Whenever I think about a process in the bible, King Saul is the first, who comes to my thoughts. There is a saying in Hebrew about Saul: "he went to look at the female donkeys, and he found a monarchy". Today we will discuss his journey that he had made from being a young boy to being the King of Israel, as they asked from Samuel in 1 Samuel 8:5-

"וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו, הִנֵּה אַתָּה זָקַנְתָּ, וּבָנֶיךָ, לֹא הָלְכוּ בִּדְרָכֶיךָ; עַתָּה, שִׂימָה-לָּנוּ מֶלֶךְ לְשָׁפְטֵנוּ--כְּכָל-הַגּוֹיִם"
 

"And they (the elders of Israel) said unto him: 'Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways; now make us a king to judge us like all the nations."

In 1 Samuel 9, Kish, the father of Saul, asks him to look for the asses, because they were lost. The asses caused Saul to arrive in the area where Samuel had been. The young boy, who was Saul's servant, influenced him to arrive at the place where Samuel had been. The young girls whom both met caused them to arrive at the right time when they said in 1 Samuel 9:12-

"וַתַּעֲנֶינָה אוֹתָם וַתֹּאמַרְנָה יֵּשׁ, הִנֵּה לְפָנֶיךָ; מַהֵר עַתָּה, כִּי הַיּוֹם בָּא לָעִיר--כִּי זֶבַח הַיּוֹם לָעָם, בַּבָּמָה."
 

"And they answered them, and said: 'He is; behold, he is before thee; make haste now, for he is come to-day into the city; for the people have a sacrifice to-day in the high place."

After their meeting, the sun came out, I am sure that the sky was blue, as The Beatles sang, and Samuel anointed Saul for the first time, as we read in 1 Samuel 9:27- 10:1-

"הֵמָּה, יוֹרְדִים בִּקְצֵה הָעִיר, וּשְׁמוּאֵל אָמַר אֶל-שָׁאוּל אֱמֹר לַנַּעַר וְיַעֲבֹר לְפָנֵינוּ, וַיַּעֲבֹר; וְאַתָּה עֲמֹד כַּיּוֹם, וְאַשְׁמִיעֲךָ אֶת-דְּבַר אֱלֹהִים. וַיִּקַּח שְׁמוּאֵל אֶת-פַּךְ הַשֶּׁמֶן, וַיִּצֹק עַל-רֹאשׁוֹ--וַיִּשָּׁקֵהוּ; וַיֹּאמֶר--הֲלוֹא כִּי-מְשָׁחֲךָ יְהוָה עַל-נַחֲלָתוֹ, לְנָגִיד."

"As they were going down at the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul: 'Bid the servant passes on before us--and he passed on--but stand thou still at this time, that I may cause thee to hear the word of God.' Then Samuel took the vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said: 'Is it not that the LORD hath anointed thee to be prince over His inheritance?"

Standing there alone- with the presence of G-d, at the end of the city, when the day just started, without any witnesses, hidden from the eyes of the people, was the first time that Saul became a King.

The second time was with the people of Israel and this time the show must go on with a story of lottery, as written in 1 Samuel 10:20-22-

"וַיַּקְרֵב שְׁמוּאֵל, אֵת כָּל-שִׁבְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל; וַיִּלָּכֵד, שֵׁבֶט בִּנְיָמִן. וַיַּקְרֵב אֶת-שֵׁבֶט בִּנְיָמִן, לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָו, וַתִּלָּכֵד, מִשְׁפַּחַת הַמַּטְרִי; וַיִּלָּכֵד שָׁאוּל בֶּן-קִישׁ, וַיְבַקְשֻׁהוּ וְלֹא נִמְצָא. וַיִּשְׁאֲלוּ-עוֹד, בַּיהוָה, הֲבָא עוֹד, הֲלֹם אִישׁ;  וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה, הִנֵּה-הוּא נֶחְבָּא אֶל-הַכֵּלִים."

"When Samuel had all Israel come forward by tribes, the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, and Matri’s clan was taken. Finally Saul son of Kish was taken. But when they looked for him, he was not to be found. So they inquired further of the LORD, “Has the man come here yet?” And the LORD said, “Yes, he has hidden himself among the supplies.”
Almost everyone accepted their new King, Saul, but there was an opposition against him as we can read at the end of this chapter, where it's written:

" וּבְנֵי בְלִיַּעַל אָמְרוּ, מַה-יֹּשִׁעֵנוּ זֶה, וַיִּבְזֻהוּ, וְלֹא-הֵבִיאוּ לוֹ מִנְחָה; וַיְהִי, כְּמַחֲרִישׁ."

"But some scoundrels said, “How can this fellow save us?” They despised him and brought him no gifts. However, Saul kept silent" (1 Samuel 10:27)

After the second crowning Saul is just a shepherd without any authority or power to govern. Only when he unifies all the people of Israel in the next chapter, all the people support him without a doubt. Saul succeeded to collect all the people. He won the war with the ammonites. He prevented his people from killing the opposition that was against him, and he gained a third crowning as we can read in 1 Samuel 11:12-15-

"  וַיֹּאמֶר הָעָם, אֶל-שְׁמוּאֵל, מִי הָאֹמֵר, שָׁאוּל יִמְלֹךְ עָלֵינוּ:  תְּנוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים, וּנְמִיתֵם. וַיֹּאמֶר שָׁאוּל, לֹא-יוּמַת אִישׁ בַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה:  כִּי הַיּוֹם עָשָׂה-יְהוָה תְּשׁוּעָה, בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל. וַיֹּאמֶר שְׁמוּאֵל אֶל-הָעָם, לְכוּ וְנֵלְכָה הַגִּלְגָּל; וּנְחַדֵּשׁ שָׁם, הַמְּלוּכָה. וַיֵּלְכוּ כָל-הָעָם הַגִּלְגָּל, וַיַּמְלִכוּ שָׁם אֶת-שָׁאוּל לִפְנֵי יְהוָה בַּגִּלְגָּל, וַיִּזְבְּחוּ-שָׁם זְבָחִים שְׁלָמִים, לִפְנֵי יְהוָה; וַיִּשְׂמַח שָׁם שָׁאוּל וְכָל-אַנְשֵׁי יִשְׂרָאֵל, עַד-מְאֹד."

"The people then said to Samuel, “Who was it that asked, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Turn these men over to us so that we may put them to death.” But Saul said, “No one will be put to death today, for this day the LORD has rescued Israel.” Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingship." So all the people went to Gilgal and made Saul king in the presence of the LORD. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings before the LORD, and Saul and all the Israelites held a great celebration."

The process ended. Don't forget that the hardest things in your life won't come to you without wars and oppositions, as Queen sang: "Easy come, easy go"
 Have a great week, Eli