Devotions
Rev Gav
Expectant
1 Samuel 9.1 - 10.24
Today's Bible Reading comes from excerpts from 1 Samuel, chapters 9 and 10. The whole chapters are a great read, therefore, if you get the chance, please do go and read the whole thing!
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1 Samuel 9.1-3
There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish... He had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the Israelites more handsome than he; he stood head and shoulders above everyone else.
Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, had strayed. So Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the young men with you; go and look for the donkeys.”
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Saul and the young man searched all over the place for the donkeys, and eventually the young man suggested they go and see Samuel, the seer. In the meantime, Samuel had been told by God that...
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1 Samuel 9.16
"Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be ruler over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines, for I have seen the suffering of my people, because their outcry has come to me.”
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Samuel tells Saul not to worry about the donkeys, because they'd been found. That night they dined and then the very next morning...
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1 Samuel 10.1
Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it on Saul's head and kissed him; he said, "The Lord has anointed you ruler over his people Israel. You shall reign over the people of the Lord, and you will save them from the hand of their enemies all around. Now this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you ruler over his heritage:"
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Samuel then listed a whole bunch of signs that Saul would encounter and each one was fulfilled before Saul eventually made it home. Saul's uncle asked him what Samuel had said and he told his uncle that Samuel had told him about the donkeys but not about the whole 'king' thing!
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1 Samuel 10.17-19
Samuel summoned the people to the Lord at Mizpah and said to the Israelites, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said, 'No, but set a king over us.' Now, therefore, present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your clans.”
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Then Samuel gathered everyone together to select a new king by drawing lots, first by tribe, then by family, and then by person. Saul was chosen but he'd gone and hidden himself!
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1 Samuel 10.23-24
Then the people ran and brought him from where he was hiding. When he took his stand among the people, he was head and shoulders taller than any of them. Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see the one whom the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people." And all the people shouted, "Long live the king!"
Reflect
The story of the calling of Saul by Samuel is found in Chapters 9 and 10 of the book of 1 Samuel, and it is a wonderful read, full of humanity and humour that is especially appealing to children. There’s the whole donkey thing, Saul seemingly embarrassed with all the attention, his dad being worried about his whereabouts, and his hiding himself. This was a story to be told by the fire-side, and if you can put it into your own words and read it out loud (as you would to children) then it it is even better!
The question I want to ask is, if the donkeys had not gone missing, and if the young man had not suggested that they go and seek the help of Samuel to find them, would Saul have encountered Samuel and received this life-changing anointing? Certainly, Saul thought the whole thing was a bit much — this young man unexpectedly stumbling into becoming Israel’s first king!
So what can we learn from the story? What points of connection do we have?
Firstly, there is something about God using situations that at first seem totally ‘unspiritual’ to bring about divine fulfilment. How could something as bizarre as the loss of donkeys lead to an anointing as king? Perhaps this story is a reminder that God can turn around and use the most incongruous of situations to fulfil God’s will and purpose.
Secondly, there is something about Saul’s companion suggesting, and Saul agreeing, to seek God’s solution to their missing donkey problem. It was this decision that put them on a collision course with Samuel and in a position to hear God’s voice. Perhaps this story is a reminder for us, when we feel lost or at sea, to turn to God in prayer and seek God’s will.
Finally, the story is a reminder that we have a God of Surprises; that God can use us, even if we do not believe it or hide; that others often recognise God working in and through us; and that we do not have to strive or accomplish God’s will in our own strength but allow others to ‘anoint’ us with their God-inspired words of encouragement.
Today, rest in the fact that God has a will and purpose for you and for all creation, and that all you need to do is be open to God’s leading and go with the flow. God is at work in and through you, therefore be expectant, God may well surprise you.
Photo by Abubakar Isa on Unsplash
Pray
Holy God
May I be open to
your divine leading and
expect you to be at work
even when things seem
uninspiring or unspiritual.
When I feel anxious and
at a loss as to what to do,
may I, through prayer, seek
your will and purpose.
Thank you that you are
a God of surprises.
This day and forever.
and then