1 Samuel 10; 1 Samuel 11; 1 Samuel 12; Luke 9:37-62

1 Then Samuel took a bottle of olive oil. He poured it on Saul's head and kissed him. He said, "The LORD has anointed you to be the leader of his people.

2 When you leave me today, you will meet two men. They will be near Rachel's tomb at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They'll say to you, 'The donkeys you have been looking for have been found. Now your father has stopped thinking about them. Instead, he's worried about you. He's asking, "What can I do to find my son?" '

3 "You will go on from Zelzah until you come to the large tree at Tabor. Three men will meet you there. They'll be on their way up to Bethel to worship God. One of them will be carrying three young goats. Another will be carrying three loaves of bread. A third will be carrying a bottle of wine. It will be a bottle that is made out of animal skin.

4 The men will greet you. They'll offer you two loaves of bread. You will accept the loaves from them.

5 "After that, you will go to Gibeah of God. Some Philistine soldiers are stationed there. As you approach the town, you will meet a group of prophets. They'll be coming down from the high place where they worship. People will be playing lyres, tambourines, flutes and harps at the head of the group. The prophets will be prophesying.

6 The Spirit of the LORD will come on you with power. Then you will prophesy along with them. You will become a different person.

7 "All of those things will happen. Then do what you want to do. God is with you.

8 "Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. You can be sure that I'll come down to you there. I'll come and sacrifice burnt offerings and friendship offerings. But you must wait there for seven days until I come to you. Then I'll tell you what to do."

9 As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul's heart. All of those things happened that day.

10 When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met Saul. Then the Spirit of God came on him with power. He prophesied along with them.

11 Those who had known Saul before saw him prophesying with the prophets. They asked one another, "What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also one of the prophets?"

12 A man who lived in Gibeah answered, "Yes, he is. In fact, he's their leader." That's why people say, "Is Saul also one of the prophets?"

13 After Saul stopped prophesying, he went to the high place to worship.

14 Later, Saul's uncle spoke to him and his servant. He asked, "Where have you been?" "Looking for the donkeys," he said. "But we couldn't find them. So we went to Samuel."

15 Saul's uncle said, "Tell me what Samuel said to you."

16 Saul replied, "He told us the donkeys had been found." But Saul didn't tell his uncle that Samuel had said he would become king.

17 Samuel sent a message to the people of Israel. He told them to meet with the LORD at Mizpah.

18 He said to them, "The LORD is the God of Israel. He says, 'Israel, I brought you up out of Egypt. I saved you from their powerful hand. I also saved you from the powerful hand of all of the kingdoms that had beaten you down.'

19 "But now you have turned your backs on your God. He saves you out of all of your trouble and suffering. In spite of that, you have said, 'We refuse to listen. Place a king over us.' "So now gather together to meet with the Lord. Do it tribe by tribe and family group by family group."

20 Then Samuel had each tribe of Israel come forward. The tribe of Benjamin was chosen.

21 Next he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward, family group by family group. Matri's group was chosen. Finally Saul, the son of Kish, was chosen. But when people looked for him, they realized he wasn't there.

22 They needed more help from the Lord. So they asked him, "Has the man come here yet?" The LORD said, "Yes. He has hidden himself among the supplies."

23 So they ran over there and brought him out. When he stood up, the people saw that he was a head taller than any of them.

24 Samuel spoke to all of the people. He said, "Look at the man the LORD has chosen! There isn't anyone like him among all of the people." Then the people shouted, "May the king live a long time!"

25 Samuel explained to the people what the king who ruled over them should do. He wrote it down on a scroll. He placed it in front of the LORD in the holy tent. Then he sent the people away. He sent each of them to their own homes.

26 Saul also went to his home in Gibeah. Some brave men whose hearts God had touched went with Saul.

27 But some evil people who wanted to stir up trouble said, "How can this fellow save us?" They looked down on him. They didn't bring him any gifts. But Saul kept quiet about it.

