After Samuel anoints Saul as king and tells him “…do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you”, he doesn’t seem to act much like a king.
First, Saul is asked by his uncle what Samuel said to him. Saul tells him that Samuel assured him the donkeys they were looking for were safe. “But he did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about the kingship.” Maybe he was just being modest, but it seems like you’d at least tell your uncle you were made king.
Later, when Samuel brings all the tribes of Israel together to publicly reveal Saul as king, Saul’s tribe is chosen, then his clan is chosen and finally Saul is chosen, but he’s nowhere to be found. So the people asked God, “Has the man come here yet?”
God tells them, “Yes, he has hidden himself among the baggage.”
Huh? Hiding among the baggage? The king?
After Saul is brought out and presented to the people as the man God has chosen, Saul went to his hometown of Gibeah. When the Ammonites came to fight against the Israelites in Jabesh Gilead, the elders sent messengers throughout Israel. When they reported the news in Saul’s hometown, the people all wept aloud. “Just then Saul was returning from the fields, behind his oxen…”
Why was the king plowing a field? I don’t get it. Now it does say, “When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he burned with anger.” At this point, Saul does take action and the Ammonites are soon defeated.
Still though, I can’t understand what Saul was doing prior to this. Not telling your uncle you’re the king? Hiding when it’s time to be revealed publicly? Plowing behind oxen? Sounds like he never made the mental transition to being king.
Identity effects behavior. Saul didn’t see himself as the king, so he didn’t act like one. If we don’t see ourselves as sons and daughters of the King–adopted, forgiven, holy and blameless, sealed by the Holy Spirit–then we’ll continue to behave like those who don’t even know Christ.
In Christ, we’ve been given a new nature. We’ve been blessed in the heavenly realm with every spiritual blessing. We have claim to the promises of God. He has promised to meet our every need and work everything together for our good. This reality should change how we live, how we make decisions and what’s important to us. No area of life is unaffected.
What do your thoughts, priorities, words and actions reveal about your identity? Do they match up with who you really are or have you not made the full transition to your true identity in Christ?