The Lord chose Saul to be king over a united Israel. “Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head” (1 Samuel 10:1) and anointed him. In the Old Testament, there is a close relationship between kingship (and queenship) and the Messiah. The king was actually referred to as a “messiah.” The word Messiah means “anointed One,” and comes from the Hebrew root mashach, meaning “to smear with oil or a liquid.” In the purest sense, the word messiah would point to the person who had oil smeared on him. Thus, we see that anointing designates one to be a king or a queen and a priest or a priestess. Even though priests were also anointed, the term messiah applied to kings.
The idea of kings being messiahs is demonstrated in the Book of Mormon. The first references to Jesus Christ as the Messiah include other qualifiers in the verses to distinguish Jesus from other kings. The titles of Redeemer, Savior of the world, Lord, and Lamb of God (1 Nephi 1:19; 10:4-5; 12:18) are referenced in these early verses to let the reader know they are talking about the Savior. After First Nephi, the title of Messiah is used by itself.
Kings were deified in ancient times. The Book of Psalms is full of passages like this one in Psalm 74:12: “For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.” I always wondered why unrighteous kings, like King Noah, “could cause (their) people to commit sin” (Mosiah 11:2). Afterall, the people had their agency. But kings were revered and set on a pedestal. The king held great power and authority.
Kings were actually considered to be sons of God through what is called “the adoption formula.” In this respect, they were a type of Christ. Psalm 2:6-7 states, “Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.” While this is a messianic prophecy, it also applied to earthly kings.
Saul is told to go to the plain of Tabor, where he will meet three men (or three messengers). The three messengers symbolize those holding the keys of presidency associated with the Priesthood. These three messengers are “going up to God to Beth-el.” Bethel means “house of God,” or the temple. Kingship was closely tied to the Priesthood and its keys. Melchizedek was the king of Salem and “priest of the Most High God.” (Genesis 14:18). His name means, “king of righteousness.” He is a king and a priest.
In the Book of Mormon, it’s significant that the authority to “establish churches” and to ordain priests and teachers came from King Mosiah and not Alma. The Mulekites were, in a sense, given a new name and numbered among the Nephites, “because the kingdom had been conferred upon none but those who were descendants of Nephi” (Mosiah 25:13,19). Thus, they become heirs to the kingdom by inheritance and lineage, albeit their lineage came by adoption. The keys of the priesthood were administered through the king.
1 Samuel 10:9 states, “And it was so, that when he had turned his back to go from Samuel, God gave him another heart.” A change of heart is one of the great blessings of temple worship.
The Israelites were told to “present (themselves) before the Lord by tribes.” The tribe of Benjamin was taken, then the family of Matri was taken, and then Saul, the son of Kish.
Saul was told to wait for Samuel to offer a burnt offering and a peace offering, but before Samuel arrived, Saul was disobedient and “forced” himself and offered the burnt offering. This prompted the famous verse, “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22). Because of this and his disobedience in bringing back some of the spoils of war, the Lord rejected Saul from being king of Israel. Saul’s burnt offering is ironic. The burnt offering gets its name from the ascending smoke of the sacrifice, demonstrating one’s will going up in smoke as an act of surrender to the Lord. Instead, Saul exercises self-will.
Then 1 Samuel 15:27 tells of the consequences of his actions:
“And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent.”
The Hebrew word for skirt is kanaph, meaning “wing, extremity, edge, border, corner, shirt, or skirt.” Saul lost his “wings.” He lost his power and authority to be king.
Samuel is told to fill his horn with oil and go to the house of Jesse to find a new king. The horn symbolizes power and the oil symbolizes the Holy Ghost. The new king needs the power of the Holy Ghost. “But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature . . . for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
“Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.” (1 Samuel 16:13). Every successive king of Judah gets compared with David going forward.
