nations who had a king lording over them so they rejected having God as their king and wanted to be like the other nations of the world. God made it clear that they were rejecting God as their leader.

It is for this reason that when God chooses a leader, he must be 100% completely obedient in every detail and never add to nor omit anything of God’s instructions. If God is leading the people through a civil servant like a king (or a Levite of the Fivefold Ministry) then these leaders appointed by God must be completely obedient. If they add to or omit anything from the things God has commanded then they have in effect taken over the leadership and God is no longer in command.

Isaiah 53:6 (NIV)

⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

The word of God makes it clear that all independence is sin and those who live their own lives and do their own things are living like a sheep gone astray from the good shepherd.

Isaiah 59:2 (NIV)

² But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

Independence and self-will are sin and rebellion against God and this iniquity separates humans from God just like a sheep which wandered away from the good shepherd and is now living on their own and doing their own thing. Those who separate themselves from God by their own "self-will" have cut themselves off from God by their rebellion. God will not hear their prayers because they are living in sin and independence and have gone astray.

This is exactly what King Saul did when he destroyed that which was worthless but keep the good things for himself. He had incomplete obedience and this is what caused God to reject him as king.

1 Samuel 15:11 (NASB)

¹¹ "I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands." And Samuel was distressed and cried out to the LORD all night.

God regretted having made Saul king even when he already knew this would happen by his own divine foreknowledge. Yet God permitted this because the failures of these people recorded in the bible serve as examples to teach and admonish the believers in all generations since the time the bible was recorded.

Acts 13:22 (NLT2)

²² But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’

God removed Saul for his incomplete obedience and he replaced Saul with King David because God knew that David the son of Jesse was a man after God’s own heart. David would do everything God wanted him to do in complete obedience. David never sinned directly against God (even though he did fail in his sin with Bathsheba). David was faithful however to fulfill every one of God’s commands in great detail and was such that he could be corrected if he did miss God because he had a good heart before the Lord and was quick to repent.

2 Samuel 5:17-19 (NIV)

¹⁷ When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went down to the stronghold.

¹⁸ Now the Philistines had come and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim;

¹⁹ so David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?" The LORD answered him, "Go, for I will surely hand the Philistines over to you."

David had a lifestyle of inquiring of the Lord and seeking God’s direction before he did anything. He was not presumptuous to do anything without asking for God’s direction first. David would even ask God what to do before every battle.

2 Samuel 5:22-25 (NIV)

²² Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim;

²³ so David inquired of the LORD, and he answered, "Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the balsam trees.

²⁴ As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, move quickly, because that will mean the LORD has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army."

²⁵ So David did as the LORD commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer.

David did not follow the same plans every time in presumptuous manner but instead asked the Lord for direction each and every time he went to battle. In this battle God told him to attack from behind and wait until he heard the sound of marching in the tree tops. This was the sound of God’s angelic army marching out before David to strike down the enemy. It was confirmation that God was with him to give him victory in battle.

2 Kings 6:14-17 (NLT2)

¹⁴ So one night the king of Aram sent a great army with many chariots and horses to surround the city.

¹⁵ When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. “Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha.

¹⁶ “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!”

¹⁷ Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes and let him see!” The LORD opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.

When the spiritual eyes of the servant of Elisha were opened then he could see the invisible angelic beings which surrounded them so that he saw there was more angelic military-support for Elisa and his servant than there were natural soldiers sent by the King of Aram to capture him.

God will fight for his people but they need to walk with God and obey God in great detail otherwise they will be on their own if they stray away like a lost sheep and do their own thing using only natural human understanding.

1 Samuel 22:12-15 (NIV)

¹² Saul said, "Listen now, son of Ahitub." "Yes, my lord," he answered.

¹³ Saul said to him, "Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, giving him bread and a sword and inquiring of God for him, so that he has rebelled against me and lies in wait for me, as he does today?"

¹⁴ Ahimelech answered the king, "Who of all your servants is as loyal as David, the king's son-in-law, captain of your bodyguard and highly respected in your household?

¹⁵ Was that day the first time I inquired of God for him? Of course not! Let not the king accuse your servant or any of his father's family, for your servant knows nothing at all about this whole affair."

The jealous King Saul wanted to put the priest Ahitub to death for helping David and giving him food and a sword and inquiring of God for him. The priest said that this was nothing unusual because David was inquiring of the Lord for direction on a regular basis. It was not the first time the priest inquired of the Lord for David.

This shows that David was constantly seeking to hear God’s direction and wanted to hear and obey God’s voice.

1 Samuel 23:9 (NIV)

⁹ When David learned that Saul was plotting against him, he said to Abiathar the priest, "Bring the ephod."

Abiathar a young priest escaped the slaughter of the priests ordered by Saul and he ran to join David in the wilderness. Abiathar brought with him an ephod which is a ritual vest used by the priests to discern the will of God and to make decisions. David would ask Abiathar to bring the ephod whenever David needed to inquire of the Lord for direction.

This shows that David was constantly seeking to hear God’s voice and to obey God’s voice. This character trait is what made David special to God. God promised to give David an everlasting dynasty because of David’s obedient and submissive spirit toward the Lord. David did nothing more or less than exactly what God commanded him to do.

1 Chronicles 17:16-18 (NLT2)

¹⁶ Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and prayed, “Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?

¹⁷ And now, O God, in addition to everything else, you speak of giving your servant a lasting dynasty! You speak as though I were someone very great, O LORD God!

¹⁸ “What more can I say to you about the way you have honored me? You know what your servant is really like.

David was promised an everlasting dynasty by God and this was fulfilled by Yeshua (Jesus) the Jewish Messiah who came from the lineage of David. Jesus was risen from the dead and now lives eternally as the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. Thus, this prophetic word was fulfilled that the dynasty of King David would be eternal through his progeny-Jesus the Messiah.

Mark 10:47-48 (NIV)

⁴⁷ When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

⁴⁸ Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Jesus was often referred to as the "Son of David" because he was born of the lineage of David and thus, he fulfilled the prophetic word of providing an eternal dynasty for King David.

2. Two Types of Men

1 Samuel 10:2 (NLT2)

² When you leave me today, you will see two men beside Rachel’s tomb at Zelzah, on the border of Benjamin.

There were two men beside Rachel’s tomb on the border of Benjamin. These two men represent two types of leaders as reflected by the two sons of Rachel. The first-born son of Rachel was Joseph who was sold into slavery in Egypt. Joseph proved to have an excellent spirit and Joseph rose up to become prominent in his Egyptian master’s household as a slave. Then Joseph rose to prominence (even as a prisoner) obtaining favor with the Egyptian prison warden. Later he was brought out of prison to rule the land of Egypt under command of Pharaoh. God gave Joseph both wisdom and foresight which enabled him to prepare for the coming famine. Joseph represents the type of leader who hears God’s voice and is diligent to fulfill God’s commands in great detail (much like King David also did).

Benjamin Son of Sorrows

Benjamin however was the son of sorrows for Rachel and she died giving birth to him. Benjamin represents those boys who were pampered as a child and never grew up to be leaders but remained selfish and self-serving even as adults. Such men are a sorrow and a big “disgrace” to women (or passive fathers) who spoiled them as children.

Genesis 35:18-20 (NLT2)

¹⁸ Rachel was about to die, but with her last breath she named the baby Ben-oni (which means “son of my sorrow”). The baby’s father, however, called him Benjamin (which means “son of my right hand”).

¹⁹ So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).

²⁰ Jacob set up a stone monument over Rachel’s grave, and it can be seen there to this day.

Rachel named her second son “Ben-oni” (which means son of her sorrow). It is interesting that this has symbolic meaning as well.

Proverbs 29:15 (NIV)

¹⁵ The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.

If a woman rules the household and fails to submit to her own husband then she will typically cancel out any good discipline that a father might provide to correct a son. If the woman comforts a son after the father has used the rod of correction to correct his bad behavior then she will cancel out the good effects of that discipline. The son will become a monster if he is left to himself with his undisciplined bad behavior. This is the reason that a child left to himself disgraces his mother because typically it is the woman who will seek to shield a boy from his father’s good discipline (especially if that woman is not submissive to her own husband and she is in fact ruling the household herself).

Son of my sorrow can therefore find application to a "woman-ruled" household where the woman shields as boy from the father’s discipline and the boy turns out to be wayward or perverse. Such a son will bring shame to the mother who pampered him and spoiled him by shielding him from necessary discipline.

Last Child Pet

There is another phenomenon which could be labeled as that of a “Last Child Pet” because often parents may give proper discipline to their first-born children but for some bazaar reason, they might decide that they will keep the last child to themselves and spoil that one. I have seen a number of families like this in different countries so this is not a rare occurrence. One family I know had five children but the last one was kept by the parents to themselves and they spoiled this child and never disciplined him and he turned out to be undisciplined and wayward. I call this a “Last Child Pet” because often a child of a parent's old age is kept back or shielded from discipline even though the parents did discipline and train their older children in proper manner.

In the case of Benjamin, he was the last child of the beloved wife Rachel and Jacob kept this boy to himself as a child of his old-age and Benjamin became a “Last Child Pet” for this reason.

Deuteronomy 33:12 (NIV)

¹² About Benjamin he said: "Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders."

This scripture can also have application to how Jacob sheltered Benjamin as the last remaining son of his beloved wife Rachel. Benjamin was dwelling safely beside Jacob who would not allow him out of his sight. He was sheltering Benjamin all day long and carrying him around everywhere that he went. This speaks of a “Last Child Pet” who is being pampered and sheltered by a smothering parent who does not allow him out of his sight for even a minute!

Genesis 42:3-4 (NLT2)

³ So Joseph’s ten older brothers went down to Egypt to buy grain.

⁴ But Jacob wouldn’t let Joseph’s younger brother, Benjamin, go with them, for fear some harm might come to him.

Jacob kept Benjamin close to himself at all times and refused to allow him to travel with his brothers to Egypt for fear something harmful might befall him.

Genesis 42:36-38 (NIV)

³⁶ Their father Jacob said to them, "You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!"

³⁷ Then Reuben said to his father, "You may put both of my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will bring him back."

³⁸ But Jacob said, "My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow."

Joseph was lost when he was sent by Jacob to visit his brothers and Jacob supposed that a wild beast had devoured him. So, Jacob assumed Joseph was dead and that Benjamin was the only son he had left from his beloved wife Rachel. If any harm should come to Benjamin on the journey then Jacob would go to his own grave in sorrow and die of grief!

