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New Defender's Study Bible Notes
10:1 hath anointed thee. This anointing was private, intended merely to assure Saul that God had chosen him as Israel’s first earthly king. His public investiture as king is described in I Samuel 10:24, and firmly established in I Samuel 11:14-15.
10:6 prophesy with them. This experience, somewhat parallel to the New Testament doctrine of regeneration (note I Samuel 10:9) and baptism of the Holy Spirit (John 3:3-5; I Corinthians 12:13) was God’s testimony to Saul that, despite his humble background and circumstances (I Samuel 9:21), he had truly been called to be king of Israel. Specifically, Saul’s calling was manifested by one of the gifts of the Spirit, the gift of prophecy (I Corinthians 13:2), not as a permanent endowment but as an assurance that God was with him.
10:10 company of prophets. This “company of prophets” was probably the beginning of what later came to be known as the “school of the prophets” (actually this term is not found in Scripture, though there are several references to what seems to be an organized body of “sons of the prophets”—note, e.g., II Kings 2:15). These men—presumably first organized and trained by Samuel—seem to have had a ministry of music (I Samuel 10:5), as well as prophesying (receiving and conveying divine messages to the people). The New Testament gift of prophecy was important also in the early church, but ceased when it was no longer needed with the completion of the Scriptures (I Corinthians 13:8).
10:21 was taken. The people had desired a king, but would yet need to agree on who that should be. Even though Samuel knew God had designated Saul, he apparently felt it wise to assume God would confirm the selection publicly by this lottery method.
10:24 God save the king. This same public invocation was used to proclaim Solomon king (I Kings 1:34), and has often been appropriated at the coronation of monarchs ever since.
10:25 manner of the kingdom. This phrase probably refers to Samuel’s earlier warning of what a king would come to be like after he had consolidated his power (I Samuel 8:11-18).
10:25 wrote it in a book. Samuel laid up “before the LORD” his written account, implying that his writings, like those of Moses, were to be kept in the tabernacle, probably in the Ark of the Covenant.
10:26 God had touched. Anyone who is truly called to do a work for God will surely, as night follows day, encounter opposition from the “children of Belial” (I Samuel 10:27)—that is, “worthless men”—who will “despise him.” At the same time, there will also be raised up “a band of men whose hearts God had touched” to encourage and assist and support him in the work.