Draft Dodger (1 Samuel 10:17-27)

A pro sport draft ceremony is always quite an event. As the names are called, there’s celebration for some, disappointment for others. Especially during that first round of picks, eyes and ears are glued to the podium, waiting to hear who it is that is destined for fame and fortune.

The 2007 NFL draft was no exception. In the first round, before Adrian Peterson or Marshawn Lynch, or Patrick Willis were chosen, the Cleveland Browns drafted Joe Thomas.^[1]

At 6 foot, 6 inches tall, Joe was known as one of the most intimidating lineman out there.^[2] But when his name was called, he didn’t take the stage. He was 900 miles away on Lake Michigan. He knew he was going to be picked, but was not interested in the theatrics of draft day.

Leading up to the ceremony, the NFL piled on the pressure. They said “You have to come! Nobody’s ever turned this down.”^[3] But Joe said he’d rather be fishing with his dad than smiling for the cameras. And so, the NFL sent the cameras to him. A team recorded his fishing trip so they could get the moment he received the call from Cleveland. It was an unusual situation for the NFL.

In this text we see something unprecedented. All Israel comes together, before God Himself, Who miraculously superintends the selection of the nation’s first king. At multiple points, God speaks to the people through His prophet, Samuel. This is a dramatic and historic event.

But when the name is finally called, Saul is nowhere to be found. It’s not a good look for Saul. But it’s not Saul we really want to focus on this morning. It’s the people of Israel. Saul’s behavior might be awkward, even foreshadowing the inadequacy of his ability to rule, but the people’s behavior is beyond awkward. They’re so excited, thinking they’ve gained a king, but they don’t realize what it will cost. They didn’t realize weren’t only crowning Saul that day. But Ahab and Jeroboam and Manasseh and Athaliah, and so many others who would bring pain and ruin and defeat and judgment on the nation. They weren’t only choosing a leader, they were choosing a future.

Our lives are full of kingdom choices. Full of concerns and worries and decisions, but the choices are really about which kingdom we’re pursuing. When we seek the Kingdom of God, He is able to work all things together for the good. But when we seek another kingdom, though we might think it’s a good idea in the short term, in the long run we are choosing trouble, affliction, and captivity.

Now, if you were here last week, perhaps you’re thinking, “Wait a minute: Last Sunday you said Saul was a changed man, full of God’s Spirit, and on a track to deliver Israel from her enemies.” And that’s true. But if you know the Saul story, you know he vacillates and ultimately ends in spiritual and physical tragedy. Throughout chapters 8 through 12, our author purposefully alternates between presenting him and the monarchy first in negative terms, then in positive terms, and back again.^[4] Today we’ve got a decidedly negative narrative as Saul tries to avoid coronation.

1 Samuel 10:17-19 – ¹⁷ Samuel summoned the people to the LORD at Mizpah ¹⁸ and said to the Israelites, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the power of the Egyptians and all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ ¹⁹ But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and afflictions. You said to him, ‘You must set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and clans.”

This speech is not just Samuel’s two cents. This is God Himself speaking to them. Now, we don’t have a recording, so we can’t hear how it was said that day. But in our own minds we imagine emotion behind the words. We might not even realize we do that, but it’s natural when we read dialogue. Do we think God spoke these things in anger? With malice? Quietly with a broken heart?

God loves His people. For all their history He had made it His business to help them and to protect them and to save them from the trouble they found and trouble they made. And yet, generation after generation they lived up to their name, Israel, which means “he contends with God.”^[5]

They have cast God aside.^[6] As one scholar notes, their demand for a king was a “failure to keep the most basic requirement of covenant with King Yahweh.”^[7] And yet, throughout the scene, the people don’t seem to realize how serious of a mistake this is. They’re celebrating, while God is speaking soberly, even gravely, trying to help them understand what’s really going to happen.

The prophetic speech pattern Samuel uses to deliver God’s message is well known throughout the Old Testament for when a prophet was announcing judgment from God.^[8]

The people said, “We need help. We need to be saved from our enemies. We need a ruler who can fight for us.” So God reminds them that He has been all those things, done all those things, promised all those things, not just theoretically, but actually. From the beginning He was faithful.

Unlike the Philistines or the Amorites, Israel really had a living God. A God Who says, “I’m your God! I have attached Myself to you because I love you!” But they say they want a king. And God says, “You mean like all those other kings who oppressed you and hurt you and killed your children and stole your land and enslaved you?” Yes. Like that. Israel persists in her course away from God.

1 Samuel 10:20-21 – ²⁰ Samuel had all the tribes of Israel come forward, and the tribe of Benjamin was selected. ²¹ Then he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward by its clans, and the Matrite clan was selected. Finally, Saul son of Kish was selected. But when they searched for him, they could not find him.

Probably someone in the crowd leaned over to their neighbor and said, “This is a lot like when God was revealing Achan to be the traitor responsible for our defeat at Ai.”

It was exactly like that. So, you have Samuel speaking just like a prophet does when announcing judgment, then a selection process just like when God was exposing the one who caused a terrible tragedy for Israel. But still, Israel persists. “We know best. We know what we want. Give it to us.”

This process would’ve taken time. The anticipation mounting as each selection narrowed the field. Finally, the name is called. But no one comes to the front. It’s like in The Sound Of Music when the Von Trapps are announced as winners but have run off. Only, we’re glad they don’t show up.

Saul wasn’t escaping Nazis. And he wasn’t 900 miles away on a fishing boat, he’s on site. But he let the moment of obedience pass by. He had been anointed by Samuel. He got the call. But when the time came, he would not answer. He’s so well hidden, they have to ask for an oracle from God!

