101 Then Samuel took the flask of oil , poured it on his head , kissed him and said , "Has not the Lord anointed you a ruler over His inheritance ? 2 "When you go from me today , then you will find two men close to Rachel's tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah ; and they will say to you, ' The donkeys which you went to look for have been found . Now behold , your father has ceased to be concerned about the donkeys and is anxious for you, saying , "What shall I do about my son ?"' 3 "Then you will go on further from there , and you will come as far as the oak of Tabor , and there three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you, one carrying three young goats , another carrying three loaves of bread , and another carrying a jug of wine ; 4 and they will greet e you and give you two loaves of bread , which you will accept from their hand . 5 "Afterward e you will come to the hill of God where e the Philistine garrison is; 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 . 6 "Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you mightily , and you shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man . 7 "It shall be when these signs come to you, do for yourself what the occasion requires , for God is with you. 8 "And you shall go down before me to Gilgal ; and behold , I will come down to you to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice peace offerings . You shall wait seven days until I come to you and show you what you should do ."
9 Then it happened when he turned his back to leave e e Samuel , God changed his heart ; and all those signs came about on that day . 10 When they came to the hill there , behold , a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him mightily , so that he prophesied among them. 11 It came about, when all who knew him previously saw that he prophesied now with the prophets , that the people said to one another , "What has happened to the son of Kish ? Is Saul also among the prophets ?" 12 A man there e said , "Now, who is their father ?" Therefore e it became a proverb : " Is Saul also among the prophets ?" 13 When he had finished prophesying , he came to the high place . 14 Now Saul's uncle said to him and his servant , "Where did you go ?" And he said , " To look for the donkeys . When we saw that they could not be found , we went to Samuel ." 15 Saul's uncle said , "Please tell me what Samuel said to you." 16 So Saul said to his uncle , " He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found ." But he did not tell him about the matter of the kingdom which Samuel had mentioned .
17 Thereafter Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah ; 18 and he said to the sons of Israel , " Thus says the Lord , the God of Israel , 'I brought Israel up from Egypt , and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the power of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.' 19 "But you have today rejected your God , who delivers you from all your calamities and your distresses ; yet you have said , 'No , but set a king over us!' Now therefore, present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your clans ." 20 Thus Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near , and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. 21 Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families , and the Matrite family was taken . And Saul the son of Kish was taken ; but when they looked for him, he could not be found . 22 Therefore they inquired further of the Lord , "Has the man come here yet ?" So the Lord said , "Behold , he is hiding himself by the baggage ." 23 So they ran and took him from there , and when he stood among the people , he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward . 24 Samuel said to all the people , "Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen ? Surely there is no one like him among all the people ." So all the people shouted and said , " Long live the king !" 25 Then Samuel told the people the ordinances of the kingdom , and wrote them in the book and placed it before the Lord . And Samuel sent all the people away , each one to his house . 26 Saul also went to his house at Gibeah ; and the valiant men whose hearts God had touched went with him. 27 But certain worthless men said , "How can this one deliver us?" And they despised him and did not bring him any present . But he kept silent .
111 Now Nahash the Ammonite came up and besieged e Jabesh-gilead e ; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash , "Make a covenant with us and we will serve you." 2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, "I will make it with you on this condition, that I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you, thus I will make it a reproach on all Israel ." 3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, "Let us alone for seven days , that we may send messengers throughout the territory of Israel . Then, if there is no one to deliver us, we will come out to you." 4 Then the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and spoke these words in the hearing of the people , and all the people lifted up their voices and wept .
