PERCEIVING TRANSFORMATION

A SHORT STUDY OF SAUL

“​The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you
shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give.”
​Isaiah 62:2

The scary truth is this: Most people are ‘Sauls’. By that, I mean people who don’t quite
grasp the notion that they have been changed or transformed; and ​although the
transformation process is a beautiful thing to behold when we are conscious of it,
it can equally become a deadly muck when we stay oblivious to the process
taking place​; and this I believe was Saul’s folly.

The Transformation
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things have passed
away; behold, all things are become new.” 2nd Corinthians 5:17

We meet Saul as Israel begins its demand for a King. So, God lets Samuel in on His
plan and tells him “ I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall
anoint him commander over My people Israel” (Ist Samuel 9:16)​ ​and so, it began.

THE PROCESS

1. The Mind: God does not just toss us into change. He prepares and molds. Isaiah
said “ But now Oh Lord, You are our Father, we are the clay, and You our potter.
And all of us are the work of Your hands”. This process with Saul had begun and
we know he sensed something from his response to Samuel in verse 21 when he
said “Why then do you speak like this to me” Saul was from the smallest tribe
and from the least of the least when it came to families. This man from such a
background was to be King so his thinking needed to transformed by the renewal
of his mind. The air and grace with which he carried himself needed to change
and sometimes when we see ourselves thought of highly amongst others, it helps
immensely with how we view ourselves.so Samuel placed in a position of honor
amongst 30 other guests.
 2. The Oil/Anointing The anointing brings about consecration (an act whereby
something that was not, is made)and prepares for service​ ​“You shall anoint them
and ordain them and consecrate them that they may serve Me as my priests”
Exodus 28:41: Saul was also transformed by the anointing. In chapter 10, Saul
was anointed King and commander over Israel by Samuel. This anointing was a
certified stamp upon Saul’s kingship over Israel by God
3. The Spirit: The Spirit of God came upon Saul and he was a changed man (vs 6)​ ​“
The spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and
be turned into another man”. When God rests upon you, He says “ See, I am
doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way
in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:19)

THE LOSS

Here in Isaiah, God asks a very important question “Do you not perceive it?”
Transformation is something that must be perceived. In other words, ​You must know
that you are in the process of change to appreciate it and make the necessary
adjustments​, A person who is aware of a shift need no longer cling to old habits. This
is where I believe Saul messed up. He was so accustomed to being the least of the
smallest that when He became the ruler of all tribes, he was still in his mind the smallest
of the least. He was more concerned with how people felt about him than how God felt.

In Chapters 13-15, Saul’s eagerness to please and keep favor with his people causes
his undoing when for fear of losing his people, he goes against the law and offers up the
sacrifices in place of Samuel (1st Samuel 13:7-14) and when he disobeys God’s
command by allowing himself and his men to keep for themselves everything that was
pleasing to the eye(1st Samuel 15:1-9). Although the passage says Samuel was late, I
believe he was operating under divine instructions.I believe God caused Samuel to be
late to test Saul’s dependence and trust in Him “[for] now you know what is restraining,
that he may be revealed in his own time” (2nd Thessalonians 2:6).

In Luke, Jesus said,​ ​“Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for
the kingdom of God.”​ ​The hand and the plow can signify change. A process of
transformation taking place. Jesus is saying when transformation starts, you have to put
your hand to the plow and allow God to work. You have to go where he directs, pick up
what he instructs and let go of what he says. You cannot look to others while following
his leading because by doing that, we allow the fears and insecurities that once held us
to weigh us down as Saul realized when he said “ I have sinned for I have transgressed
the commandment of the Lord and your words because I feared the people and obeyed
their voice.” (1st Samuel 15:24) This is why Isaiah admonishes us saying​ ​“Remember
ye, not the former things, neither consider the things of old.

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for
the Father is not in them. For everything in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust
of the eyes, and the pride of life - comes not from the Father but from the world.”
(1st John 2:15-16)​ [​And leads to destruction]