Two Sons Raised Differently

This shows that Benjamin was a “Last Child Pet” and he was shielded by Jacob from discipline and so the two men by Rachel’s tomb represent two sons who were raised differently. The older boy was disciplined and obedient but the last boy was shielded a pampered like a "poodle-dog" being carried around everywhere like a woman carrying a pampered-pet! Yes, Jacob was behaving like a woman in pampering his last son like a pet rather than doing what was right for the boy by training him to become a man (just as Joseph turned out to be).

Genesis 37:13-14 (NLT2)

¹³ When they had been gone for some time, Jacob said to Joseph, “Your brothers are pasturing the sheep at Shechem. Get ready, and I will send you to them.” “I’m ready to go,” Joseph replied.

¹⁴ “Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are getting along,” Jacob said. “Then come back and bring me a report.” So, Jacob sent him on his way, and Joseph traveled to Shechem from their home in the valley of Hebron.

Joseph was ready to obey his father Jacob with instant obedience just like in the manner that King David later was obedient to God. Joseph was ready go and was both willing and obedient to his own father Jacob and was submissive to authority.

Shechem Represents Freeloaders

So, Joseph was sent to Shechem by Jacob to visit his brothers. But Shechem is representative of the freeloaders who were originally killed off by both Simeon and Levi because they raped their sister. These same freeloader men of Shechem supposed that they would gain all of the livestock and possessions of Jacob by intermarriage. This evil plan was however put to an end when they were all executed by Simeon and Levi.

See the link “Thorn bush Leaders and Freeloaders” for more details.

So, when the Joseph's brothers went to Shechem it speaks of them being at a “Name-Place” symbolic of treachery like a band of brigands or pirates seeking to live off of the labor of others! This name of treachery could therefore be used to describe the treachery of the brothers of Joseph who sold him as a slave into Egypt and allowed their father to believe that Joseph was devoured by wild beasts.

Psalm 105:17-22 (NIV)

¹⁷ and he sent a man before them-- Joseph, sold as a slave.

¹⁸ They bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put in irons,

¹⁹ till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the LORD proved him true.

²⁰ The king sent and released him, the ruler of peoples set him free.

²¹ He made him master of his household, ruler over all he possessed,

²² to instruct his princes as he pleased and teach his elders wisdom.

But God was with Joseph in Egypt and gave him favor and wisdom and promoted him and he became the ruler over all Egypt (second-in-command under Pharaoh). The things that Joseph suffered can be compared to a son who was disciplined by the Lord. God's discipline is not with the rod of correction used by a natural father but rather the rod of "circumstances" which God used to test Joseph to prepare him as a leader.

Hebrews 12:6 (BBE)

⁶ For the Lord sends punishment on his loved ones; everyone whom he takes as his son has experience of his rod.

God sends punishment and correction using circumstances. Joseph was tested as a slave and passed every test (even staying pure of immorality when tempted by a seductress). Joseph did not complain as a slave but worked as if doing his work for the Lord with excellence.

Colossians 3:23 (NLT2)

²³ Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

The believer is to be faithful wherever God has planted them and do their work with excellence as if they were working for the Lord rather than for humans. This was the type of excellent spirit that Joseph displayed as a slave and a prisoner and as the prime minister of all Egypt!

Daniel 6:3 (NKJV)

³ Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm.

Daniel was another Jewish captive who was sent to Babylon as a captive and he distinguished himself (like Joseph) by also having an excellent spirit. Daniel was faithful and prayed to God for wisdom and direction and did his work with excellence as unto the Lord. This caused Daniel to be promoted over all of his peers in Babylon even when he was taken there as a captive. This is the same spirit of excellence that was found also in Joseph.

Genesis 39:3-6 (NASB)

³ Now his master saw that the LORD was with him and how the LORD caused all that he did to prosper in his hand.

⁴ So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal servant; and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he owned he put in his charge.

⁵ It came about that from the time he made him overseer in his house and over all that he owned, the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house on account of Joseph; thus the LORD'S blessing was upon all that he owned, in the house and in the field.

⁶ So he left everything he owned in Joseph's charge; and with him there he did not concern himself with anything except the food which he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.

As a slave in the house of an Egyptian master Joseph displayed his excellent spirit by doing everything with excellence as unto the Lord. God’s blessing was upon everything that Joseph did and this caused him to be promoted even as a slave.

Genesis 39:7-9 (NASB)

⁷ It came about after these events that his master's wife looked with desire at Joseph, and she said, "Lie with me."

⁸ But he refused and said to his master's wife, "Behold, with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put all that he owns in my charge.

⁹ "There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?"

Joseph was promoted to the highest level over everyone else within the household of Potiphar his master. Even when Joseph was tested with temptation by a lustful woman, he refused to compromise and sin against God. Joseph feared to sin against God so he did not commit sexual immorality for this reason.

This is an example of being tested by the Lord because he had opportunity to feel sorry for himself as a slave but he did not and served God with excellence. He could have indulged in immorality but he did not because he did not want to sin against God and he feared God.

Genesis 39:19-23 (NIV)

¹⁹ When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, "This is how your slave treated me," he burned with anger.

²⁰ Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined. But while Joseph was there in the prison,

²¹ the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.

²² So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there.

²³ The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

Again, Joseph distinguished himself in prison when he was falsely accused and put in jail for nothing wrong that he had done. He was innocent and was punished unjustly but at the same time he still believed God was in control and did not complain about where God had placed him. Instead he found ways to serve God and do his work with excellence for the Lord. The warden of the prison put everything under the care of Joseph because he served with faithfulness and excellence as if doing his work for the Lord.

Genesis 41:41-44 (NIV)

⁴¹ So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt."

⁴² Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph's finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.

⁴³ He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and men shouted before him, "Make way!" Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.

⁴⁴ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt."

God granted favor to Joseph with the King of Egypt and he was promoted to the highest position of authority (second-in-command) under Pharaoh. Again, Joseph served with excellence and he did his best to prepare for the coming seven-year famine and stored up grain in such abundance that it was beyond measure.

Genesis 41:48-49 (NIV)

⁴⁸ Joseph collected all the food produced in those seven years of abundance in Egypt and stored it in the cities. In each city he put the food grown in the fields surrounding it.

⁴⁹ Joseph stored up huge quantities of grain, like the sand of the sea; it was so much that he stopped keeping records because it was beyond measure.

Joseph was faithful and diligent over the assignment God had given to him and operated with excellence in the office for which God had promoted him into. He realized that it was God who was in control over all events and brought him into this position of authority to save the lives of many from the coming famine.

Genesis 45:4-8 (NIV)

⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come close to me." When they had done so, he said, "I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!

⁵ And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.

⁶ For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be plowing and reaping.

⁷ But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

⁸ "So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt.

Joseph acknowledged that it was God who was in control of circumstances and God caused his brothers to sell him into slavery in Egypt and it was God who brought this former slave into the highest authority under Pharaoh King of Egypt.

It was also God who was disciplining Joseph like a son by the things which he suffered as a slave and as a prisoner before he become a ruler. He had every opportunity to get offended or angry at his misfortune but instead he displayed a submissive spirit toward God knowing God was preparing him for great things. This is why he served with excellence to the Lord knowing that God placed him there to prepare him for greatness by the things that he suffered. It was part of "character building" to keep a good attitude when unjustly treated (as a slave and as a prisoner) but still having trust that God was in control.

Genesis 37:5-10 (NASB)

⁵ Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.

⁶ He said to them, "Please listen to this dream which I have had;

⁷ for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf rose up and also stood erect; and behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf."

⁸ Then his brothers said to him, "Are you actually going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?" So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

⁹ Now he had still another dream, and related it to his brothers, and said, "Lo, I have had still another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me."

¹⁰ He related it to his father and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, "What is this dream that you have had? Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?"

God gave Joseph a dream of greatness and he saw himself in a position of authority as a ruler. This dream was fulfilled when his brothers came to Egypt and bowed down before him in submission.

Genesis 42:5-6 (NIV)

⁵ So Israel's sons were among those who went to buy grain, for the famine was in the land of Canaan also.

⁶ Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the one who sold grain to all its people. So, when Joseph's brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.

Joseph held onto his dream even as a slave and as a prisoner and he believed that God would bring it to pass and fulfill the promise to promote him into a place of authority. This came to pass and his brothers also bowed before him just as he saw them do in his dream.

All the while that he was a slave and a prisoner Joseph was being prepared for leadership by the things which he suffered. The greatest thing for a believer to do under hard times is to remain faithful to God where God has placed them and do their work with excellence as unto the Lord. The Lord has power to promote anyone so if they will work for the Lord with excellence and be faithful then God can promote them just like he did for Joseph.

Two Sons Distinguished

There were two sons of Rachel both Joseph and Benjamin. One was pampered and the other was chastised and disciplined by the rod of heaven. Joseph was chastised by circumstances as both a slave and a prisoner and he when he suffered unjust treatment, he yielded himself to God for his promotion. His excellent spirit was displayed by the fact that he was doing his work for the Lord with excellence even when he was treated unjustly. He was trusting himself to God who alone had the power to promote him.

But Joseph refused to wallow in self-pity but he retained an excellent spirit before God at all times and under all circumstances. He was looking only to God for his promotion not to humans. It was God who opened the door for Joseph to become ruler over the entire nation of Egypt. By the time that Joseph was promoted he had proven himself with an excellent spirit and he was hardened to difficulties and was fully prepared for leadership. He was tested as both a slave and as a prisoner and he passed every test by retaining an excellent spirit and willing heart attitude before the Lord.

Joseph was not negligent and did not come a self-indulgent ruler after he was promoted by God because his character was greatly developed by the things he had suffered as a slave and as a prisoner before God promoted him.

Joseph was the kind of ruler who was trained by God and chastised and disciplined by the heavenly father by the things which he suffered. He passed the test by keeping a good attitude during hard times. Such a man was fully prepared to become an excellent leader!

Joseph was promoted to "second-in-command" over the entire nation of Egypt and held a position of great authority and wealth. A lesser man could have become arrogant and lorded over others and sought to be served like a despot. But Joseph was different because he had been hardened before becoming a ruler by the chastisement of the eternal father treating him as a son to prepare him for leadership by making him suffer hard things first.

