Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
There was a Benjamite, a man of standing, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. He had a son named Saul, an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites—a head taller than any of the others.
Now the donkeys belonging to Saul's father Kish were lost, and Kish said to his son Saul, "Take one of the servants with you and go and look for the donkeys." So he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and through the area around Shalisha, but they did not find them. They went on into the district of Shaalim, but the donkeys were not there. Then he passed through the territory of Benjamin, but they did not find them.
When they reached the district of Zuph, Saul said to the servant who was with him, "Come, let's go back, or my father will stop thinking about the donkeys and start worrying about us."
But the servant replied, "Look, in this town there is a man of God; he is highly respected, and everything he says comes true. Let's go there now. Perhaps he will tell us what way to take."
Saul said to his servant, "If we go, what can we give the man? The food in our sacks is gone. We have no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?"
The servant answered him again. "Look," he said, "I have a quarter of a shekel of silver. I will give it to the man of God so that he will tell us what way to take." (Formerly in Israel, if a man went to inquire of God, he would say, "Come, let us go to the seer," because the prophet of today used to be called a seer.)
"Good," Saul said to his servant. "Come, let's go." So they set out for the town where the man of God was.
1 Samuel 9:1-10
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In Chapter 8, we read where Israel demanded to have a king, even despite Samuel’s warnings from the Lord.
As Chapter 9 opens, we’re introduced to the man who will be Israel’s first king…a man named Saul.
The passage opens with some background information on Saul. We learn that he is the son of Kish, a member of the tribe of Benjamin and a “man of standing”. Saul is described as “an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites”, standing “a head taller than any of the others”.
This young man Saul is called to action by his father who had lost his donkeys, instructed to “Take one of the servants…and go and look for the donkeys." So Saul did as his father asked and went after the donkeys with a servant, passing “through the hill country of Ephraim”, the “area around Shalisha”, the “district of Shaalim” and the “territory of Benjamin” but were unable to locate the donkeys. As they reached the “district of Zuph”, Saul began to have doubts that they would be able to find the animals saying to the servant, “Come, let's go back, or my father will stop thinking about the donkeys and start worrying about us."
The servant had one more idea however. For he knew of a “man of God” who was “highly respected” and “everything he (said came) true”. The servant was speaking about none other than Samuel himself and proposed to Saul, “Let's go there now. Perhaps he will tell us what way to take." Such was the confidence the servant had in Samuel’s ability to tell them exactly where to find the lost donkeys.
Saul didn’t have a problem with the plan overall but did have one concern. It was customary for one to give a prophet or seer a gift of gratitude for the help they provided but Saul didn’t think they had anything to give since all their food was gone. The servant puts Saul at ease by telling him he had a “quarter of a shekel of silver” that they could give to Samuel in exchange for the information they desired. And with that, they set out for “the town where the man of God was”.
As I pondered this passage, I was taken by the reputation that Samuel had in Israel…a reputation as a man of God who was highly respected and who always spoke the truth. What an awesome way to be remembered among your people!
This further got me thinking about myself and how I might be remembered by the people around me. If someone asked them if there was anyone they knew of who could provide spiritual counseling and guidance, would any of the people who know of me respond by saying, “I know a man of God who is highly respected and who always speaks the truth”. I could only hope and pray that this could be said. In fact, it’s a goal that I strive for and I pray we might all strive for.
So how do we build that reputation? How do we gain a good name among people so that they might respect us as men or women of God who speak truth always because the word they use are the very words of God either from His word or by way of His spirit?
Well, we need only turn to God’s word to be people of it. Consider then these words from Proverbs:
My son, do not forget My teaching, but keep My commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.
Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Proverbs 3:1-4
The first step to establishing a reputation of being a person of God is to not forget His teachings but instead put them into practice in everything we do. For keeping His commands in our hearts keeps us engaged in holiness and righteousness and free from sinful behavior, helping to prolong our lives and bring us blessings from the Father above who sees our faithful service and rewards it.
Ultimately, we remain obedient and faithful to God, His word and His spirit because we love Him first and foremost. And the beauty in this love attitude for God as well as His word, will and way is that all these things will lead us even further into love because that’s what God is in His purest sense. God is love and we only love because He first loved us. The closer and closer we draw near to God, the tighter and tighter His love is bound to our necks and the more His love is written onto the tablets of our hearts. My prayer is that volumes upon volumes of His love would be written on mine and yours as well.
And as we allow God’s word to rule supreme in our lives and His love to saturate our hearts, then others will see us as we are…as men and women of God who have earned their favor as well as the favor of the Father above.
Friends, is there any better place to be than that? It’s little wonder that Solomon wrote one other important proverb on this matter saying:
A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. Proverbs 22:1
Let us ever seek to build our relationships with the Almighty God we love and serve, seeking a good name among Him and His people…now and forever more. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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