by Bill Johnson
Even though God knew what was in Saul’s heart from the beginning, He gave him every opportunity to do well. At the start, Samuel the prophet told him about an encounter he would have that would change everything.
Afterward you will come to the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is; and it shall be as soon as you have come there to the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and a lyre before them, and they will be prophesying.Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you mightily, and you shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man (1 Samuel 10:5-6).
The Spirit of the Lord was already on the prophets. When Saul came into their atmosphere, what was on them got on him. I wish so much that we would learn to recognize when the Spirit of God is actually moving on someone else. Perhaps with honor we could learn how to avail ourselves of what He is doing in and through them so that we, too, would be impacted more intentionally by His Presence. The Spirit of God upon a person creates a heavenly atmosphere here and now. In this case, it was a group of prophets, so we have the exponential increase of Presence and power that can only come through unity. Two are better than one, if united. Two are less than one if divided. Learning to recognize this is essential for us to go where He has planned. It is called a corporate anointing.
This encounter was to set him up to be the kind of king Israel needed. When the Spirit of God came upon him, he was changed into another man. This encounter truly changed everything about him. It was up to him to “tend the new garden” that God had planted in his heart. We always have a role in our development. Gifts are free; maturity is expensive. “It shall be when these signs come to you, do for yourself what the occasion requires, for God is with you” (1 Sam. 10:7). This Holy Spirit realm would be necessary for him to accomplish what God intended as he led Israel to both safety and peace. Through these means, he would have access to the realms in God to do what the occasion required.
A Good Beginning
The prophetic encounter happened just as Samuel said it would. And it enabled Saul to start well. He had a much-needed sense of humility as well as a significant zeal for the name of the Lord. This encounter with the prophets no doubt changed him into the man that God needed in that position. But God is not responsible for our potential. We are. All of Heaven has been assigned to make sure we have everything we need to reach our God-designed destinies. The word of the Lord has been spoken. And we must act.
Through a series of disastrous choices, Saul becomes the untrustworthy king of Israel. God began to look for another one, one after His heart. He found a young man tending his father’s sheep. He was a worshiper. His name was David.
One of the most frightening statements one could possibly hear is, “Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul” (1 Sam. 16:14). The great gift and the great responsibility has everything to do with His Presence. Later in David’s own life we hear him cry, “Do not take your Holy Spirit from me” (Ps. 51:11). The Presence of God must be our prize!
The Wicked Gets Anointed
Here is a very strange part of the story. It is years later and Saul is now a very wicked king. He hates the anointing and especially hates the anointed one—David. It became obvious to him that God had chosen another man to serve as king because Saul had abused his position. Saul was jealous of David and tried to kill him. So he sent servants to capture David so he could get rid of the one who reminded him of what he had lost.
Then Saul sent messengers to take David, but when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, with Samuel standing and presiding over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul; and they also prophesied. When it was told Saul,he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. So Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. Then he himself went to Ramah and came as far as the large well that is in Secu; and he asked and said, “Where are Samuel and David?” And someone said, “Behold, they are at Naioth in Ramah.” He proceeded there to Naioth in Ramah; and the Spirit of God came upon him also, so that he went along prophesying continually until he came to Naioth in Ramah. He also stripped off his clothes,and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” (1 Samuel 19:20-24)
When the Spirit of God comes upon people, they do extraordinary things in His name. The Spirit of God coming upon a group of people automatically charges the atmosphere. It happened in this story. The prophets are prophesying, and the air is thick with the Presence of God. And the servants with a murderous assignment fall under the influence of the prophetic and begin to function outside of their gifting. They prophesied. He sent a second group, who responded to the anointing in the same way. And finally, he sent a third with the exact same outcome. That had to frustrate Saul to no end. He knew what was happening to them. He knew because that was in his history. He had had the same experience. That’s probably why he didn’t kill these servants who failed at their assignment.
A Glimpse of Grace
This is such an amazing picture of grace. It’s why I say there are many instances in the Old Testament that are actually pictures of New Testament realities. And this is one. Grace is most often defined as unmerited favor. And that’s the perfect place to start in defining this significant word. But a more complete definition is, it’s the unmerited favor that brings His enabling Presence. Here was the enabling presence of God giving people a chance to taste of life in its fullness. Certainly this gave Saul’s servants a chance to rethink how they wanted to live their lives. They’d tasted of life in the Spirit. Hopefully they were now ruined for anything else. This is a prophetic glimpse of grace.
