“So when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him, ‘There he is, the man of whom I spoke to you. This one shall reign over My people.’” (1 Samuel 9:17)

• Saul was a choice [goodly] man.

Among all the Children of Israel there was none who was more handsome than was Saul. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people (b. 9:2).

The antichrist will also stand, in many ways, head and shoulders above the people. He will appeal to men becsuse of his genius and power. He will, seemingly, be able to lift the people out of the labyrinth of financial, political, and social difficulties into which they have fallen. He will promuse much with fair speeches and plausible promises.

Let us be careful that we not make the arm of flesh the foundation of our trust.

• Saul was a man designated by the Lord.

The Lord said, “There he is, the man of whom I spoke to you. This one shall reign over My people.” God gave Saul to Israel, not because He knew that Saul would deplete them, but because Saul stood for the best that the flesh could provide. If the people would not have the Lord to reign over them, He would give them every opportunity from the best which the world could afford.

It seems to us that from the day that Christ waa crucified and rejected as King, God has played eminently fair with Israel and with the peoples of the world. This is man’s day, and God has, in many ways, taken hands off and allowed man to ply his genius and skill in the world of invention and of social ethics, to develop his own utopia.

How is that working out?

Guard your heart. Teach your children. Watch and pray.