The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1895-11-02
The Sunday School Lesson.
SERIES FOR 895.---FoURTH QUARTER.
STUDIES IN JEWISH HISTORY.

king, was made with MANIFEST pOllLlcal
sagacity. His extraordinary size and
beauty rendered him captivating to the
barbaric multitude. His family was
rich and powerful; his father was an ex
tensive herd owner. He was of the tribe
Of Benjamin. The whole nation could
endure BeDjaminite; but Judah would
not have endured an Ephraimite, nor an
Ephraimite king from Judah.
There is evidence in the record that
Saul was chosen king after investigation
and consultation among the prophets
and priests. Advantage was taken of
northward journey by Saul, in search of
the lost cattle of his father, to bring him
into the aged Samuel's presence. The
simplicity of the young man is indicated
by the fact that he did not at this time
so much as know of the existence OF
Samuel the Seer and the Judge. But
Samuel found him of excellent promise.
He was unambitious, modest, without
guile. So Saul now appeared. What.
ever his future life might develop of evil
latent within him, he presented to the
scrutinizing judges only the virtues OF a
worthy and prophetic young manhood.
Samuel privately, while he was his guest,
anointed him as king.
When Saul realized the expectation
centered in him, he set himself to vigor
GUS preparation for the high duties OF
royalty. Shakespeare description Of
the transformation wrought in Henry
the Fifth by his fathers death is not
without application to Saul:
1.-THE breath no sooner left his fathers body,
But that his wildness, mortified in him.
Seemed to die too; yea. at that very moment.
Consideration like an angel came
And whipped the offending Adam out of him,
Leaving his body as paradise
To envelop and contain celestial spirits"
Saul, who had not known even that
there was Samuel in the nation, now
gave himself wholly to religious study in
one Of the schools of the prophets. The
quality of his life was at once changed.
God gaze him another heart. The young
man who had lived in hilarious content
in the open air, now drilled himself in
the art of speech, and was heard prophe-
sying among the prophets, that lie, ex-
ercisipg his gift and exhibiting his at
tainments in patriotic addresses. This
was naturally perplexing to his neigh
bors, who know nothing of the amounting
he had received at the hands of Samuel,
To see such sudden and complete re-
versal of the young mans habits, gave
the point of incredulity to the proverb,
Is Saul also among the prophetsP
Our lesson passage tell US how the
project of Samuel to make Saul king
was fulfilled.
1. The Demand for a King Dis
approved yet Granted,-vs 1913.
When the representatives of the ma
ton. at his summons, appeared before
Samuel at Mizpah, his first endeavor
was to show to them the hazard they
we're assuming in the change of govern
ment they had requested. Samuel
showed to them the wondrous past &C
Movements of their nation as Theocra
cy. 1t had been delivered from bondage
in Egypt; it had been delivered from all
its oppressors, from all it's calamities and
distresses. Now that they had deter
mined to have an earthly king, the
prophet showed them that the act itself
was reversal of the inherited national
policy Ye haze, he said, this dan reject
ed gour God 1t was indeed hazardous
way on which they we're entering.
AS it was not however now the pur
pose of Samuel to dissuade the people
from the decision they had made to have
a king, he summoned Israel before him,
by tribes and thousands.-as representa-
tives of their traditional religion, and in
warlike array by regiments, or as both
Church and State, to make known
their choice of king.
z. The King Chosen by the
People,-vs. 20-23
The election is represented to be by
lot. The assembly, in such case,
would be presided over by the high
priest, with his Trim and Thummin,
that the proceeding might be before the
Lord. By what method the lot was
taken we are not told. 1t was customary
to decide certain matters,-like the di-
vision of land or the choice of leaders in
forlorn hope-by an appeal, through
black and white pebbles. to what we call
chance. There is a reasonable doubt
whether such was the method in this
instance.
1t seems instead to have been free
and intelligent vote of the people that
decided first, that the king should not
be selected from Judah or Ephraim, the
great tribes which were already develop
ing hostility to each other in an un-
reasoning jealousy. 1t was conceded
that king from the small tribe of Ben
iamin, which by its recent suffering and
partial ACKNOWLEDGMENT appealed power
fully TO the sympathy of all the tribes,
would be agreeable to the average mind
Of the nation. 1t was agreed also that