Read 1 Samuel 10 here (text coming …) or at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraphs:
10:1-9 {s} Samuel anointed Saul to be king, and all the confirming signs came to pass
10:10-11a {s} The Spirit of God came upon him, and Saul prophesied with the prophets
10:11b-16 {p} Saul did not tell what Samuel had spoken to him concerning the kingdom
10:17-18a {p} Samuel called Israel together at Mizpah, and said
10:18b-22a {s} You have rejected God as King over you/ Saul chosen to be king
10:22b-24 {s} Saul hidden among the baggage/ the stature of his physical appearance/ long live the king
10:25-27 {p} Samuel wrote the manner of the kingdom in a book before YHVH/ some des-pised Saul as king
The Strong themes:
10:1-16 {s+s+p} Samuel anointed Saul king, and the Spirit of God came upon him, but he did not promote himself
10:18b-27 {s+s+p} They despised God as King, therefore Saul chosen king (Samuel’s witness of the kingdom), but some despised Saul
1 Samuel 10:1-16 Chiastic Structure:
What is the meaning of the D pair, that God would turn Saul into another man, and give him another heart?
‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I will gather you from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.”’ And they will go there, and they will take away all its detestable things and all its abominations from there. Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.” Eze 11:17-20
“Then will I sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, I will cleanse you. A new heart also I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall keep My judgments, and do them.” Eze 36:25-27
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Joh 3:3-6
The Bible teaches that there is an old man, with an old nature patterned after our natural father, Adam; and a new man, with a new nature patterned after our spiritual Father, who is YHVH.
Do you remember when the first generation of Israelites which came out of Egypt, complained at every step in the road, and refused to enter the Promised Land? They died out, and the second generation gave thanks and entered their Promise. The new replaced the old. Now we have Saul, who was changed into another man when God gave him another heart. The new replaced the old. And in Ezekiel, the prophecy is that this transformation would not just be for anointed kings, but for all Israel. Jesus reaffirmed that becoming new, as in a new birth, through the agency of the Spirit, transforms a person so that he is a new man, now a citizen of God’s kingdom, and no longer of the world’s kingdoms.
Now this is where the teaching tool of the Hebrew paragraph divisions shines! Look at the substructure for 2C.3 in the Chiastic Structure. How odd that the sentence in verse 11 ends with a paragraph division in the middle of the sentence. But it serves to throw the central axis into stark relief, that the people who knew Saul before were now saying, “What has happened to the son of Kish?” The teaching tool is teaching, that the new heart is a transformation on the inside which produces noticable fruit, actions, and behavior shining forth on the outside.
If there are questions, these are good resources:
Numbers 21, Bible for Beginners (the change of generation) – Christine Miller
John 3, Bible for Beginners (on being born again) – Christine Miller
Romans 8, Bible for Beginners (the old man contrasted with the new) – Christine Miller
Leave a Reply