Chastisement by Circumstances

God does not use sickness or disease to chastise his children but rather God uses circumstances. God may even allow others to be promoted while another believer receives no promotion. This type of circumstance will test the heart of the believer to see if they will get angry at God and cry “injustice” or will they continue to serve God with a good attitude and trust that God will promote them in their own due time and season.

God uses circumstances and even unjust treatment of being passed over for a promotion to test the hearts of believers to see if they will get angry and curse God or be quiet and continue to serve the Lord with faithfulness where they are at. This is how God disciplines every son which he receives.

Testing by Circumstances

Exodus 17:2-4 (NLT2)

² So once more the people complained against Moses. “Give us water to drink!” they demanded. “Quiet!” Moses replied. “Why are you complaining against me? And why are you testing the LORD?”

³ But tormented by thirst, they continued to argue with Moses. “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Are you trying to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?”

⁴ Then Moses cried out to the LORD, “What should I do with these people? They are ready to stone me!”

As soon as the people felt thirsty, they immediately started complaining in the hearing of God even accusing God of allowing them to die of thirst! These murmuring Israelites are bad examples of how God’s people failed the test over and over again.

Numbers 14:21-23 (NLT2)

²¹ But as surely as I live, and as surely as the earth is filled with the LORD’s glory,

²² not one of these people will ever enter that land. They have all seen my glorious presence and the miraculous signs I performed both in Egypt and in the wilderness, but again and again they have tested me by refusing to listen to my voice.

²³ They will never even see the land I swore to give their ancestors. None of those who have treated me with contempt will ever see it.

These murmuring Israelites failed the test over and over again until their lives expired by old age and they never entered the Promised Land. The same thing can happen to any believer who refuses to accept God’s discipline but instead wants to be treated like a baby and never grow up.

Exodus 16:2-3 (NIV)

² In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.

³ The Israelites said to them, "If only we had died by the LORD's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death."

As soon as the Israelites felt some hunger pangs then they immediately began to murmur that they were going to die of starvation! The circumstances of thirst and hunger brought out the evil which was hidden in the hearts of these wicked and spoiled people.

Deuteronomy 8:3 (NIV)

³ He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

God allowed them to both thirst and hunger in order to test them and these murmuring people failed the test every time! They did not have an excellent spirit like Joseph who kept a good attitude and stayed quiet. Joseph refused to judge God with wrong doing even when he was treated unjustly. Joseph trusted in the Lord that he would be promoted.

Many others who were promoted too quickly failed the test when they received wealth and power and became as proud as Lucifer himself and tried to lord over everyone as if they existed only to be served. Those who are raised like a "pamper-poodle" by a woman will typically behave like this. But even Jacob behaved like a woman and pampered his last-born son Benjamin and spoiled him.

Exodus 17:5-7 (NIV)

⁵ The LORD answered Moses, "Walk on ahead of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.

⁶ I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink." So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.

⁷ And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"

Again, the people were tested and they complained in typical manner even asking if God was among them or not?! They insinuated that they would all die of thirst. They were not faithful like Joseph who feared to speak a word against God even when he was being unjustly treated.

David was Tested like Joseph

David was also tested by hardship before he became king. He was living as a fugitive in the open fields. He was living under hardship until the time that King Saul perished in battle. David was driven off from his own people and was living a lifestyle of a nomad. But David was being prepared for greatness by the things which he suffered. This is an example of the hand of the Lord for chastisement upon a son to develop his character before he became a king.

David’s life is a great contrast to King Saul who just entered his kingship without any hard circumstances. Saul was therefore like an undisciplined child because he was not prepared by hardships by God before he was made king. Saul had bad character like a spoiled child and displayed jealousy and was always attacking David (who had only good intentions toward Saul and sought to serve him).

Saul did not have the backbone or the character to be a king. God used Saul like a rod of chastisement to treat David unfairly but David remained faithful to God and kept a good attitude and trusted only in God for his promotion.

1 Samuel 24:3-7 (NIV)

³ He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave.

⁴ The men said, "This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said to you, 'I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.'" Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul's robe.

⁵ Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe.

⁶ He said to his men, "The LORD forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the LORD's anointed, or lift my hand against him; for he is the anointed of the LORD."

⁷ With these words David rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.

David had opportunity to kill Saul himself but he would not do so but honored the office of king which Saul occupied by God’s divine appointment. David did not try to promote himself by killing Saul.

1 Samuel 26:7-12 (NASB)

⁷ So David and Abishai came to the people by night, and behold, Saul lay sleeping inside the circle of the camp with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the people were lying around him.

⁸ Then Abishai said to David, "Today God has delivered your enemy into your hand; now therefore, please let me strike him with the spear to the ground with one stroke, and I will not strike him the second time."

⁹ But David said to Abishai, "Do not destroy him, for who can stretch out his hand against the LORD'S anointed and be without guilt?"

¹⁰ David also said, "As the LORD lives, surely the LORD will strike him, or his day will come that he dies, or he will go down into battle and perish.

¹¹ "The LORD forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the LORD'S anointed; but now please take the spear that is at his head and the jug of water, and let us go."

¹² So David took the spear and the jug of water from beside Saul's head, and they went away, but no one saw or knew it, nor did any awake, for they were all asleep, because a sound sleep from the LORD had fallen on them.

David was tested by God again by allowing Saul and his men to fall into a deep sleep. David was able creep right up to Saul without anyone waking up. But even then, David refused to take matters into his own hands and would not kill Saul. He said that Saul would perish in his own time according to God’s will but he was not going to kill Saul himself. David trusted in God for promotion and would not lay a hand upon his enemy himself.

David was tested by several opportunities to kill King Saul. Would he take matters into his own hands or would he wait for God to promote him? David passed the test in all of these circumstances trusting that God would promote him in God’s due time.

Obedience of Christ

Hebrews 5:8-10 (NLT2)

⁸ Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered.

⁹ In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.

¹⁰ And God designated him to be a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Even Jesus learned obedience by the things that he suffered. He was crucified with a horrible death in obedience to God in order to pay for the sins of all humanity. The innocent Jesus died for the guilty but he never had a bad attitude but instead suffered silently for the sake of fulfilling God’s will.

Jesus is an example for all believers to follow in that they also should respond to circumstances which God places them in with a good attitude. If they seek to quit or try to escape hard times then they will no longer be under the discipline of the Lord (who is treating them as sons). If they run away from discipline, they will become like wild feral boys who refuse to submit to any correction or discipline whatsoever!

Job 30:1-8 (NLT2)

¹ “But now I am mocked by people younger than I, by young men whose fathers are not worthy to run with my sheepdogs.

² A lot of good they are to me— those worn-out wretches!

³ They are gaunt with hunger and flee to the deserts, to desolate and gloomy wastelands.

⁴ They pluck wild greens from among the bushes and eat from the roots of broom trees.

⁵ They are driven from human society, and people shout at them as if they were thieves.

⁶ So now they live in frightening ravines, in caves and among the rocks.

⁷ They sound like animals howling among the bushes, huddled together beneath the nettles.

⁸ They are nameless fools, outcasts from society.

Job described the feral boys who were running wild without parents and living among the bushes. These feral boys can be used to depict believers who run away from correction and refuse to remain under God’s discipline. Such people are always trying to escape from a hard time and never remain faithful where God planted them. They have no character and are always complaining and speaking about how unjust God is when he puts them into hard circumstances. They seek only to be pampered like babies and run from anything that is hard and refuse to overcome.

Such feral children are those who love to attend a fake church run by effeminate pastors who give out nothing but the milk of exhortation and comfort. They can live in continual unrepentant sin but the fake pastor will tell them “God loves You!” and give them only comfort and love. They are like the youngest child Benjamin who was pampered and cared for like a pet-poodle and never disciplined. Such people who refuse God’s discipline and run away from hard times will never overcome and will become worthless to the Lord. Like a feral boy they will end up expiring of old age in the wilderness and will never enter their Promised Land. The fate of undisciplined believers (like these feral boys) is hell because they will waste their life on earth running away from discipline and they will never change because they refuse correction.

Discipline Prepares for Leadership

Everyone would love to have a position of power and authority and wealth like Joseph obtained as a ruler of all Egypt. But how many of them are willing to remain under God’s discipline and chastisement to prepare them for a leadership position? They must remain where God has planted them and be faithful and not get offended when God purposely tests them by giving others promotion around them while they receive nothing.

Tale of Two Sons

This tale of two sons is speaking about how one was pampered and the other was disciplined by the Lord. Benjamin was pampered while Joseph had character development as a result of his hardships so that he could handle the position of authority God would later give to him.

Genesis 40:18-23 (NIV)

¹⁸ "This is what it means," Joseph said. "The three baskets are three days.

¹⁹ Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head and hang you on a tree. And the birds will eat away your flesh."

²⁰ Now the third day was Pharaoh's birthday, and he gave a feast for all his officials. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker in the presence of his officials:

²¹ He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh's hand,

²² but he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation.

²³ The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.

Later the chief cupbearer even forgot Joseph again and he remained in prison for another two full-years. But Joseph did not get offended but remained in prison and stayed faithful until it was time for God to promote him.

Genesis 41:1-8 (NIV)

¹ When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile,

² when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds.

³ After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank.

⁴ And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.

⁵ He fell asleep again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk.

⁶ After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted--thin and scorched by the east wind.

⁷ The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream.

⁸ In the morning his mind was troubled, so he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.

After the two years transpired then Pharaoh had the dream which warned of a coming famine.

Genesis 41:9-14 (NIV)

⁹ Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, "Today I am reminded of my shortcomings.

¹⁰ Pharaoh was once angry with his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard.

¹¹ Each of us had a dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.

¹² Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream.

¹³ And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position, and the other man was hanged."

¹⁴ So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh.

It was time for Joseph to be brought out of prison to begin his work just at the commencement of the seven-years of abundance. He had the interpretation of the dream and Joseph had the knowledge of how to prepare for the coming famine. Joseph was fully ready with fully developed character and was able to handle this position of power and authority and wealth.

Genesis 41:37-44 (NLT2)

³⁷ Joseph’s suggestions were well received by Pharaoh and his officials.

³⁸ So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find anyone else like this man so obviously filled with the spirit of God?”

³⁹ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, clearly no one else is as intelligent or wise as you are.

