AN INDISCRIMINATE LORD

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

As they were going up the hill to the town, they met some girls coming out to draw water, and they asked them, "Is the seer here?"

"He is," they answered. "He's ahead of you. Hurry now; he has just come to our town today, for the people have a sacrifice at the high place. As soon as you enter the town, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people will not begin eating until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward, those who are invited will eat. Go up now; you should find him about this time."

They went up to the town, and as they were entering it, there was Samuel, coming toward them on his way up to the high place.

Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed this to Samuel: "About this time tomorrow, I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him leader over my people Israel; he will deliver my people from the hand of the Philistines. I have looked upon my people, for their cry has reached Me."

When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the Lord said to him, "This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern My people."

Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and asked, "Would you please tell me where the seer's house is?"

"I am the seer," Samuel replied. "Go up ahead of me to the high place, for today you are to eat with me, and in the morning, I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart. As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them; they have been found. And to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and all your father's family?"

Saul answered, "But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?"

Then Samuel brought Saul and his servant into the hall and seated them at the head of those who were invited—about thirty in number. Samuel said to the cook, "Bring the piece of meat I gave you, the one I told you to lay aside."

So the cook took up the leg with what was on it and set it in front of Saul. Samuel said, "Here is what has been kept for you. Eat, because it was set aside for you for this occasion, from the time I said, 'I have invited guests.' " And Saul dined with Samuel that day.

After they came down from the high place to the town, Samuel talked with Saul on the roof of his house. They rose about daybreak and Samuel called to Saul on the roof, "Get ready, and I will send you on your way." When Saul got ready, he and Samuel went outside together. As they were going down to the edge of the town, Samuel said to Saul, "Tell the servant to go on ahead of us" - and the servant did so – “but you stay here awhile, so that I may give you a message from God."

Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on Saul's head and kissed him, saying, "Has not the Lord anointed you leader over His inheritance? When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel's tomb, at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, 'The donkeys you set out to look for have been found. And now your father has stopped thinking about them and is worried about you. He is asking, "What shall I do about my son?’”

"Then you will go on from there until you reach the great tree of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there. One will be carrying three young goats, another three loaves of bread, and another a skin of wine. They will greet you and offer you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from them.

"After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, tambourines, flutes, and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying. The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.”

"Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do."

1 Samuel 9:11-27, 10:1-8

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Earlier in chapter 9 of 1st Samuel, we saw the young man Saul and his servant dispatched to search for his father’s lost donkeys. After hours and hours of looking, you’ll remember that he was ready to give up before the servant gave him a suggestion. He knew of a local seer who had a reputation of being a man of God who always highly respected by the people and always spoke the truth. The servant believed the seer could tell them where the donkeys were and so they went to seek the man out who was none other than Samuel himself.

As today’s passage opens, we see where they were approaching Samuel’s town when they encountered “some girls coming out to draw water” and so they asked them if the seer was there. The girls tell them that he (the seer) was in town for that day to be with the people as they had a “sacrifice at the high place”, adding that they could catch Samuel before the sacrifice began if they hurried ahead. And so Saul and the servant did just that, encountering Samuel just before they entered the town.

Now, you would have thought that this meet up would have taken Samuel by surprise but we learn where it didn’t because the Lord had come to him the day before and told him this:

“About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him leader over my people Israel; he will deliver my people from the hand of the Philistines. I have looked upon my people, for their cry has reached me."

And so when Samuel caught sight of Saul, he knew he was the man that God had told him about…the man who would govern the people…the selected king of Israel.

Now, of course Saul has no prior knowledge of this. All he wanted to do was locate his father’s donkeys and went to Samuel for that explicit purpose. He didn’t have the divine vision that Samuel had and so not surprisingly, we find him completely unaware that it is Samuel who approaches him. We know this because Saul asks him:

“Would you please tell me where the seer's house is?"

To which Samuel tells Saul that he is the seer.

Of interest, we read where Saul doesn’t get the information he wanted right away. Rather, Samuel tells him to do the following:

“Go up ahead of me to the high place, for today you are to eat with me, and in the morning, I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart. As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them; they have been found. And to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and all your father's family?"

Samuel’s words come as a total surprise to Saul for he wasn’t just given information regarding the donkeys but about his future…a future that would have “all the desire of Israel” turned to him and his family.

At first, we see where Saul doesn’t understand how he could ever be elevated to such a renowned position. After all, he was from Benjamin, the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and even within that tribe, his clan was the least of them all and so how could Samuel say what he was saying? To Saul, it was a complete impossibility but he would soon find out that when it comes to God, the improbably often becomes probable.

And so Samuel invites Saul to dine with him and stay the night because he had a “message from God” to give him, a message he delivered the next day as Saul was ready to depart. We read that after Saul sent his servant ahead by Samuel’s request, “Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on Saul's head” before kissing him and saying:

“Has not the Lord anointed you leader over His inheritance?”

Indeed, Saul had been anointed king of Israel…king over the Lord’s inheritance, and with that, Samuel sent him away, telling him of several events he would encounter on the way…events that would serve as signs that what Samuel told him was true. Here’s what Samuel said regarding these signs:

“…once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you. Go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days until I come to you and tell you what you are to do."

And so Saul departs, fully knowing that He had been chosen by God to lead the Israelites. He further knew that the Lord was with him and all he needed to do was wait seven days for Samuel to return to him when he would receive further instruction as to what to do next. Unfortunately, we will see where Saul doesn’t waste any time showing a willingness to disobey God and squander all that had given to him.

Within this passage for today, we learn a very important thing about God. For we have the honor and privilege of serving an indiscriminate Lord…a Lord who is willing to do anything through anyone, regardless of that person’s earthly stature or status.

In the case of Saul, we learned that he wasn’t some descendant of Israelite royalty or from some powerful tribe or clan. Rather, he was from the smallest tribe and the least significant clan in that tribe. Surely, if one were to wager on where the first king of Israel might come from, Saul’s tribe and clan would certainly have been given astronomically poor odds…and yet, God had chosen Saul to be king.

Friends, we should never underestimate our Lord and what He is willing to do at any particular time through any particular person. We should never doubt for a moment that He can and will use any of us in amazing ways for amazing purposes. For the scriptures remind us in Paul’s letter to the Philippians that we can do all things through Him and the strength He provides (4:13).

Rest assured of this. If it’s God’s will for you to do something, then you can and will do it as long as you submit yourself to His service and trust Him to complete His work while partnering with you. For in the end, it’s not really you doing His work but Him doing His work through you. You are merely an instrument of His will…used by Him to advance His kingdom here on earth so that in the end He might be glorified.

So what might God have in store for you in your life?

My suggestion is to not rule anything out for we do indeed serve an indiscriminate Lord who can and will do anything through anyone He chooses. We just need to be ready and willing when He picks us.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.