1 Nahash was the king of Ammon. He and his army went up to Jabesh Gilead. They surrounded it and got ready to attack it. All of the men of Jabesh spoke to Nahash. They said, "Make a peace treaty with us. Then we'll be under your control."

2 Nahash, the king of Ammon, replied, "I will make a peace treaty with you. But I'll do it only on one condition. You must let me put out the right eye of every one of you. I want to bring shame on the whole nation of Israel."

3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, "Give us seven days to report back to you. We'll send messengers all through Israel. If no one comes to save us, we'll hand ourselves over to you."

4 The messengers came to Gibeah of Saul. They reported to the people the terms Nahash had required. Then all of the people sobbed out loud.

5 Just then Saul was coming in from the fields. He was walking behind his oxen. He asked, "What's wrong with the people? Why are they sobbing?" He was told what the men of Jabesh had said.

6 When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came on him with power. He burned with anger.

7 He got a pair of oxen and cut them into pieces. He sent the pieces by messengers all through Israel. They announced, "You must follow Saul and Samuel. If you don't, this is what will happen to your oxen." The terror of the LORD fell on the people. So all of them came together with one purpose in mind.

8 Saul brought his army together at Bezek. There were 300,000 men from Israel and 30,000 from Judah.

9 The messengers who had come were told, "Go back and report to the men of Jabesh Gilead. Tell them, 'By the hottest time of the day tomorrow, you will be saved.' " The messengers went and reported it to the men of Jabesh. It made those men very happy.

10 They said to the people of Ammon, "Tomorrow we'll hand ourselves over to you. Then you can do to us what seems best to you."

11 The next day Saul separated his men into three groups. While it was still dark, they broke into the camp of the Ammonite army. They kept killing the men of Ammon until the hottest time of the day. Those who got away alive were scattered. There weren't two of them left together anywhere.

12 The people said to Samuel, "Who asked, 'Is Saul going to rule over us?' Bring those people to us. We'll put them to death."

13 But Saul said, "We won't put anyone to death today! After all, this is the day the LORD has saved Israel."

14 Then Samuel said to the people, "Come on. Let's go to Gilgal. There we'll agree to have Saul as our king."

15 So all of the people went to Gilgal. There, with the LORD as witness, they agreed to have Saul as their king. There they sacrificed friendship offerings to the Lord. And there Saul and all of the people of Israel celebrated with great joy.

1 Samuel spoke to all of the people of Israel. He said, "I've done everything you asked me to do. I've placed a king over you.

2 Now you have a king as your leader. But I'm old. My hair is gray. My sons are here with you. I've been your leader from the time I was young until this very day.

3 "Here I stand. Bring charges against me if you can. The LORD is a witness. And so is his anointed king. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Have I cheated anyone? Have I beaten anyone down? Have I accepted money from anyone who wanted special favors? If I've done any of those things, I'll make it right."

4 "You haven't cheated us," they replied. "You haven't beaten us down. You haven't taken anything from anyone."

5 Samuel said to them, "The LORD is a witness against you this very day. And so is his anointed king. They are witnesses that I haven't taken anything from any of you." "The LORD is a witness," they said.

6 Then Samuel said to the people, "The LORD appointed Moses and Aaron. He brought up out of Egypt your people who lived long ago.

7 Now then, stand here. I'm going to remind you of all of the good things the LORD has done for you and your people. He is a witness.

8 "After Jacob's family entered Egypt, they cried out to the LORD for help. The LORD sent Moses and Aaron. They brought your people out of Egypt. They settled them in this land.

9 "But the people forgot the LORD their God. So he gave them over to the powerful hand of Sisera. Sisera was the commander of the army of Hazor. The LORD also gave the people of Israel over to the powerful hand of the Philistines and the king of Moab. All of those nations fought against Israel.

10 "So the people cried out to the Lord. They said, 'We have sinned. We've deserted the Lord. We've served the gods that are named after Baal. We've served the goddesses that are named after Ashtoreth. But save us now from the powerful hands of our enemies. Then we will serve you.'

11 "The LORD sent Gideon, Barak, Jephthah and me. He saved you from the hands of your enemies, who were all around you. So you lived in safety.