⁴⁰ You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you. Only I, sitting on my throne, will have a rank higher than yours.”

⁴¹ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the entire land of Egypt.”

⁴² Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand and placed it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in fine linen clothing and hung a gold chain around his neck.

⁴³ Then he had Joseph ride in the chariot reserved for his second-in-command. And wherever Joseph went, the command was shouted, “Kneel down!” So Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of all Egypt.

⁴⁴ And Pharaoh said to him, “I am Pharaoh, but no one will lift a hand or foot in the entire land of Egypt without your approval.”

So, Joseph was promoted and had power and authority and wealth but none of this caused him to be arrogant or proud. He was fully developed in character and able to handle the great promotion God had given to him.

Gibeah Name-Place of Self-Indulgence

1 Samuel 10:26 (NIV)

²⁶ Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, accompanied by valiant men whose hearts God had touched.

Saul was from Gibeah in the land of Benjamin and this town was noted as a place of men who engaged in gross self-gratification.

Judges 19:14-16 (NLT2)

¹⁴ So they went on. The sun was setting as they came to Gibeah, a town in the land of Benjamin,

¹⁵ so they stopped there to spend the night. They rested in the town square, but no one took them in for the night.

¹⁶ That evening an old man came home from his work in the fields. He was from the hill country of Ephraim, but he was living in Gibeah, where the people were from the tribe of Benjamin.

There was a traveler who reached the town of Gibeah at sunset so he stayed the night in that town. But the Benjamites of this place offered him no place to stay so he was in the open square until an old man from Ephraim (living in Gibeah) invited him to his home as a guest.

Judges 19:20-22 (NLT2)

²⁰ “You are welcome to stay with me,” the old man said. “I will give you anything you might need. But whatever you do, don’t spend the night in the square.”

²¹ So he took them home with him and fed the donkeys. After they washed their feet, they ate and drank together.

²² While they were enjoying themselves, a crowd of troublemakers from the town surrounded the house. They began beating at the door and shouting to the old man, “Bring out the man who is staying with you so we can have sex with him.”

These Benjamites living in that place surrounded the house and demanded that the old man give them the traveler because they wanted to sodomize the man. This event gives the “Name-Place” of Gibeah a bad reputation of being a place of self-indulgent homosexuals!

Hosea 9:9 (NASB)

⁹ They have gone deep in depravity As in the days of Gibeah; He will remember their iniquity, He will punish their sins.

Gibeah became a by-word or expression of deep depravity of men seeking only self-gratification at the expense of others. In fact, homosexuality is pure "selfishness" because they are not having sexual relations to procreate but only for self-gratification. The homosexual does not seek to raise a family because same-sex relations are barren. They are not seeking to engage in nation building nor raising children for the next generation to carry on the human race. They only want pleasure for the moment without regard for the future of the human race. Also, they have no regard for their own eternal future when they will perish and go to hell for the sin of sodomy.

Leviticus 18:22 (NASB)

²² 'You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.

God’s laws strictly forbid same-sex relations and calls it an abomination.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NIV)

⁹ Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders

¹⁰ nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

The scriptures clearly state that no wicked shall enter the kingdom of God including the homosexuals. They will all burn in the fires of hell as an eternal punishment for their crime against nature.

Male and Female Made for Each Other

God made a woman for the man and they are complete in marriage union with nothing missing. But two men have the same parts and offer nothing missing in the other. Two women have the same parts and offer nothing missing in the other. Same-sex relations are therefore barren and unable to produce offspring and are a crime against nature.

The homosexual Benjamites reflect pure selfishness because they were not interested in procreation or nation building or mentoring sons for the next generation of leadership. They only wanted to have immediate self-gratification of lust without regard for the future.

Deuteronomy 33:12 (7KB)

¹² Of Benjamin he said: "As the beloved of the lord Jacob, he shall dwell in safety by him who shelters him all the day long; and he shall dwell between His shoulders."

Benjamin was the "stay-at-home" son who was the child of old age of Jacob who was spoiled and cared for like a pampered-poodle. Benjamin was pampered all day long and was carried everywhere by Jacob who did not let him out of his sight. It is interesting that the descendants of Benjamin in the town of Gibeah later become self-indulgent and wicked homosexuals who only lived for the moment and cared nothing for the future or for nation building. They only wanted to gratify their lust at the expense of others.

In modern times the same can be said of the liberal "woman-raised" boys who protest and break glass and set fires to get what they want. They do not have a job but live in their mother’s basement and are nothing but self-indulgent. They do not care about procreation or nation building but only want to engage in self-indulgence without working a job.

See the link “Liberalism and Feminism” for more details.

These woman-raised sissies (who were never disciplined by a father) want to be fed for free by the government just as the mothers have always done for them. They do not know how to stand on their own two-feet but are sissies crying out to be fed.

See the link “No Free Ride” for details.

The difference between the two brothers Benjamin and Joseph speak of one who was pampered and the other who came under the masculine discipline of God. Benjamin had his descendants grow up to be self-indulgent feral boys while Joseph distinguished himself as a great leader who saved millions of people from starvation and gained great wealth for the nation of Egypt. Joseph was a "real man" and he was a "nation builder" while Benjamin and his descendants turned out to be nothing.

Judges 20:12-14 (NIV)

¹² The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, "What about this awful crime that was committed among you?

¹³ Now surrender those wicked men of Gibeah so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel." But the Benjamites would not listen to their fellow Israelites.

¹⁴ From their towns they came together at Gibeah to fight against the Israelites.

Instead of handing over the homosexual rapists for execution the entire tribe of Benjamin gathered to defend them!

Judges 20:46-48 (NIV)

⁴⁶ On that day twenty-five thousand Benjamite swordsmen fell, all of them valiant fighters.

⁴⁷ But six hundred men turned and fled into the desert to the rock of Rimmon, where they stayed four months.

⁴⁸ The men of Israel went back to Benjamin and put all the towns to the sword, including the animals and everything else they found. All the towns they came across they set on fire.

After the war with Benjamin at Gibeah was concluded there was only 600-male descendants remaining and entire tribe of Benjamin was nearly exterminated.

Judges 21:3 (NIV)

³ "O LORD, the God of Israel," they cried, "why has this happened to Israel? Why should one tribe be missing from Israel today?"

The tribe of Benjamin had only 600-male survivors remaining. These Benjamites had not thought ahead of the future when they made their poor decision to defend the homosexual rapists and thus they ended up dying together with them!

The story of Benjamin being pampered by Jacob and his tribal town of Gibeah being famous as a “Name Place” for homosexual rapists, speaks of what happens to those who do not receive discipline. Feral boys raised by women are like this and become a menace to all society.

But the same is true of believers who have nothing but the milk of exhortation and comfort from a fake pastor who says to the unrepentant sinner “God Loves You!” but does not rebuke them for their sin. These “pampered-poodle” believers will not make it to the end of their race. They will not last when they are tested. They live only for self-gratification and they have no care for the future (and will not enter the kingdom of God).

See the link “When Milk Fails” for more details.

Joseph and Benjamin are brothers who were raised differently. Joseph came under God’s discipline while Benjamin was pampered. Benjamin speaks of those who become worthless like feral boys while Joseph became a nation builder who brought wealth to a country by his wisdom and foresight given by God. Egypt prospered under Joseph's leadership while the other nations all languished under famine. One brother became nothing and the other was productive. It is the same difference with a woman-raised sissy boy who cannot take care of himself and a young man disciplined by a father to become a real man to care for himself and his future family.

Real leaders are not self-indulgent like the Benjamites of Gibeah but they are those of character like Joseph. God disciplined Joseph and as a result Joseph had the character development needed to become a ruler of a great nation.

Prophetic Word About King Saul

1 Samuel 8:9-19 (NIV)

⁹ Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do."

¹⁰ Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king.

¹¹ He said, "This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots.

¹² Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.

¹³ He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.

¹⁴ He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants.

¹⁵ He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants.

¹⁶ Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use.

¹⁷ He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves.

¹⁸ When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day."

¹⁹ But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us.

Before Saul was elected to be their king God provided a prophetic warning to the people about the manner in which King Saul would treat them. He would take their sons to serve in his army and their daughters as perfumers and cooks and bakers. He would take the best of their fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He would take 10% of their produce and give it to his officials. He would take their menservants and maidservants and cattle and donkeys and use them for his own work. This king would be so oppressive over his citizens that they would cry out for relief from the king which they have chosen but the Lord would not answer them because they got what they had asked for. Yet despite all of these warnings the people still insisted that they have a king appointed over them.

1 Samuel 12:16-18 (NASB)

¹⁶ "Even now, take your stand and see this great thing which the LORD will do before your eyes.

¹⁷ "Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call to the LORD, that He may send thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that your wickedness is great which you have done in the sight of the LORD by asking for yourselves a king."

¹⁸ So Samuel called to the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.

Samuel showed the people that they were evil in asking for a king by giving a display of thunder and rain in the dry season. God gave them the king that they asked for (as a punishment for rejecting God as their King).

Self-Serving King

It should be noted here that Samuel had given a prophetic word about what kind of king the people would have even before this king was appointed. Therefore, this prophecy was in fact speaking about King Saul. King Saul would end up using the people and all that they had and even using their children for his own service. This prophetic word also relates to the fact that Saul was a Benjamite and Benjamin was spoiled by Jacob and carried around like a woman pampering a poodle dog! When someone has been raised like Benjamin then they will expect everyone to continue to serve them in adult life just as they were served by their parents growing up. It is for this reason that Saul the Benjamite represents a king who was of the lineage of Benjamin who was a pampered boy. Those who have never had any type of discipline and did not face and overcome hardships will become self-serving and spoiled and demand that others serve them just as they were always served by their own parents growing up. These are the worst types of people to assume leadership because they will naturally be self-serving and demand that others under them serve them without question.

This is the reason that King Saul was insanely jealous of David who was a good man and only wanted to serve King Saul in a faithful manner. Saul viewed his kingdom as a means to enrich himself and live off of the labor of others. He was fearful of losing his position of having a “free ride” so he spent much time and effort and resources trying to hunt down and kill David. Saul viewed David in suspicious manner as if he was a threat to his throne.

1 Samuel 20:30-31 (NIV)

³⁰ Saul's anger flared up at Jonathan and he said to him, "You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don't I know that you have sided with the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of the mother who bore you?