Saul finally decides to go himself. And even though he is in such a horrible condition, with a heart filled with wickedness, he comes into the atmosphere of the manifest Presence of God upon the prophets and prophesies continually. The weirdest part of the story is that he took off all of his clothes. I’m sure there’s great spiritual significance to that part of the story that I’m missing. But I know this much—he’s returning, even if for a short while, to a previous place of humility. Plus, without any clothes on, you probably won’t be going anywhere real soon. He seems to be saying, “I’m vulnerable before the prophet Samuel. And I’m not going anywhere!” Again he had the opportunity for transformation because of the anointing. Saul encountered the Holy Spirit—the anointing that sets free. “The yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing” (Isa. 10:27 KJV). But it didn’t stick. You can have a perfectly planted garden. But without continual maintenance, the garden will become a garden of weeds in no time at all.
We must steward the life that God gives us. “From everyone who has been given much, much will be required” (Luke 12:48). King Solomon experienced disaster in his own life because he failed at this one thing. God gave him more than anyone to ever live. The one verse about him that pierces my heart more than any other is, “Now the Lord was angry with Solomon because his heart was turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice” (1 Kings 11:9). God gave Solomon the most unusual encounters with Him, twice, but their effect didn’t last. We are accountable for what we’ve been given. It is up to us to keep the impact of an old experience current.
I’ve seen people receive a dramatic touch from the Lord. And when they don’t steward that touch, things go sour in their lives. Critics of revival tend to want to discount the touch of God and say, “See, I told you, that wasn’t really God’s touch on his life in the first place.” Should God be questioned because of man? Jesus talked about healing ten lepers. Only one returned to give thanks (see Luke 17:15-18). Does that mean that the other nine didn’t really receive a touch from God? Of course not. The validity of God’s work is never determined by man’s response, good or bad. His work is measured by this: They had leprosy, and now they don’t. Or, “I once was blind, but now I see” (see John 9:25). Or the person touched by God was
healed of cancer. The doctor verified it. We give God all the praise.
What really causes people to stumble is if that person gets cancer or another disease again. Too often people assume God brought it back because it was His will in the first place. God didn’t cause it to come back any more than He gave it in the first place. You can’t have Jesus healing a disease that the Father purposed for the person to have or you have a divided house—one that will not stand (see Luke 11:17). This brings up another issue for another day. But the lack is never on God’s end of the equation. It would be foolish to question God because of a lack that squarely rests on the shoulders of people. (The issue of reoccurring diseases is a serious one and must be addressed, without giving God the credit for the devil’s work. Reading Luke 11:24-26 and First Corinthians 11:27-30 is a good place to start.)
A Fearful Warrior
The second story actually provides an insight to the ways of the Spirit that is actually my favorite in the entire Bible. This one is about one of the judges of Israel: Gideon.
Gideon is an individual who quickly becomes a favorite for many in the same way as the apostle Peter because we find it easy to identify with him. He was fearful, plain and simple. When God was looking for someone to deliver Israel from their oppressor, He chose Gideon. There’s no obvious reason, at least not one that stands out to me.
God found Gideon hiding in a winepress, trying to thresh wheat. The Midianites had been stealing from the children of Israel for quite a while. He no doubt was trying to get some provisions for his family without being robbed again. Regardless, threshing wheat in a winepress provides a fascinating picture. Wheat speaks of the bread of the Word—teaching. Wine represents the felt experience of the Holy Spirit—sometimes intoxicating encounters. They are never in conflict with each other from God’s perspective. But they often are in ours. Each serves a purpose that the other can’t address. The interesting picture is of Gideon trying to get the bread of His Word out of a place where wine is made. It won’t work.
We saw this in the early days of the outpouring. People were angry because there wasn’t as great an emphasis on teaching. We tried. It’s just tough to get bread out of grapes. Most every time we did, we seemed to be working against God’s heart for the moment. The opposite is also true. Many just want to sit around and sing or laugh when God wants to build our understanding through His Word. My philosophy is this: When God is serving wine, drink. When He’s serving bread, eat.
The Mighty Are Hiding
God speaks through the angel of the Lord and calls Gideon a mighty man of valor (see Judg. 6:12). Gideon responds, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about?” (Judg. 6:13). This seems so funny to me. An angel just spoke to him while he’s hiding in a winepress, and almost without missing a beat he has a response to the angel. It shouldn’t surprise us to know what Gideon was thinking about when the angel showed up. His guns were loaded.
If there was any verse in the Bible that seemed to describe the heart of people who often miss out on what God is doing, it’s this one: If God is with us, why has all this bad stuff happened? And where are the miracles we have always heard about? To this day most don’t seem to realize that He doesn’t cause the bad stuff, but instead equips us with the authority, power, and assignment to deal with the devil and his works. It is up to us to learn how to use the tools God gives us. If we don’t, the devil continues to steal. To Gideon’s credit, he responds to the word of the Lord and offers a sacrifice to God.
Once again a story needs to be abbreviated for the sake of space. The bottom line of this story is that Gideon is afraid at the beginning. He’s afraid in the middle of the story. I’m sure that when God reduced his army from 32,000 men down to 300, it didn’t help.