12 "But then you saw that Nahash, the king of Ammon, was about to attack you. So you said to me, 'No! We want a king to rule over us.' You said it even though the LORD your God was your king.

13 Now here is the king you have chosen. He's the one you asked for. The LORD has placed a king over you.

14 "But you must have respect for the Lord. You must serve him and obey him. You must not say no to his commands. Both you and the king who rules over you must follow the LORD your God. If you do, that's good.

15 But you must not disobey him. You must not say no to his commands. If you do, his powerful hand will punish you. That's what happened to your people who lived before you.

16 "So stand still. Watch the great thing the LORD is about to do right here in front of you!

17 It's time to gather in the wheat, isn't it? I'll call out to the LORD to send thunder and rain. Then you will realize what an evil thing you did in the sight of the Lord. You shouldn't have asked for a king."

18 Samuel called out to the Lord. That same day the LORD sent thunder and rain. So all of the people had great respect for the LORD and for Samuel.

19 They said to Samuel, "Pray to the LORD your God for us. Pray that we won't die because we asked for a king. That was an evil thing to do. We added it to all of our other sins."

20 "Don't be afraid," Samuel replied. "It's true that you have done all of those evil things. But don't turn away from the Lord. Serve him with all your heart.

21 "Don't turn away and worship statues of gods. They are useless. They can't do you any good. They can't save you either. They are completely useless.

22 "But the LORD will be true to his great name. He won't turn his back on his people. That's because he was pleased to make you his own people.

23 "I would never sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you. I'll teach you to live in a way that is good and right.

24 "But be sure to have respect for the Lord. Serve him faithfully. Do it with all your heart. Think about the great things he has done for you.

25 But don't be stubborn. Don't continue to do what is evil. If you do, both you and your king will be swept away."

37 The next day Jesus and those who were with him came down from the mountain. A large crowd met Jesus.

38 A man in the crowd called out. "Teacher," he said, "I beg you to look at my son. He is my only child.

39 A spirit takes hold of him, and he suddenly screams. It throws him into fits so that he foams at the mouth. It hardly ever leaves him. It is destroying him.

40 I begged your disciples to drive it out. But they couldn't do it."

41 "You unbelieving and evil people!" Jesus replied. "How long do I have to stay with you? How long do I have to put up with you?" Then he said to the man, "Bring your son here."

42 Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him into a fit. The boy fell to the ground. But Jesus ordered the evil spirit to leave the boy. Then Jesus healed him and gave him back to his father.

43 They were all amazed at God's greatness. Everyone was wondering about all that Jesus did. Then Jesus said to his disciples,

44 "Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you. The Son of Man is going to be handed over to men."

45 But they didn't understand what this meant. That was because it was hidden from them. And they were afraid to ask Jesus about it.

46 The disciples began to argue about which one of them would be the most important person.

47 Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he took a little child and had the child stand beside him.

48 Then he spoke to them. "Anyone who welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me," he said. "And anyone who welcomes me welcomes the One who sent me. The least important person among all of you is the most important."

49 "Master," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name. We tried to stop him, because he is not one of us."

50 "Do not stop him," Jesus said. "Anyone who is not against you is for you."

51 The time grew near for Jesus to be taken up to heaven. So he made up his mind to go to Jerusalem.

52 He sent messengers on ahead. They went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him.

53 But the people there did not welcome Jesus. That was because he was heading for Jerusalem.

54 The disciples James and John saw this. They asked, "Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to destroy them?"

55 But Jesus turned and commanded them not to do it.

56 They went on to another village.

57 Once Jesus and those who were with him were walking along the road. A man said to Jesus, "I will follow you no matter where you go."

58 Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes. Birds of the air have nests. But the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

59 He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."

60 Jesus said to him, "Let dead people bury their own dead. You go and tell others about God's kingdom."

61 Still another man said, "I will follow you, Lord. But first let me go back and say good-by to my family."

62 Jesus replied, "Suppose you start to plow and then look back. If you do, you are not fit for service in God's kingdom."