³¹ As long as the son of Jesse lives on this earth, neither you nor your kingdom will be established. Now send and bring him to me, for he must die!"

Saul was enraged that his own son Jonathan was under “covenant” with David and Saul said that as long as David was alive, then David was a threat to the throne of his own progeny Jonathan. But the problem is that Saul was judging David by his own evil motives when David in fact had no intentions of taking the throne away from Saul.

Whenever someone is defensive and fighting to keep control it means that they see their position as a free ride and an excuse to feed themselves at the expense of others without working themselves. These are the worst sorts of leaders because they are not serving the people but only serving themselves so that they can have a comfortable life without labor. Instead of focusing on bettering the nation they only focus on trying to destroy everyone whom they "imagine" might be a threat to their own position of control. These poor leaders will constantly try to kill off their best people only because they are jealous and suspicious of everyone!

God Preparing Future Leaders

It is for this reason that God will spend decades working on a future leader to refine them and prepare them in advance to become leaders. Joseph spent many years suffering unjust treatment as a slave and as a prisoner before God promoted to become the ruler over all Egypt. By the time Joseph was promoted he had become a “servant-leader” and had been hardened to difficulties.

Again, it should be noted that those who have been pampered in youth are unfit for leadership. It is for this reason that God uses circumstances to chastise and train and prepare his men for leadership. In this manner a godly leader will have been hardened for difficulties and he will become a servant to the people rather than just serving himself.

Genesis 43:24-26 (NIV)

²⁴ The steward took the men into Joseph's house, gave them water to wash their feet and provided fodder for their donkeys.

²⁵ They prepared their gifts for Joseph's arrival at noon, because they had heard that they were to eat there.

²⁶ When Joseph came home, they presented to him the gifts they had brought into the house, and they bowed down before him to the ground.

It should be noted that Joseph was actively working in Egypt and was out providing oversight and leadership rather than polishing the seat of a throne with his buttocks! Joseph came home to eat at noon showing that he was out working and supervising the people under his authority.

Joseph had been given all authority and power but he was not using his position in order to serve himself. Instead used his leadership to serve the people and he accomplished a great deliverance that saved the lives of multitudes of people from starvation.

Jesus was a Servant

Matthew 20:25-28 (NIV)

²⁵ Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.

²⁶ Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,

²⁷ and whoever wants to be first must be your slave--

²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Unbelievers will typically vie for political office so that they can serve themselves and gain power over others. But Jesus said that this is not the way it should be for believers. Those leaders appointed by God were to be “servants of all” just as Jesus did not come to be served but to serve others and give his life as a ransom for many.

This is the reason that the Lord will spend decades preparing a leader and chastising him with circumstances just as he did with Joseph in slavery and in prison. Joseph had to be prepared so that he could handle the power and wealth of his position without being corrupted by it.

The same was also true of King David who came from humble beginnings as a shepherd boy.

2 Samuel 7:8 (NIV)

⁸ "Now then, tell my servant David, 'This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over my people Israel.

David was prepared as a shepherd boy and he was also tested by unjust treatment given to him by the jealous King Saul who sought to kill him and caused David to flee to the wilderness areas living as a fugitive. In the right time and season David was promoted by God to become king but by then he had spent years under God’s discipline and character building and David had become hardened to difficulties by the unjust treatment and hardships and nomadic lifestyle which he led.

Ecclesiastes 10:16 (CJB)

¹⁶ Woe to you, land, when your king is a child, and your leaders start their parties in the morning!

This scripture can be used to illustrate that if a leader has not been chastised by God’s rod of circumstances (and has not passed through character development) then it is as if that person is still a child or a baby (despite their chronological age). If a king is a “child” then this speaks of them being selfish like a baby and crying out to be bottle-fed and carried everywhere and having everyone serve them. If the civil leaders start having parties of self-indulgence in the morning this means they are being gluttons and drunkards.

Deuteronomy 21:18-21 (NIV)

¹⁸ If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him,

¹⁹ his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town.

²⁰ They shall say to the elders, "This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a profligate and a drunkard."

²¹ Then all the men of his town shall stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.

Being a drunkard and glutton speaks when people are not eating for the proper reason but only for self-indulgence.

Ecclesiastes 10:17 (7KB)

¹⁷ Blessed are you, O land, whose king is of nobility and whose princes eat at the appropriate time—for strength for their work and not (for gluttony) and drunkenness.

A noble leader (like Joseph) would eat at the proper time to gain strength to do his work as a leader rather than sitting around having a gluttony party at the expense of others just because he was in charge and could take everything for himself. The selfish nature of a “self-serving” leader shows indication that such leaders have not been chastised by God as a son and have had no character development and were not hardened by difficulties in order to qualify them for leadership.

The fact that King Saul was a Benjamite is an example of how undisciplined men are unfit for leadership in God’s sight. King Saul was a (descendant of a spoiled son Benjamin) and the fact that he was taking everything from everyone and he viewed his position as a means of being served shows how spoiled and selfish he really was.

God allowed King Saul to reign only to show the people what it is like to have a self-serving man as a leader. The biblical written record of King Saul speaks to all following generations about what happens when a man becomes a leader (who was not first disciplined by God’s chastisement).

This is a great contrast to Joseph (the firstborn son of Rachel) who was chastised by God and had his character developed as a slave and as a prisoner. Such a man was refined by circumstances and hardened by difficulties. Joseph was prepared by God in advance so that he would not fall after he was promoted to leadership.

David is also a contrast to King Saul because David was trained by tending sheep and was later hardened by living a lifestyle of a fugitive. This prepared David to qualify as a king so that he did not fall out like Saul later did.

God still hardens his leaders using circumstances to discipline them and to develop their character. If they run away from hard circumstances instead of overcoming, they will disqualify themselves from future leadership and God will have to choose someone else.

1 Samuel 13:12-14 (NLT2)

¹² So I said, ‘The Philistines are ready to march against us at Gilgal, and I haven’t even asked for the LORD’s help!’ So, I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering myself before you came.”

¹³ “How foolish!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you. Had you kept it, the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever.

¹⁴ But now your kingdom must end, for the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart. The LORD has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD’s command.”

If Saul would have operated in complete and unfailing obedience to God then God could have established his kingdom over Israel forever. This does not mean that it was God’s will to do that because God already knew in his foreknowledge that Saul would fall out even before he was elected as King of Israel. This is just saying that anyone who is unfailing in obedience to God could have the opportunity of having an unfailing dynasty before God. David was that sort of man because David was hardened to difficulties and he was tested by unjust treatment and he had character development many years before he assumed the role of king. David was obedient to God in all things (except the affair with Bathsheba). David did not sin against God directly by disobeying any of God’s instructions for him. Therefore, David received an eternal dynasty through Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah who was born of the lineage of King David. Jesus now holds the position of King of kings and Lord of lords for all eternity.

Jesus himself learned obedience by the things which he suffered and did not do his own will but only preformed the specific will of the heavenly Father.

Over and over again God has given testimony that those whom God appoints as leaders are those who are first hardened to difficulties and have character development. But if a potential leader runs away and avoids such discipline then they are like a feral boy who runs wild without parental discipline. If such undisciplined people ever gain political office or places of leadership, they will be a “disaster” because they only want to be served like a spoiled child.

The bible has much to teach about character development and these subjects comprise the main topics taught by Apostles and Prophets (who set things in order). If a congregation of believers only has ministry from a pastor, they will receive nothing except the milk of exhortation and comfort. This will not help them change or grow or have character development and so they will not enter their Promised Land. They will be like the spoiled Israelites who were always complaining and failing every test and were disqualified to receive the good things God had in store for them.

This issue of character development is serous indeed because without character development they will not enter the kingdom of God. The bible speaks much about overcoming and only those who overcome on earth will enter paradise.

See the link “Overcoming Christian” for more details.

A man who is appointed into his leadership role by God will not be insecure because he knows that God placed him into that office and only God can remove him. David displayed this same attitude even when his spoiled son Absalom was trying to destroy him and seize the throne for himself.

2 Samuel 15:25-26 (NIV)

²⁵ Then the king said to Zadok, "Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the LORD's eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again.

²⁶ But if he says, 'I am not pleased with you,' then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him."

When David left Jerusalem (being pursued by Absalom) he said that if it was God’s will that he would continue to be king then God would bring it to pass. But if God said he was no longer pleased with David then David said he was ready to accept God’s will also. David was not defending his throne like the jealous King Saul trying to defend is position of being served as a king. David trusted in the Lord for retaining his kingdom and was not insecure and jealous of others for this reason.

Again, both David and Saul are great contrasts because one was prepared for leadership and hardened by circumstances while the other was not. One depended on God for promotion and the other attacked even faithful people out of fear of losing his control. David served the people as a nation and was a nation builder but Saul was only defending himself and his desire to be served as a king.

Benjamin Types and Joseph-Types of Leaders

The two men by Rachel’s tomb speaks of the Benjamin-types and the Joseph-types of leaders. The Benjamin-types are the leaders who were spoiled and undisciplined and expect to be served just as their mother (or passive father) had always done for them as children. The Joseph-types were those hardened to difficulties by the things that they suffered. They were tested by circumstances and had their character developed. Such men are completely obedient to God and do not leave or quit or run away under discipline. Joseph-types will overcome and qualify to be a leader chosen by God. Such leaders are those who are “nation-builders” and who make leadership decisions for the long-term benefit of the people whom they lead.

One type of leader serves only themselves and the other type of leader serves those whom he leads. This later type is the “Joseph-type” of leader and these men are an example for all future leaders to follow. Only these men who were prepared by God in advance are qualified to be leaders for the Lord.

Running Away from God’s Discipline

Often God will place a believer in a difficult job or have them work with difficult people for the purpose of character development and to expose areas of their hearts that need to be repented of. But if they quit such a job or run away every time that they find themselves in a difficult place then they will fail the test. The Israelites in the wilderness were failing their tests repeatedly by murmuring and complaining and fault finding and even blaming God every time they faced a difficult situation. They wanted to quit and go back to Egypt again but after repeatedly failing their tests they were finally rejected by God. All of those who were old enough to know better (age 20 and above) were all rejected by God. These rejected people suffered the fate of dying of old age while wandering in the wilderness in aimless manner without ever entering their Promised Land.

