The oil symbolised the Spirit of God, so anointing a person with oil demonstrated that a person had been set apart for service to God, and given the Holy Spirit to enable them to perform that service. Before Saul, only the priests and the tabernacle had been anointed with oil in this way. Anointing Saul, then, was a deeply powerful symbol of his new role and status.

Samuel then gave Saul three signs that would demonstrate that God truly had anointed him and appointed him to the role of king. Each of them was fulfilled. The first showed Saul that God would look after his needs. The second showed Saul that among his people, there would be those who would honour him and support him. The third was a powerful demonstration that God had indeed poured out his Spirit on the new king.

Saul was tall, strong, and from a good family. Nevertheless, he had none of the experience you might expect of a king. What skills and qualities did he have for leading a whole nation? Yet God chose him, and because he chose him, he anointed and equipped him.

God places a call on our lives too. We all respond to his general call, to go out, to preach the word and to make disciples, but sometimes he gives us a specific call to action. If we feel God showing us a particular direction, we can rest assured that those he appoints he also anoints and equips. If Saul, from the smallest tribe in Israel, could be made king while out looking for donkeys, then each one of us can believe that God will enable us to do whatever he calls us to!

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NEWBOLD BAPTIST CHURCH