It's Palm Sunday, but we're in the middle of this series through 1 Samuel, and by God's grace and a little planning, I've lined this up well. This morning we'll look at 1 Samuel chapters 8 through the beginning of chapter 10.
This is one of the most tragic texts in Scripture because it tells the story of Israel choosing to reject God as their king and instead asking for a human king. Samuel will follow the Lord's instructions and anoint Saul as Israel's first human king. And donkeys are going to play a part.
8 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel.
Samuel is the last judge, but as he ages, he decides to appoint his sons as the next judges. Here's the problem: judges aren't hereditary. The priesthood was hereditary, given to Aaron and his sons, but judges are called by God individually and specifically.
This is the only time in the Old Testament where one of the judges tries to appoint his sons as judges. And it doesn't go well:
2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.
There's a somber warning here for parents and children. We've seen this pattern repeatedly in Scripture. People have an encounter with God, enter into relationship and covenant with Him, and it's good and beautiful. Then their children grow up and reject God. We saw it with Eli and his sons at the beginning of 1 Samuel.
Passing faith to the next generation is difficult. Parents need wisdom to present God to their children and consistently demonstrate godliness, not just talk about it. Children who grow up in households of faith have a responsibility to make faith their own rather than coasting on their parents' faith.
Samuel is a good man, but his sons are broken.
3 Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice. 4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah
Samuel has spent a lifetime as Israel's national judge and prophet, the first since Moses to be the voice of God for the entire nation. Now all of Israel gathers because his attempt to pass leadership to his sons has failed.
They say to him,
5 and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.”
That last phrase is crucial - "like all the nations." They're looking at the Philistines, Amorites, Hittites, and other surrounding peoples with established human kings. They remember their slavery in Egypt under Pharaoh.
What made Israel unique was that God formed them out of nothing, made them His people, and entered into covenant with them where He would be their God and they would be His people. God was their king. The very uniqueness and gift God had lavished upon them, they now reject: "We don't want God to be our king anymore. We want to be like everyone else. Give us a human king."
6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord.
Samuel was a man of prayer, mentioned throughout the Old Testament alongside Moses as an exemplary man of prayer. When confronted with this problem, he goes directly to the Lord.
7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8 According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you.
God tells Samuel this is nothing new. From the moment He brought them out of Egypt, they've been grumbling and complaining.
9 Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”
God gives us freedom to choose whom we will serve and worship. He says, "All right, they want a king? Give them a human king." This shouldn't be surprising. Moses prophesied it would happen :
14 “When you come to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, ‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,’ 15 you may indeed set a king over you whom the Lord your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 16 Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again.’ 17 And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold.
Moses warned that if they set a king like other nations, they would invite the realities of having such a king - not one who desires to serve them, but one who will force them to serve him; not a blessing and giver, but a burden and taker.
God tells Samuel, "Give them what they want, but remind them what's coming." Samuel expands on Moses' warning:
11 He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. 12 And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. 15 He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. 16 He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17 He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18 And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”
Everything Samuel warns about will happen in the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles. Donkeys are beasts of burden, and the king will put them to work.
God says, "If you choose this path after being warned, and these consequences come upon you, don't cry out to me to relieve you of what you've brought upon yourselves."
19 But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, 20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”
This is a tragic moment in Israel's history. They're not asking for something they need - they already have a king in Yahweh. They're asking for something they want: "We want a king like the other nations. We want to be like the peoples around us."
This is part of the human condition - the desire for control, certainty, and conformity. These desires stem from deeper longings for peace, prosperity, permanence, and perfection. We want life to be good because that's what we were made for. We weren't made for this world of sin and death; we were made for God's presence and the perfection of His kingdom.
We live in a broken world, yet we hunger for something better. That hunger is natural - it's what we were made for. We're all looking for the kingdom of God and the one true king. Throughout history, humans have shown a deep desire to trade freedom for security, to subject themselves to another who will rule over them so they might feel safe and fit into this broken world.
Some might say, "I don't desire a king. I'm independent." But if you think you'll live life as a radical independent, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and charting your own destiny, you haven't rejected the idea of a king - you've just crowned yourself. The desire for a king is who we are. We were made to be led by God, but this gets twisted and distorted.