The same thing can happen to any believer who habitually resists God and runs away from difficult situations and refuses the discipline of the Lord. When they are rejected by God, they will become like a feral boy running wild and living in the bush without parents or guidance or care. Such people will not enter their Promised Land which God has intended for them. They will die of old age wandering in the wasteland as a “feral-boy” who had gone wild and has rejected the discipline of their heavenly Father.

3. Wandering Donkeys

1 Samuel 10:2 (NLT2)

. . . They will tell you that the donkeys have been found and that your father has stopped worrying about them and is now worried about you . . .

When people have no leader, they can be compared to a wild donkey that has no master and just wanders around in aimless manner. People need a leader who can see the big picture and unify the people toward a national goal and purpose. When the donkeys had been found, this represents that the donkeys have come under the leadership of having an owner again. In the same way when Saul was anointed by Samuel as the first King of Israel then the people (previously wandering like aimless donkeys) were now found because they came under the guidance of a national leader.

When Kish stopped worrying about the donkeys that speaks of God having seen that a leader has been anointed and that leader can now unify the people for their own good as a nation. When Kish stopped worrying about the donkeys and started to worry about his son Saul instead that speaks of God moving his focus off of the formerly aimless (donkey-type) people and now placing his focus on Saul as the leader. If Saul would have proven to be 100% obedient to God and completely reliable then he may have had the opportunity to have his dynasty continue forever (just as the dynasty of David was later). If God can find a man who is 100% obedient then God can take care of an entire nation of people easily. God only has to give directions to civil servant (like a king) then this king and his administration staff can carry out God’s orders and thus unify and lead and entire nation of people. But if the same king fails to obey God completely then it is as if a human has denied God from having influence over a nation and therefore the leadership of that nation has slipped into human origin as a result. A disobedient king like Saul actually “denies” God the right of having leadership over a nation! If a civil leader picks and chooses what he will obey then in fact he is running the country rather than God! God cannot have such men as leaders who rule for themselves and deny God from access in guiding a nation. It is for this reason that King Saul was removed from office and was disqualified from having his dynasty continue after him. God replaced Saul with King David because David was a man after God’s own heart and had proven that he could be trusted to be 100% obedient in everything God told him to do as a leader.

1 Samuel 13:13-14 (NIV2011)

¹³ “You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.

¹⁴ But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the LORD’s command.”

King Saul was not faithful to obey God completely in everything God instructed so therefore Saul was usurping leadership over the nation away from God because of his disobedience. If Saul had been completely faithful and obedient to God then he had the potential to have been given an enduring kingdom by God. But because of the disobedience of King Saul he disqualified himself and his dynasty was therefore brought to an end. God removed Saul because of his disobedience and replaced Saul with King David who was proven to be a man after God’s own heart who would do everything God commanded him. Therefore, God was able to rule over the nation of Israel because God could communicate his will to David and David would carry out God’s instructions without deviation. It is disobedience to God which will disqualify a man from leadership and will cancel his enduring dynasty after him when he fails to obey God.

Jeroboam Lost Enduring Kingdom

Another example of this is with King Jeroboam the first king over the ten-tribes of Israel. When Solomon fell-out with God over engaging in idolatry then God removed ten-tribes from the dynasty of Solomon and gave them to his servant Jeroboam. This Jeroboam could have had the opportunity to receive an enduring kingdom from God as well if he would have been obedient to God’s commands.

1 Kings 11:29-36 (NIV)

²⁹ About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country,

³⁰ and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces.

³¹ Then he said to Jeroboam, "Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon's hand and give you ten tribes.

³² But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe.

³³ I will do this because they have forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molech the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in my ways, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my statutes and laws as David, Solomon's father, did.

³⁴ " 'But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon's hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who observed my commands and statutes.

³⁵ I will take the kingdom from his son's hands and give you ten tribes.

³⁶ I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name.

God removed ten tribes away for the backslidden Solomon and gave these ten-tribes to Jeroboam.

1 Kings 11:37-38 (NIV)

³⁷ However, as for you, I will take you, and you will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over Israel.

³⁸ If you do whatever I command you and walk in my ways and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you.

God promised to make Jeroboam the ruler over all Israel (the northern ten-tribes). If Jeroboam would do whatever God would command him and would walk in God’s ways and do what is right in the sight of the Lord and keep God’s statues and commands (as David had done) then God would have built Jeroboam an enduring dynasty just like he did for David. But Jeroboam proved that he was not faithful to God as King David had been.

False Religion Instigated by Jeroboam

1 Kings 12:26-30 (NIV)

²⁶ Jeroboam thought to himself, "The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David.

²⁷ If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam."

²⁸ After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt."

²⁹ One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan.

³⁰ And this thing became a sin; the people went even as far as Dan to worship the one there.

Jeroboam did not display any faith toward God for retaining his kingdom but instead thought to invent his own false religion to replace the worship of God. He wanted to keep the people from going to Jerusalem for worship fearing they might revert back again to his rival Rehoboam son of Solomon. Therefore, he made to false idols and set one up at Dan and the other at Bethel to keep his people from going to worship in Jerusalem. This was a bad leadership decision because idolatry brings a curse and this resulted in the end of the dynasty of Jeroboam who was intentionally leading the people away from the God of Israel.

1 Kings 14:7-9 (NIV)

⁷ Go, tell Jeroboam that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I raised you up from among the people and made you a leader over my people Israel.

⁸ I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, but you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commands and followed me with all his heart, doing only what was right in my eyes.

⁹ You have done more evil than all who lived before you. You have made for yourself other gods, idols made of metal; you have provoked me to anger and thrust me behind your back.

Jeroboam did evil in the sight of God even after God had raised him up to be a king over the ten-northern tribes. God removed ten-tribes from Solomon because of Solomon engaging in idolatry but then Jeroboam also engaged in idolatry after he became king over these ten-tribes! Jeroboam created a long-lasting false religion that continued for generations after him and sent many people to hell for this curse of idol-worship!

1 Kings 14:10-11 (NIV)

¹⁰ " 'Because of this, I am going to bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam. I will cut off from Jeroboam every last male in Israel--slave or free. I will burn up the house of Jeroboam as one burns dung, until it is all gone.

¹¹ Dogs will eat those belonging to Jeroboam who die in the city, and the birds of the air will feed on those who die in the country. The LORD has spoken!'

God brought disaster upon Jeroboam and cut off every one of his descendants and terminating his future dynasty forever! Again, Jeroboam could have had the opportunity for an enduring kingdom if he had only trusted God and obeyed his commands. But Jeroboam invented his own false religion instead as a plan to retain his kingdom for himself but he ended up losing everything as a result! His kingdom was destroyed and his dynasty ended and he died and entered the eternal torment in hell because of this sin of idolatry against God!

Human Freewill Verses Following God’s Will

Humans have been given a free-choice and if they use their human freewill against God and do their own thing then they will curse themselves and bring about their own destruction. God looks for obedient men like David who will lead a nation in the worship of God and following God’s laws. If any man chooses to live his own life and do his own thing (running off like a stray donkey) then God cannot use them. History shows that self-serving leaders will have their dynasties removed by God and they will bring judgment upon themselves.

4. God is looking for an Obedient Son

1 Samuel 10:2 (NLT2)

. . . He is asking, ‘Have you seen my son?’

The fact of the matter is that God is looking or an obedient son who will carry out God’s plans and purposes on earth rather than his own human plans. God raised up Saul but he fell out when he refused to obey God’s instructions. God then raised up David as a leader and he was faithful to follow God’s plans. David’s son Solomon started off good but later in life his heart was led astray by his pagan wives and he engaged in idolatry. God then removed ten-tribes from Solomon and gave them to his servant Jeroboam. But Jeroboam also proved unfaithful and invented a false religion and lead his people astray into idolatry. God is searching for a leader who will be an “obedient” son (just as David proved himself to be). But again, David suffered a lot of character development being persecuted and treated unjustly and living a life of a fugitive for years before he became king. These hard times developed the character of King David and hardened him for difficulties and prepared him to be a great leader who was pleasing in the sight of God! David received an eternal dynasty as a reward for his faithfulness and obedience to God.

God is still looking for godly leaders but these men must choose to receive God’s discipline of circumstances to develop their character and to test them before they qualify to become a leader. If they run way from difficult times and fail the test repeatedly then they will end up expiring of old age while wandering in the wilderness without ever entering their Promised Land. Those who do not get with God’s program of character development may end of expiring of old age without qualifying for the leadership God had ordained them to have.

God is asking, “Have you seen my Son?” and this refers to God looking for a man who is an obedient son (like David was) who can be trusted to fulfill God’s will as a leader rather than pursuing his own selfish ambitions.

5. Strong Oak Leader

1 Samuel 10:3 (NLT2)

³ “When you get to the oak of Tabor,

Judges 4:6 (NIV)

⁶ She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, "The LORD, the God of Israel, commands you: 'Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead the way to Mount Tabor.

Mount Tabor represents leadership to defeat the enemy and crush the oppressor. During the time of Judges all of the men dropped their leadership and become self-indulgent.

Judges 17:6 (HCSB)

⁶ In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever he wanted.

In the time of Judges there was no king over Israel everyone was doing whatever they wanted. If they wanted your wife our property or anything that was yours then they would simply kill you and take whatever they wanted. The time of the Judges was therefore one of anarchy and lawlessness and violence and disorder. This is an example of what happens to a society when there is no strong leadership to do what is right and unify the people!

It was during the time of the Judges that Deborah rose up to become a judge. This role was thrust upon her as a woman because of the passivity of men who were doing nothing whatsoever for offering leadership. Deborah lived in a nation that was sinking fast so she had to start bailing out the water or she would sink together with the passive men who failed to assume leadership. She did not want to be a leader but had to do something when there were no men available to assume leadership.

It was Deborah who told Barak to bring ten-thousand man to Mount Tabor and lead them in battle against their oppressor.

Judges 4:8-10 (NIV)

⁸ Barak said to her, "If you go with me, I will go; but if you don't go with me, I won't go."

⁹ "Very well," Deborah said, "I will go with you. But because of the way you are going about this, the honor will not be yours, for the LORD will hand Sisera over to a woman." So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh,

¹⁰ where he summoned Zebulun and Naphtali. Ten thousand men followed him, and Deborah also went with him.

This is poor leadership when a man asked a woman to go with him to hold his hand like a frightened child. Barak was not being a strong leader so he would receive no glory in that battle and therefore the enemy commander Sisera was given over to a woman who put him to death while he was asleep.