1 Samuel 10:22 – ²² They again inquired of the LORD, “Has the man come here yet?” The LORD replied, “There he is, hidden among the supplies.”

Supplies is a word that is elsewhere always used in a military context.^[9] The people came ready to start a war against the Philistines. They were convinced that a human king would be ready to fight. But where is their champion? Hiding. Refusing to step up. Their plans are already not working out.

There would be no battle that day. “But we’ve got supplies and plans!” They were mortgaging their spiritual lives because they thought they knew better than God, and what did it get them? On that day all they got was a reluctant king who had no plan and, seemingly, no desire to lead.

1 Samuel 10:23-24 – ²³ They ran and got him from there. When he stood among the people, he stood a head taller than anyone else. ²⁴ Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among the entire population.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

They had to bring him forcibly to the coronation! That’s not a great sign. But finally, there he is. All the people seem to care about is the outward. What a physical specimen! What a tall guy!

They have what they want. But did you notice, even now they do not thank God or praise Him. They don’t bother to say, “Lord, You gave us what we asked for!” They had such a hard-heartedness toward God. Such a numbness to things that really matter.

Do we? Sometimes we don’t realize what’s going on in our hearts. Are we sensitive to spiritual things? Do we consider what God might want for us and from us in this decision, this interaction, this relationship, this opportunity? Are we living and choosing and speaking and reacting based purely on what we want in the moment? Our own plans and designs?

The people are running around trying to get a guy who doesn’t want to be a military king so they can install him as a military king. Meanwhile, God was always willing to walk with them. Day and night, through mountains and valleys. But they didn’t want to submit to His Kingship.

1 Samuel 10:25 – ²⁵ Samuel proclaimed to the people the rights of kingship. He wrote them on a scroll, which he placed in the presence of the LORD. Then Samuel sent all the people home.

All Samuel warned them about in chapter 8 was now law. They put that burden on themselves and their children. Why? Because they allowed their faith in God to become inoperative.

If this were a movie, this is when we’d expect the new king to raise his sword and give a speech to rally the nation together and send them charging across the field to push back the Philistines. But Saul has no speech, no prayer, no plan, no capital, no palace. So they all go home.

But even still, God showed grace and compassion and generosity to Saul and to His people.

1 Samuel 10:26 – ²⁶ Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, and brave men whose hearts God had touched went with him.

Hearts God had touched. What amazing grace this is. The Lord did not have to do this. He could’ve just said, “Good luck surviving when all the nations around you come to destroy you. You’ve got no strategy, you’ve got no stockpiles, and you’ve got a king who doesn’t want to be the king.”

Instead, the Lord made it His business to call valiant men out of whatever they had been doing and dedicate themselves to Saul and the good of the nation. To serve and sacrifice.

It’s not that Joe Thomas didn’t want to be signed to play in the NFL. He just didn’t care about the theatrics of the Draft Day ceremony. He later called it a “soap opera with unpaid actors.” He spent his whole career with the Browns, never missing a start in 167 games. One reporter wrote, “He will give anything and everything to his team and not complain one bit about it.”^[10]

These brave men who followed Saul home had lives. But God called them and they answered. May God touch our hearts with some opportunity, some assignment, some portion of His harvest that we can dedicate ourselves to. Not just living for our own desires, but part of His eternal work.

This group of valiant fellows contrasts starkly with some others in verse 27.

1 Samuel 10:27 – ²⁷ But some wicked men said, “How can this guy save us?” They despised him and did not bring him a gift, but Saul said nothing.

The day Joe Thomas was drafted, he became a multimillionaire. He received a $6 million signing bonus. By the end of his career, he earned over $120 million.^[11]

That day, the people of Israel brought gifts to Saul. He would’ve left there not only famous but wealthier than ever before. But this group of men turned their noses up at him.

They were doubly rejecting God. It’s not that they were against having a king – they were just against having Saul as king. God has clearly chosen Saul as king, by Divine decree and supernatural activity, and they say, “Nah.”

They were good-for-nothings.^[12] They have no faith in God and, as a result, their life and speech is defined by rudeness, selfishness, criticism, and carelessness. But when a people starts despising God, then naturally they’re going to start despising one another. And nothing good comes from it.

Saul said nothing. It might have been a moment of humility or grace. Or, it might have been less admirable. The Hebrew can also be translated, “Saul pretended not to mind.”^[13]

This is day one of Israel’s monarchy. As students of the Bible, we know there are a lot of hard times ahead. A lot of bloodshed. A lot of mistakes. A lot of bad leaders. A lot of oppression, defeat, idolatry, and defilement.

What we wish Israel would have done is acknowledge Yahweh already was their King. We wish they would’ve simply sought first His Kingdom, knowing that if they did, He would take care of all the rest. That they would not have to face Ahab or Athaliah, the Assyrians, or Babylon. Instead, the Lord would’ve ruled them, day by day, according to His tender, merciful, generous grace.

The application is simple: Don’t trade your walk with God so you can chase after some human king or some human kingdom. Don’t convince yourself that God won’t care for you or that He doesn’t know best. Don’t go your own way, thinking you know better. Don’t chase the culture, thinking those temptations will give you what you really want and need.

The Father knows what you need. Jesus is your Shepherd, your Savior, your King. Seek His Kingdom and all these things will be provided for you. Your Shepherd King delights to give you the Kingdom. And He is ready to deliver you from trouble, rescue your life, touch your heart. Walk with God. Don’t run after this world. Be ruled by the King of kings.