5 Now behold , Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen , and he said , "What is the matter with the people that they weep ?" So they related to him the words of the men of Jabesh . 6 Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul mightily when he heard these words , and he became very angry e . 7 He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces , and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers , saying , " Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel , so shall it be done to his oxen ." Then the dread of the Lord fell on the people , and they came out as one man . 8 He numbered them in Bezek ; and the sons of Israel were 300,000 e e , and the men of Judah 30,000 e . 9 They said to the messengers who had come , "Thus you shall say to the men of Jabesh-gilead e , 'Tomorrow , by the time the sun is hot , you will have deliverance .' " So the messengers went and told the men of Jabesh ; and they were glad . 10 Then the men of Jabesh said , " Tomorrow we will come out to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you." 11 The next morning Saul put the people in three companies ; and they came into the midst of the camp at the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day . Those who survived were scattered , so that no two of them were left together .
12 Then the people said to Samuel , " Who is he that said , 'Shall Saul reign over us?' Bring the men , that we may put them to death ." 13 But Saul said , " Not a man shall be put to death this day , for today the Lord has accomplished deliverance in Israel ." 14 Then Samuel said to the people , "Come and let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there ." 15 So all the people went to Gilgal , and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal . There they also offered sacrifices of peace offerings before the Lord ; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly .
121 Then Samuel said to all Israel , "Behold , I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me and I have appointed a king over you. 2 "Now , here is the king walking before you, but I am old and gray , and behold my sons are with you. And I have walked before you from my youth even to this day . 3 "Here I am; bear witness against me before the Lord and His anointed . Whose ox have I taken , or whose donkey have I taken , or whom have I defrauded ? Whom have I oppressed , or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? I will restore it to you." 4 They said , "You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man's hand ." 5 He said to them, "The Lord is witness against you, and His anointed is witness this day that you have found nothing e in my hand ." And they said , "He is witness ."
6 Then Samuel said to the people , "It is the Lord who appointed Moses and Aaron and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt . 7 "So now , take your stand , that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord which He did for you and your fathers . 8 " When Jacob went into Egypt and your fathers cried out to the Lord , then the Lord sent Moses and Aaron who brought your fathers out of Egypt and settled them in this place . 9 "But they forgot the Lord their God , so He sold them into the hand of Sisera , captain of the army of Hazor , and into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the king of Moab , and they fought against them. 10 " They cried out to the Lord and said , 'We have sinned because we have forsaken the Lord and have served the Baals and the Ashtaroth ; but now deliver us from the hands of our enemies , and we will serve You.' 11 "Then the Lord sent Jerubbaal and Bedan and Jephthah and Samuel , and delivered you from the hands of your enemies all e around , so that you lived in security . 12 "When you saw that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon came against you, you said to me, ' No , but a king shall reign over us,' although the Lord your God was your king . 13 "Now therefore, here is the king whom you have chosen , whom you have asked for, and behold , the Lord has set a king over you. 14 " If you will fear the Lord and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the command of the Lord , then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God . 15 " If you will not listen to the voice of the Lord , but rebel against the command of the Lord , then the hand of the Lord will be against you, as it was against your fathers .
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 . 19 Then all the people said to Samuel , " Pray for your servants to the Lord your God , so that we may not die , for we have added to all our sins this evil by asking for ourselves a king ." 20 Samuel said to the people , "Do not fear . You have committed all this evil , yet do not turn aside from following the Lord , but serve the Lord with all your heart . 21 "You must not turn aside , for then you would go after futile things which can not profit or deliver , because they are futile . 22 "For the Lord will not abandon His people on account of His great name , because the Lord has been pleased e to make you a people for Himself. 23 "Moreover , as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and right way . 24 " Only fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart ; for consider what great things He has done for you. 25 " But if you still do wickedly , both you and your king will be swept away ."
37 On the next day , when they came down from the mountain , a large crowd met Him. 38 And a man from the crowd shouted , saying , "Teacher , I beg You to look at my son , for he is my only boy, 39 and a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly screams , and it throws him into a convulsion with foaming at the mouth; and only with difficulty does it leave him, mauling him as it leaves . 40 "I begged Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not." 41 And Jesus answered and said , "You unbelieving and perverted generation , how long e shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here ." 42 While he was still approaching , the demon slammed him to the ground and threw him into a convulsion . But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit , and healed the boy and gave him back to his father .
