God's Chosen King

God's gift of Saul as Israel's first king tells us something about his provision, his guidance, and his later Great King Jesus. His provision met their needs, as it always does for his children - "Your Father knows". It condescended to their weakness, giving them something to see and hear so they could trust him. The gospel does the same with baptism and the Lord's Supper. He does this in spite of our sin for he is faithful to his word - Christ is given to "the chief of sinners". He guides in providence - donkeys, girls, and a prophet, but that is not enough - we need his Word. He spoke to Samuel, and Samuel conveyed his Word to Saul. That is our only authority (see Westminster Shorter Catechism 2). The Holy Spirit applies it to our individual circumstances. God also gave confirmation. The three signs were proof that God had indeed spoken; they also dealt with his earlier responsibilities, showed God providing for future needs, and gave experience of the Spirit's enabling. The the people chose a king by lot - and the lot fell on Saul. After that the Spirit gave evidence by using Saul to defeat the Ammonites. That is also a picture of a person called to God's service, especially the holy ministry. Saul was God's choice and God's gift - so is Christ. In both cases the purpose is to save his people from their enemies - but Christ saves from sin and death. God attested Saul; and he attested Jesus (Acts 2:22). People were drawn to Saul, as they are to Jesus but for different reasons. The blessings one gave were earthly; the blessings of the other are heavenly.