Israel had God as their king, with the tabernacle, the ark, and God's presence in their midst. Yet they said, "We'd rather have a human king." Too often, we look around at what others are doing and think, "That's how I'll get what I want."
The Bible warns us to be careful what we see. From Eve seeing the fruit was good, to the sons of God seeing the daughters of men were beautiful, there's a theme throughout Scripture of looking, seeing, and being drawn away from God. Israel looked at the kingdoms around them and thought, "That will work." They constructed their own solution to control the uncontrollable realities of their world.
We're just as prone to put our hope in political figures, financial plans, philosophical ideas, ethnicity, geography, nations, or personal achievement. At the core of all this is our desire for the one true king.
In chapter 9, we meet Saul:
9 There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth.
Kish is from Benjamin, the smallest tribe, but he's wealthy - a sign of faithfulness in the covenant.
2 And he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.
Saul is good-looking, handsome, and tall, but otherwise ordinary - from the small tribe of Benjamin.
3a Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost.
This is significant. In the ancient Near East, donkeys were vital - like your car, tractor, and trailer combined. They carried burdens, could be ridden, and were used in farming. Losing donkeys was a big deal, especially for a wealthy man with many of them.
God's sovereignty is evident here - He likely led those donkeys away for His purposes. God uses ordinary things like donkeys to teach us important lessons.
3b So Kish said to Saul his son, “Take one of the young men with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.” 4 And he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then they passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them. 5 When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let us go back, lest my father cease to care about the donkeys and become anxious about us.”
They search through multiple regions but can't find them. The servant suggests they consult "a man of God" in the city who might help them. Saul worries they have nothing to offer the prophet, but the servant has a quarter shekel of silver. They go to the city and meet young women who tell them Samuel is there for a sacrifice.
6 But he said to him, “Behold, there is a man of God in this city, and he is a man who is held in honor; all that he says comes true. So now let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us the way we should go.” 7 Then Saul said to his servant, “But if we go, what can we bring the man? For the bread in our sacks is gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?” 8 The servant answered Saul again, “Here, I have with me a quarter of a shekel of silver, and I will give it to the man of God to tell us our way.” 9 (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he said, “Come, let us go to the seer,” for today’s “prophet” was formerly called a seer.) 10 And Saul said to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.
11 As they went up the hill to the city, they met young women coming out to draw water and said to them, “Is the seer here?” 12 They answered, “He is; behold, he is just ahead of you. Hurry. He has come just now to the city, because the people have a sacrifice today on the high place. 13 As soon as you enter the city you will find him, before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat till he comes, since he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now go up, for you will meet him immediately.” 14 So they went up to the city. As they were entering the city, they saw Samuel coming out toward them on his way up to the high place.
Meanwhile,
"15 Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed to Samuel: 16 “Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have seen my people, because their cry has come to me.”
When Samuel sees Saul, God confirms,
17 When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke to you! He it is who shall restrain my people.” 18 Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate and said, “Tell me where is the house of the seer?” 19 Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind.
Samuel knows about the donkeys without Saul mentioning them:
20 As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not set your mind on them, for they have been found. And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s house?”
Saul responds with humility:
21 Saul answered, “Am I not a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel? And is not my clan the humblest of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?”
Samuel doesn't answer but brings Saul and his servant to the hall, giving them places of honor among thirty guests. He had instructed the cook earlier to set aside a special portion for Saul. God's sovereignty is evident throughout - He knew the donkeys would be lost and found, told Samuel about Saul's coming, and Samuel made preparations before Saul even knew he was going to the city.
22 Then Samuel took Saul and his young man and brought them into the hall and gave them a place at the head of those who had been invited, who were about thirty persons. 23 And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Put it aside.’ ” 24 So the cook took up the leg and what was on it and set them before Saul. And Samuel said, “See, what was kept is set before you. Eat, because it was kept for you until the hour appointed, that you might eat with the guests.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day. 25 And when they came down from the high place into the city, a bed was spread for Saul on the roof, and he lay down to sleep.
The next morning , Samuel leads him out of the city and then pulls him aside:
26 Then at the break of dawn Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Up, that I may send you on your way.” So Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went out into the street.
27 As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to pass on before us, and when he has passed on, stop here yourself for a while, that I may make known to you the word of God.”