43 And they were all amazed at the greatness of God . But while everyone was marveling at all that He was doing , He said to His disciples ,
44 "Let these words sink into your ears ; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men ." 45 But they did not understand this statement , and it was concealed from them so that they would not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this statement .
46 An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest . 47 But Jesus , knowing what they were thinking in their heart , took a child and stood him by His side , 48 and said to them, " Whoever e receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever e receives Me receives Him who sent Me; for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great ."
49 John answered and said , " Master , we saw someone casting out demons in Your name ; and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow along with us." 50 But Jesus said to him, "Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is for you."
51 When the days were approaching for His ascension , He was determined to go to Jerusalem ; 52 and He sent messengers on ahead e of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. 53 But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem . 54 When His disciples James and John saw this, they said , "Lord , do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" 55 But He turned and rebuked them, [and said , "You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; 56 for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives , but to save them."] And they went on to another village .
57 As they were going along the road , someone said to Him, "I will follow You wherever e You go ." 58 And Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests , but the Son of Man has nowhere e to lay His head ." 59 And He said to another , " Follow Me." But he said , "Lord , permit me first to go and bury my father ." 60 But He said to him, "Allow the dead to bury their own dead ; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God ." 61 Another also said , "I will follow You, Lord ; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home ." 62 But Jesus said to him, " No one , after putting his hand to the plow and looking back , is fit for the kingdom of God ."
(Read Luke 9:37-42)
How deplorable the case of this child! He was under the power of an evil spirit. Disease of that nature are more frightful than such as arise merely from natural causes. What mischief Satan does where he gets possession! But happy those that have access to Christ! He can do that for us which his disciples cannot. A word from Christ healed the child; and when our children recover from sickness, it is comfortable to receive them as healed by the hand of Christ.
(Read Luke 9:43-50)
This prediction of Christ's sufferings was plain enough, but the disciples would not understand it, because it agreed not with their notions. A little child is the emblem by which Christ teaches us simplicity and humility. What greater honour can any man attain to in this world, than to be received by men as a messenger of God and Christ; and to have God and Christ own themselves received and welcomed in him! If ever any society of Christians in this world, had reason to silence those not of their own communion, the twelve disciples at this time had; yet Christ warned them not to do the like again. Those may be found faithful followers of Christ, and may be accepted of him, who do not follow with us.
(Read Luke 9:51-56)
The disciples did not consider that the conduct of the Samaritans was rather the effect of national prejudices and bigotry, than of enmity to the word and worship of God; and through they refused to receive Christ and his disciples, they did not ill use or injure them, so that the case was widely different from that of Ahaziah and Elijah. Nor were they aware that the gospel dispensation was to be marked by miracles of mercy. But above all, they were ignorant of the prevailing motives of their own hearts, which were pride and carnal ambition. Of this our Lord warned them. It is easy for us to say, Come, see our zeal for the Lord! and to think we are very faithful in his cause, when we are seeking our own objects, and even doing harm instead of good to others.
(Read Luke 9:57-62)
Here is one that is forward to follow Christ, but seems to have been hasty and rash, and not to have counted the cost. If we mean to follow Christ, we must lay aside the thoughts of great things in the world. Let us not try to join the profession of Christianity, with seeking after worldly advantages. Here is another that seems resolved to follow Christ, but he begs a short delay. To this man Christ first gave the call; he said to him, Follow me. Religion teaches us to be kind and good, to show piety at home, and to requite our parents; but we must not make these an excuse for neglecting our duty to God. Here is another that is willing to follow Christ, but he must have a little time to talk with his friends about it, and to set in order his household affairs, and give directions concerning them. He seemed to have worldly concerns more upon his heart than he ought to have, and he was willing to enter into a temptation leading him from his purpose of following Christ. No one can do any business in a proper manner, if he is attending to other things. Those who begin with the work of God, must resolve to go on, or they will make nothing of it. Looking back, leads to drawing back, and drawing back is to perdition. He only that endures to the end shall be saved.
