{"id":57562,"date":"2019-06-16T16:17:41","date_gmt":"2019-06-16T13:17:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=57562"},"modified":"2023-01-08T16:45:31","modified_gmt":"2023-01-08T14:45:31","slug":"anointed-and-all-alone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/anointed-and-all-alone\/","title":{"rendered":"Anointed And All Alone"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The oil is dripping, the prophet is kissing, the king stands anointed \u2013 and utterly alone.<\/span><\/p>\n

There will be other kings and other anointments in the Israelite future. There will be good kings and bad kings, short kings and tall kings, God-chosen kings and self-appointed usurpers. But there will never be another first king of all of Israel. And without any precedents to follow, how is Saul to know what to do next?<\/span><\/p>\n

Saul can\u2019t simply emulate the kings of other nations: Samuel will make it very clear in chapter 12 that the Israelite king must follow a unique path \u2013 God\u2019s path \u2013 to survive and thrive. Neither can Saul emulate the judges, whose leadership was limited to certain tribes and certain periods. Samuel clearly expects Saul to follow his own instructions and will rebuke him whenever he strays from them. But these instructions don\u2019t cover all that Saul must do, nor tell him how to go about it.<\/span><\/p>\n

And so the king stands anointed, and for a moment, utterly alone.<\/span><\/p>\n

But in the next moment, Samuel offers Saul something more than oil and kisses. He charts a course for a journey that will transform Saul into \u201canother man\u201d, one with an inner compass; a man who will be able to act \u201cwhen the occasion arises,\u201d knowing the God is with him (10:6-7).<\/span><\/p>\n

How is a journey supposed to achieve this? What is the meaning of all the \u2018signs\u2019 Saul must meet before he transforms?<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps the answer lies in what the journey might remind him of.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you go from me today,\u201d says Samuel, and his usage of the root \u201ch.l.ch\u201d for \u2018going\u2019 evokes Abraham and Rebecca, who heeded a call to rise and go. \u201cYou will meet two men near the tomb of Rachel in the territory of Benjamin,\u201d he continues, paying tribute to the mother who died to give her son \u2013 Saul\u2019s ancestor \u2013 life. \u201cThere you will be met by three men\u201d brings to mind the men who came to visit Abraham, and \u201cmaking a pilgrimage to God to Bethel\u201d \u2013 the day Jacob named Bethel after realizing that \u201csurely the Lord is present in this place.\u201d (Genesis 28:16)<\/span><\/p>\n

Each word in Samuel\u2019s instructions invites Saul to contemplate the past. There are no kings for Saul to learn from, but there are other role models that can guide him on his path, other experiences he can learn from. And Saul must journey through these memories before he can experience prophecy and become \u201canother man\u201d, one who is indeed the first king \u2013 but can act wisely, nonetheless.<\/span><\/p>\n

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