1 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, “Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you to be prince over his heritage.
This is Saul's private anointing as king, to be followed by a public coronation later. At that public event, Saul will be hiding among the baggage - which is carried by donkeys.
The grace of God in this passage is beautiful. Israel has rejected God as king, yet God responds with compassion:
16b He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have seen my people, because their cry has come to me.”
Despite their rejection, God hears their cry and knows their struggles.
God adapts to our limitations - divine accommodation. His ways are not our ways; His thoughts are higher than ours. For God to have relationship with us, He must condescend and stoop to our level.
Saul starts humbly but doesn't finish well. David comes as perhaps the true human king, but that doesn't go perfectly either. Solomon begins with wisdom but doesn't finish well. The kingdom divides, with good kings and bad kings alternating until the monarchy ends and Israel goes into exile.
The problem is that human kings are just as broken as the people they lead. This points us to Jesus - we need a solution to the human problem that is both human and greater than human.
On Palm Sunday, John 12 tells us:
12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”
"Hosanna" literally means "save, I pray" or "deliver, I pray." Israel had cried out to God so often, and God had delivered them so frequently, that "Hosanna" had become a celebratory declaration. As Jesus enters Jerusalem, they shout, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!"
14 And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, 15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
This fulfills Zechariah 9:9. Kings typically didn't ride donkeys - they rode war horses, came in chariots, or were carried in sedans. Jesus chose an ordinary beast of burden because He came to bear the burdens of the world's sins.
Saul hid with the donkeys; Jesus chose to ride willingly as the burden-bearer, taking the role of servant upon Himself. John notes,
16 His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him.
Jesus' entry on a donkey was part of God's sovereign plan, revealing who He was and what He came to do. Jesus, as God made flesh, is God's ultimate condescension to us. God became man because of our limitations and our desire for a king we can relate to. Jesus emptied Himself of divine prerogative to come as one of us, "not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom." (Mark 10:45)
Palm Sunday takes this to another level. In the incarnation, God becomes man in Jesus. On Palm Sunday, God-as-man becomes king again. Palm Sunday fulfills 1 Samuel 8 and Saul's anointing. Jesus claims His rightful role as king - not just of Israel but as King of kings and Lord of lords.
Jesus does this not by force or might, but through obedience, sacrificial service, and love.
Donkeys, as beasts of burden, are a beautiful thread throughout Scripture:
- In Genesis 22, Abraham puts the sacrifice (Isaac) on a donkey
- In Numbers 22, Balaam's donkey sees the angel of the Lord and saves his life
- In Luke 2, Mary likely rode a donkey to Bethlehem, and donkeys likely witnessed Jesus' birth
- Before Palm Sunday in John 12, Mary anoints Jesus privately before his public anointing
- In Luke 10, the Good Samaritan puts the wounded man on his donkey
This symbolism is intentional - the simple beast of burden becomes a symbol of humility, bearing burdens, rescue, care, and God's sovereign plan to redeem creation.
Saul was the king Israel wanted; Jesus is the king they needed. The king unlike the kings of this world. Saul, like all earthly kings, took from the people who served him. Jesus, in stark contrast, "did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45)
Saul was a burden; Jesus is a blessing. Saul enslaved; Jesus sets free. Jesus gives Himself for the people He came to serve. He rides in on the beast of burden because He will take our burdens upon Himself.
As Jesus condescended and humbled Himself to us, it is through this self-chosen humility that His ascension and glorification come. Philippians 2 tells us: "
4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Our King is a humble, servant King who rode an ordinary beast of burden into a city that cheered His name with adoration, yet five days later would call for His death. He chose to sit on the donkey, to bear our burdens, to humble Himself even to death on a cross that we might receive His life and know His love.
What kind of king are you looking for? What kind of king are you serving? Can you cry out, not just with your lips but with your heart and life, "Hosanna! Jesus, save us. Jesus, deliver us" - not just regarding your eternal destiny, but with every aspect of your life?
Will you surrender to Jesus as King of everything in your life? Will you look to Him first to lead, guide, protect, and provide? Jesus is the holiness demanded by God, and therefore He is the one who can save and deliver us. So we say, "Hosanna! Rescue us." Amen.
Scripture in this sermon
Read aloud in the sermon
Also referenced