Mount Tabor Represents Strong Leadership

Mount Tabor speaks of leadership and the oak of Tabor speaks of a strong man (strong as an oak tree) who would assume leadership to unify the people against enemy oppression.

Judges 4:3 (NIV2011)

³ Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the LORD for help.

Israel was being cruelly oppressed by Sisera with an alien military force which employed 900-chariots fitted with iron. The Israelites suffered this oppression for 20-years and finally cried out to God for relief when they could stand it no more! That is when God moved upon Deborah to tell Barak to assemble ten-thousand men and lead them to Mount Tabor to fight the enemy.

People need a leader to save them when they are being cruelly oppressed.

Judges 4:12-13 (NIV2011)

¹² When they told Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor,

¹³ Sisera summoned from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River all his men and his nine hundred chariots fitted with iron.

When Sisera (the oppressor) heard about Barak leading and army to Mount Tabor then he assembled his military and went on the offensive toward Mount Tabor.

Judges 4:14-16 (NIV2011)

¹⁴ Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the LORD has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the LORD gone ahead of you?” So Barak went down Mount Tabor, with ten thousand men following him.

¹⁵ At Barak’s advance, the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot.

¹⁶ Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim, and all Sisera’s troops fell by the sword; not a man was left.

Barak broke the leadership void when he took action but he did nothing until he was told to do so by a woman and even asked that this woman go with him (as if he was a little boy and wanted his mother to hold his hand). But when Barak took action and assumed leadership then God brought about a great deliverance and the entire enemy army that had been oppressing Israel was completely destroyed!

Saul’s Anointing for Leadership

1 Samuel 10:3 (NLT2)

³ “When you get to the oak of Tabor

The Prophet Samuel spoke of Saul arriving at the Oak of Tabor. This is symbolic of Saul arriving at the position of becoming a leader and a deliverer for Israel just as Barak (inspired by Deborah) finally filled the leadership void and rallied the men to go forth and destroy their oppressor Sisera.

1 Samuel 11:5-9 (NIV)

⁵ Just then Saul was returning from the fields, behind his oxen, and he asked, "What is wrong with the people? Why are they weeping?" Then they repeated to him what the men of Jabesh had said.

⁶ When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he burned with anger.

⁷ He took a pair of oxen, cut them into pieces, and sent the pieces by messengers throughout Israel, proclaiming, "This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not follow Saul and Samuel." Then the terror of the LORD fell on the people, and they turned out as one man.

⁸ When Saul mustered them at Bezek, the men of Israel numbered three hundred thousand and the men of Judah thirty thousand.

⁹ They told the messengers who had come, "Say to the men of Jabesh Gilead, 'By the time the sun is hot tomorrow, you will be delivered.'" When the messengers went and reported this to the men of Jabesh, they were elated.

The first battle that Saul engaged in was that against the Ammonites who were then oppressing the Israelites in the town of Jabesh Gilead. The anger of the Lord came upon Saul and mustered 330,000 men to follow him into battle against the Ammonites.

1 Samuel 11:11 (NIV)

¹¹ The next day Saul separated his men into three divisions; during the last watch of the night they broke into the camp of the Ammonites and slaughtered them until the heat of the day. Those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

The Lord granted a smashing victory against the Ammonite oppressors and they were completely defeated by Saul and his army. Saul provided the leadership needed to rally his men against the enemy and this is an example of the anointing of God for leadership!

1 Samuel 14:47-48 (NIV)

⁴⁷ After Saul had assumed rule over Israel, he fought against their enemies on every side: Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment on them.

⁴⁸ He fought valiantly and defeated the Amalekites, delivering Israel from the hands of those who had plundered them.

Saul assumed leadership over Israel and mustered the army and fought against all of the alien nations that had formerly been oppressing Israel. Saul fought against the nations of Moab, Ammon, Edom, Zobah and the Philistines and inflicted punishment upon them. He fought valiantly and defeated the “pirate-race” of the Amalekites delivering Israel from the hands of those who were plundering them. This is the anointing of God for leadership to put an end to oppression so God’s people could live in freedom and peace.

The Oak of Tabor represents the anointing of God for leadership just as Barak also mustered 10,000-men to Mount Tabor to destroy their oppressor Sisera and his alien army.

6. Three men Speaks of God

1 Samuel 10:3 (NLT2)

³ “When you get to the oak of Tabor, you will see three men coming toward you who are on their way to worship God at Bethel.

1 Samuel 11:6 (NIV)

⁶ When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he burned with anger.

The Spirit of God came upon Saul and he burned with anger when he heard of the terrible oppression of the Ammonites against the children of Israel. This was a holy anger imparted by the Spirit of God rather than natural human anger. This holy anger was not derived from human emotions but instead was imparted by the Spirit of God to provoke Saul to assume leadership and go and destroy the Ammonite oppressors!

When Saul came to the Oak of Tabor this speaks of being strong for war to receive the anointing of God for leadership to destroy the oppressors! At this time, he would see three men coming toward him and this represents the Trinity of God.

Trinity of God

Genesis 18:1-2 (NIV)

¹ The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day.

² Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.

When God appeared to Abraham it was in the form of three men which represent the Trinity of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit which are three separate entities but at the same time, they comprise one God.

Saul would have three-men approach him at the Oak of Tabor and this speaks of the power of God in the full Trinity coming upon Saul for his leadership to rally the men to destroy the enemy oppressors. God is involved with civil leadership and provides his anointing upon obedient civil leaders so they can defeat oppressors and set the people free.

7. House of God

1 Samuel 10:3 (NLT2)

. . . who are on their way to worship God at Bethel.

Genesis 28:16-19 (NASB)

¹⁶ Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it."

¹⁷ He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

¹⁸ So Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on its top.

¹⁹ He called the name of that place Bethel; however, previously the name of the city had been Luz.

Bethel means the house of God. In this place Jacob had his first encounter with God and God spoke to him here.

Genesis 28:10-15 (NASB)

¹⁰ Then Jacob departed from Beersheba and went toward Haran.

¹¹ He came to a certain place and spent the night there, because the sun had set; and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head, and lay down in that place.

¹² He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

¹³ And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants.

¹⁴ "Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

¹⁵ "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

God vowed that he would multiply the descendants of Jacob exceedingly and he would give the land which he was lying on to them. God also promised to be with Jacob and bring him back to this land again. All of this interaction with God provides a revelation that God is involved in the affairs of mankind on earth and God has appointed the boundaries of their human habitation.

Acts 17:26-27 (NLT2)

²⁶ From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.

²⁷ “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us.

This is why God anoints civil leaders (kings) with divine authority to destroy those who oppress God’s people. The land given to the descendants of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob belongs only to the Israelites (the rightful heirs) whose land was given to them by God. They therefore have full authority to defend their own land from invasion and to destroy any oppressors who harm or plunder God’s people within their own land.

To worship God is related to fulfilling the plans and purposes of God upon the earth for all humanity to come to the knowledge of God and to fulfill God’s purpose on the earth which include then Nation of Israel fully possessing the land within her borders as described by God. When the children of Israel come into God’s full blessing then they also open the door for God’s blessing to come upon all of the Gentile nations on earth.

Bethel was a place of communication with God and is called the house of God. It was the responsibility of Saul as the first King of Israel to defend and protect the land over which he was placed as king. He was to unify his people for defense to put a stop to evil aggression and the oppressors who plundered God’s people without mercy. Thus, the nation would be free to worship God just as what occurred after David finished the destruction of all oppressors so that there was no enemy remaining. This enabled his son Solomon to build a nation in peace and it was Solomon who built the first temple at Jerusalem for the worship of the God of Israel.

1 Kings 5:2-5 (NIV)

² Solomon sent back this message to Hiram:

³ "You know that because of the wars waged against my father David from all sides, he could not build a temple for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD put his enemies under his feet.

⁴ But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or disaster.

⁵ I intend, therefore, to build a temple for the Name of the LORD my God, as the LORD told my father David, when he said, 'Your son whom I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for my Name.'

After David put the enemies of God’s people under his feet and had full-dominion over them only then did David create the “peace by war” needed for his son Solomon to build his nation. After David destroyed every adversary and all oppressors were vanquished then the nation of Israel had lasting peace with which they could build their nation. The nation of Israel rose to its highest zenith of peace and prosperity under the reign of Solomon whose national progress was not impeded by wars or adversary or plunderers. Saul started the wars against the adversaries but it was David who completed this task and totally vanquished all who had formerly plundered Israel. Peace was won by war and both Saul and David were anointed by God as divine “warriors” to destroy those who oppressed God’s people the Jews.

This is how the house of God was built in Jerusalem by Solomon who had the “peace” needed to build which was a result of the successful wars waged by his father David before him.

8. Complete Salvation

1 Samuel 10:3 (NLT2)

. . . One will be bringing three young goats. . .

Three is the number of “completion” just as there are three-levels in Noah’s ark and three persons within the Trinity of God and Jesus paid a complete price for sin by suffering for a full three days and three nights in hell. There are numerous biblical examples of the number “three” being a number of completion. This number can also be related to the three young goats representing “complete salvation” just as goats could be used as a sacrifice for sin.

Genesis 3:21 (NIV)

²¹ The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.

This speaks of the first sacrifice after humans fell into sin under the instigation of Eve’s woman leadership. The innocent animal died for the guilty humans and God used the hide of the animal sacrifice to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve after they fell into transgression (speaking of covering of sin by the blood until the time of redemption came when Jesus offered his blood for the redemption of all humanity.

Exodus 12:5-7 (NASB)

⁵ 'Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.

⁶ 'You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight.

⁷ 'Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.

The Passover lamb was taken from either the sheep or the goats and the blood of this animal sacrifice was applied to the doorposts of the homes of the Israelites. This caused the death Angel to pass over them and they had no one die within that marked house. This speaks of the blood of the Lamb Jesus who was sacrificed for the sin off all humanity so they could be saved from spiritual death.

John 1:29 (NIV)

²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

John the Baptist looked upon Jesus and said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the whole world.” This is “complete salvation” from sin and sickness and all of the effects of the curse caused by sin.

1 Corinthians 5:7 (NLT2)

⁷ Get rid of the old “yeast” by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us.

Christ was the Passover Lamb sacrificed for all humanity so that whoever would call upon his Name would receive the free gift of eternal life.