Finally, God gives him confirmation that He is with him and then releases his assignment to Gideon. And just to fit into God’s unique way of doing things, he told Gideon what to do if he was afraid.
Now the same night it came about that the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hands. But if you are afraid to go down, go with Purah your servant down to the camp, and you will hear what they say; and afterward your hands will be strengthened that you may go down against the camp.” So he went with Purah his servant down to the outposts of the army that was in the camp (Judges 7:9-11).
Notice the Lord said, “If you’re afraid, go down to the camp of the Midianites.” The next phrase says he went down to the camp. Again, that tells us he’s still dealing with fear. Plus, the enemy’s camp is a strange place to go to get encouragement. Moses once sent 12 spies out to get a good look at the Promised Land, which also happened to be an enemy’s land. Ten spies brought back a bad report because of their fear and made the nation of Israel afraid (see Num. 13:25-33). Those ten spies just stayed together and fed one another’s fears.
Sometimes the best place to go to get encouraged is the enemy’s camp. That’s where the two spies got their encouragement, and they refused to allow the fearful ten to feed them their fear. And now this is where God sent Gideon, the fearful one. It almost seems like divine humor—if you’re afraid, go to the one you’re afraid of. As he did, he heard that one of them had a dream, which the other interpreted as being about Gideon wiping them out (see Judg. 7:13-14). That indeed encouraged him.
The Ultimate Picture
The story goes on to report that Gideon and his men did exactly that. They beat the Midianites and restored Israel to a place of strength and out from under the abuse of surrounding nations. It’s a wonderful story. But in the middle of this miracle is a most unusual verse. “So the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon” (Judg. 6:34). That would be good enough just as it is. But it really says so much more. The word “came upon” actually means to put on, wear, clothe, be clothed.1 In the footnotes of my study Bible2 it says, “In Hebrew this literally means ‘The Spirit of the Lord clothed Himself with Gideon.’” Stunning! God is clothed with Gideon. I can’t think of any picture of the Spirit-filled life that more accurately describes my heart more than this one: God put Gideon on like a glove.
Here is the picture: The Presence of God is hosted by a person so significantly that He actually lives through them. It’s not cancelling out who they are. It’s capturing it to the fullest, immersed in divine influence. It is as though their personality, their gifts and demeanor are all being expressed through God living in them. Most importantly, here is another grace moment. Gideon had received favor that brought the enabling Presence of God into His life to empower him to do what was impossible for him to do.
From some, this would imply that it’s all Jesus and none of us. I don’t believe that. There’s no question that He is the determining factor in any significant situation. But we sometimes get an unhealthy view of our lives and our own place in His plan. I’ve heard so many pray, “None of me, all of You!” It’s a noble prayer. I’m sure it comes out of a desire to not have our selfishness exert any influence on the outcome of things. But shouldn’t our righteousness have an effect on the outcome of things if He has in fact made us so? God had none of us before we were created. He didn’t like it. That’s why He made us.
It’s not as though we don’t matter and only Jesus matters. Many take John the Baptist’s prayer as a model, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). That is actually not a legal prayer for us. John was closing out a season as the greatest Old Testament prophet. He was passing the baton on to Jesus who would initiate the existence of the Kingdom of God on earth. The focus was shifting from John and the Law to Jesus and the Kingdom. John had to decrease. Jesus had to increase. But when Jesus left the earth He didn’t say we were to decrease. Instead He passed that same baton on to us with His name, power, and authority and commissioned us to continue in what He started. “As the Father has sent me, I also send you” (John 20:21). What is needed is not less of us and more of Him. What is neede
d is all of us covered and filled by all of Him!
There’s no question Jesus is the answer. But He won’t do it without us. That has been His plan from the beginning. So we need to think consistently with His ways, pray according to His promises, and live according to His provision and be put on like a glove again.
Selah
The lessons we glean from Saul’s story aren’t about Saul at all. Neither is the Gideon story really about Gideon. In each case we are looking at the privilege to host the Spirit of God, the great prize, and learn how He moves and works in and through people. This is the one assignment we were all born for.
ENDNOTES
1. From the New American Standard Exhaustive Concordance.
2. The Spirit-Filled Life Bible, page 357.
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Sneak Previews
God, the master Producer and Orchestrator of life, has some surprises in store for us all. He just loves to tell secrets to His own. And throughout history, He has given glimpses of what was to come.
Because of the Master’s design, everyone lives to make life better. Some serve the betterment of humankind, and others merely serve themselves. But as people, we carry a sense of hope that things can and must be better than they presently are. This affects all areas of life—science, technology, entertainment, etc. Everything lives under the influence of this inner desire. It is in the nature of humans, the result of being made in the image of God. This is the way creative people function. We draw upon God-given abilities to come up with solutions to solve problems and answer whatever issue is in the way of progress.