Salvation from sin and sickness are parts of the redemption but also salvation from oppressors is something that God has anointed a civil leader like Saul in order to set his nation free from oppressors. The three young goats speak of “complete salvation” which includes the anointing of God upon Saul as a leader to set his people free from oppression.

9. Bread of God’s Word

1 Samuel 10:3 (NLT2)

. . . another will have three loaves of bread . . .

Three is the number of completion and bread speaks of the word of God.

Deuteronomy 8:3 (NLT2)

³ Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

Joseph was type of leader who provided bread for the nations and so also the Jewish race provided the bread of God’s word given to Moses to the Nation of Israel on Mount Sinai.

Concerning Saul as a civil leader his duty was to free the nation of oppressors who plundered the people and left them impoverished!

Judges 6:1-6 (NKJV)

¹ Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian for seven years,

² and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel. Because of the Midianites, the children of Israel made for themselves the dens, the caves, and the strongholds which are in the mountains.

³ So it was, whenever Israel had sown, Midianites would come up; also Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them.

⁴ Then they would encamp against them and destroy the produce of the earth as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep nor ox nor donkey.

⁵ For they would come up with their livestock and their tents, coming in as numerous as locusts; both they and their camels were without number; and they would enter the land to destroy it.

⁶ So Israel was greatly impoverished because of the Midianites, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD.

The Midianites were one of the oppressors who would invade the land of Israel to completely destroy it. They would leave no sustenance for Israel, neither sheep nor ox nor donkey and destroyed all of the food of the land to leave the Israelites to face starvation.

Judges 6:11 (NKJV)

¹¹ Now the Angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites.

Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress in order to hide it from the Midianites who would either steal or destroy all food of the Israelites that they could find.

So, in this sense three loaves of bread represent a complete supply of food since three is the number of completion and God anointed King Saul to set the people free from oppression so they could keep the fruit of their own labor without it being plundered or destroyed by oppressors.

10. Healing for the Nation

1 Samuel 10:3 (NLT2)

. . . and the third will be carrying a wineskin full of wine.

The anointing of King Saul represents healing for the nation because they could never progress toward national greatness as long as they were being “picked-over” by numerous oppressors like a flock of vultures devouring a carcass!

Isaiah 61:1-4 (NIV)

¹ The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,

² to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,

³ and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.

⁴ They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.

Those who would labor all year for nothing only to have their food plundered by pirates were broken hearted and hopeless. King Saul gave them hope of freedom and the ability to keep the fruit of their land which they had produced by their own labor. To rebuild ancient ruins and restore places long devastated speaks of nation building. This was evident during the reign of King Solomon whose nation rose up to great prosperity because of the peace which both Saul and King David had won for the nation by war.

Luke 10:34 (NIV)

³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him.

Wine was used for a disinfectant to cleans wounds and oil keep the skin hydrated in hot dry weather so it could heal. So, this speaks of full wine of healing for humanity provided by the atonement of the Lord.

The wine speaks of healing and pouring wine on a wound can disinfect the wound because of the presence of alcohol created by the fermentation process. Oil keeps the wound from drying out in the desert climate but it also speaks of the anointing of God to heal a nation once plundered and ravaged by war. God’s anointing upon a civil leader like Saul and David to vanquish oppressors and bring peace and prosperity to the nation speaks of healing as represented by the wine.

The third man carrying a wineskin full of wine speaks of the number of completion and the complete healing and restoration of the nation of Israel to make it into the greatest nation on earth during the time of King Solomon. National greatness is based upon peace won by war so that nation builders can build their nation without war and without being plundered by any adversary.

11. Beginning of Deliverance

1 Samuel 10:4 (NLT2)

⁴ They will greet you and offer you two of the loaves, which you are to accept.

Having two of the loaves speaks of the beginning of deliverance. Saul was the first king to fight against the enemies of Israel on every side. He started the wars that worked toward the freedom of his nation but it was brought to completion under the reign of David who conquered every adversary so there was no foe remaining during the time of his son Solomon.

The two loaves also speak of the Son and the Holy Spirit who came to the earth while the heavenly father remained in heaven. The Son later returned to the father but left the Holy Spirit on earth for the believers.

Acts 17:28 (NIV)

²⁸ 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'

The Holy Spirit is similar to the atmosphere around the earth where all inhabitants can live and move and have their being. The Holy Spirit also dwells within the hearts of the believers who are living temples of the Holy Spirit.

Accepting the two loves speaks of the fact that a leader must have the Son for salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit for empowerment. These are the two parts of the trinity represented by the two loaves of bread. The civil leader is to accept these two loaves meaning salvation and baptism of the Holy Spirit so he will be regenerated and have the empowerment of the Spirit for leadership.

12. Enemy Oppression

1 Samuel 10:5 (NASB)

⁵ "Afterward you will come to the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is;

The fact that a garrison of the Philistines is located on God’s hill speaks of oppression where an enemy is oppressing God’s people in their own land. Having the high-ground of a hilltop speaks of the enemy gaining ascendancy over God’s people for oppressing them. It was for this reason God raised up a military leader like Saul (and later David) to fight against oppressors like the Philistines. In this manner, the people of Israel could keep their own agricultural substance for themselves.

13. Prophetic War Initiation

1 Samuel 10:5 (NASB)

. . . and it shall be as soon as you have come there to the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and a lyre before them, and they will be prophesying.

2 Kings 3:9-12 (NIV)

⁹ So the king of Israel set out with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. After a roundabout march of seven days, the army had no more water for themselves or for the animals with them.

¹⁰ "What!" exclaimed the king of Israel. "Has the LORD called us three kings together only to hand us over to Moab?"

¹¹ But Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there no prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the LORD through him?" An officer of the king of Israel answered, "Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah."

¹² Jehoshaphat said, "The word of the LORD is with him." So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

There is a link between the Prophet and the King because God often provided his direction to the King through the Prophets. During a war campaign the king of Judah and the king of Edom and the king of Israel were on route to make war against the nation of Moab. But when they ran out of water for the army and their livestock, they went to the Prophet Elisha to receive direction from God concerning their military campaign against Moab.

2 Kings 3:15-19 (NIV)

¹⁵ But now bring me a harpist." While the harpist was playing, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha

¹⁶ and he said, "This is what the LORD says: Make this valley full of ditches.

¹⁷ For this is what the LORD says: You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink.

¹⁸ This is an easy thing in the eyes of the LORD; he will also hand Moab over to you.

¹⁹ You will overthrow every fortified city and every major town. You will cut down every good tree, stop up all the springs, and ruin every good field with stones."

Elisha had a harpist play worship music to God and when he did so then the word of prophesy came forth from Elisha and he told them to dig ditches in the floor of the valley which would be filled with water for their armies and their livestock to drink. Elisha also prophesied that they would have victory over Moab in this war and reduce the nation of their enemy to complete ruination.

A group of prophets coming from the hill of the Philistine garrison speaks of God coming down from heaven with his prophetic word carried by the Prophets toward King Saul to give him divine direction.

1 Samuel 15:1-3 (NIV)

¹ Samuel said to Saul, "I am the one the LORD sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the LORD.

² This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt.

³ Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.'"

It was the prophet Samuel who gave King Saul divine direction from God and ordered him to take vengeance upon the “pirate race” of Amalekites who had attacked Israel when they first came out of Egypt in the time of Moses. God took vengeance upon the Amalekites for coming against his chosen people Israel and God chose King Saul as the instrument to execute God’s vengeance upon these wicked people.

So, having a group of prophets come down from a hill occupied by the enemy playing instruments and giving prophecy speaks of God using Prophets to give direction to the kings for them to carry out their natural leadership involved with destroying the oppressors of God’s people.

14. Spirit of Prophesy

1 Samuel 10:6 (NLT2)

⁶ At that time the Spirit of the LORD will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them. You will be changed into a different person.

The Spirit of Prophesy is that which comes upon a civil servant to anoint him as a deliverer just as Saul started to deliver Israel from oppression and David finished this task during his lifetime to win peace for the next generation to be free to engage in nation building. War comes before peace because peace is purchased by vanquishing the enemy. Once peace is achieved then a nation can engaged in building and prospering their people. Saul was changed from being a formerly insecure young man into a man of boldness and courage who attacked the Ammonite oppressors and then continued to fight all the oppressors of Israel until the day of his death when he perished in battle. A prophetic word from the Lord can change an ordinary man into someone supernatural just as it did for both Saul and David who were anointed by the Prophet Samuel as civil leaders and kings.

15. Leadership Transformation

1 Samuel 10:7 (NLT2)

. . . After these signs take place, do what must be done, for God is with you.

Once these signs took place then King Saul was transformed from being an ordinary young man into a supernatural leader who was empowered by God to destroy the oppressors of Israel and to see God’s people free. God was with King Saul and helped him in all that he was undertaking. If King Saul had not disobeyed God, he could have had the opportunity to have a lasting dynasty but Saul was rejected by disobedience and this privilege was given to King David who obtained an eternal dynasty as the Lord had promised. But nevertheless, King Saul was the first king of Israel and he began the task of setting God’s people free from oppression. David then carried on the task after Saul died in battle and brought this task to completion thus wining lasting peace for his son Solomon to reign without adversary or trouble. This is how Solomon was able to cause the nation of Israel rise up to it’s Zenith of prosperity making the nation of Israel the richest and most advanced nation on earth!

1 Samuel 14:47-48 (NIV)

⁴⁷ After Saul had assumed rule over Israel, he fought against their enemies on every side: Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment on them.

⁴⁸ He fought valiantly and defeated the Amalekites, delivering Israel from the hands of those who had plundered them.

Again, this speaks of the anointing of King Saul the first king of Israel who was anointed to fight against all of the enemies of Israel on every side. Moab and Ammonites and Edom and the kings of Zobah and the Philistines and the Amalekites and every nation that sought to diminish and plunder and humiliate Israel and leave them destitute and in poverty. Saul began the task of delivering Israel from the hands of those who plundered them. It was the anointing of God that came upon Saul as a civil servant which was given to him to set Israel free.

There is still an anointing for leadership available for both civil leaders (kings) and for spiritual leaders (Prophets) and the anointing of God often works together just as the Prophet Samuel would communicate God’s directions to King Saul who would be the one to implement this direction from God. If God’s leaders submit to God’s discipline as sons and develop character then they also can qualify as leaders for God.