“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 for a while, so that I may give you a message from God.””
– 1 Samuel 9:27
Hi James and Ellen,
Have you ever been chosen to play on a team? If you have ever been chosen to play on a team, how were you chosen? If you were chosen to play on a team, who chose you? When a guy, gal or kid is led in a figurative way by God – as God the Spirit, past the blood stained cross on which God – as God the Son, suffered and died and then through the faith/grace door, the guy, gal or kid becomes a player on the team of Christ-follower radicals. Do you know how a guy, gal or kid get chosen to be on the team of Christ-follower fanatics? Do you know who chooses a guy, gal or kid to be on the team of Christ-follower activists? Do you know what a guy, gal or kid is expected to do on a team of Christ-follower extremists? If you were chosen today by a guy or gal to play on his or her team, would you hope to be the team leader or would you be okay with being just one of the players on the team? What do you think qualifies a guy, gal or kid to be the team leader versus the guy, gal or kid being just one of the players on the team? Do you think that guys, gals and kids are normally, innately drawn to a guy, gal or kid who conveys being secure in himself or herself as being the guy, gal or kid who they want their team leader to be or do you think that guys, gals and kids will usually gravitate towards the biggest guy, gal or kid who is on the team to ascribe the guy, gal or kid to be their team’s leader or do you think that guys, gals and kids will habitually abdicate their team leader spot to a guy, gal or kid who through his or her blatant conscious or inherent unconscious bullying claims the role of leader? Do you know why Saul was chosen, how Saul was chosen, what Saul was doing when he was chosen and who chose Saul to be the first king to rule over/to be the leader of the guys and gals who lived in the land of Israel?
1 Samuel 9 recounts three days of Saul’s life. Saul was an Israelite. Benjamin tribal clan was Saul’s tribal clan. Benjamin tribal clan was the smallest of the twelve Israelite people group tribal clans. Saul’s dad had donkeys. Saul may have been a donkey wrangler. Saul’s height made Saul an impressive, imposing dude. Saul was a head taller than every other guy in the area. Kish – who was Saul’s dad, had his donkeys disappear one day, Kish sent his kid to look for his missing donkeys. Saul and a servant spent three days trekking through Ephraim tribal clan’s hill country area – in the districts of the cities of Shalisha and Shallim, without finding his dad’s missing donkeys. When Saul and the servant who was with him arrived in the district of Zuph – which was a town in Benjamin tribal clan area, Saul was ready to give up and head home. Saul was concerned that his dad might be worried about him. Saul was hungry because he and the servant who was with him had eaten the food that they had taken with them. Saul was broke. When the servant who was with Saul suggested to Saul that he ask a nearby respected man of God – who was Samuel, for his divine wisdom in locating his dad’s awol donkeys, Saul used the excuse of not having a gift to give to the seer or prophet – which Samuel was known to be, as to why seeing this seer or prophet was not an option. There is a sense that Saul did not know anything about Samuel even though Samuel lived near the farm where he lived with his dad and ma. When the servant who was with Saul said that he had a quarter of a shekel of silver, Saul was willing to go see Samuel. As Saul and the servant who was with him were walking up the road that went to the town of Zuph, they met gals who were walking down the road to get water who told them that Samuel was home.
Saul did not know that Samuel knew that he was coming to see him. Saul did not know though the name of the guy who was to show up to see him; Samuel just knew that a guy from Benjamin tribal clan would show up on that day and that he was to anoint the guy to be the first king to reign over the Israelite people group guys and gals. God told Samuel the day before Saul arrived that the guy who he was to anoint – that the guy would be from Benjamin tribal clan, would save His specially chosen guys and gals – who are the Israelite people group guys and gals, from Philistine marauders who were constantly venturing into the land of Canaan – which is the land that God had given to His specially chosen guys and gals to always to have to live in as their very own land if . . . because His specially chosen guys and gals were always grumbling that they did not have a king like their neighboring nations and people groups of guys and gals had, God was acquiescing to their moaning and groaning to have a king, too. After eating a large chunk of meat – a loin, which Samuel had his cook set aside for whoever the guy would be who God told him would show up that day, Saul spent the night at Samuel’s house – sleeping on Samuel’s house’s flat roof. Verse 27 recounts what took place the following day, “As they were going down to the edge of the town, Samuel said to Saul, ““Tell the servant to go ahead of us’”—and the servant did so—“‘but you stay here awhile, so that I may give you a message from God.”” Your grandpaa not long ago read Donkeys Still Talk by Virelle Kidder. Your grandpaa thinks that everyone should read this book. The book has real life anecdotes in ‘donkey contexts’ of hearing God speak or discovering God’s life plan in unexpected ways. Your grandpaa knows that throughout his life that God has used life circumstances – such as Saul looking for his dad’s donkeys, to have your grandpaa engage in the unfolding life plan that He has for your grandpaa that has him being an active player on the Christ-follower team of guys, gals and kids.
1 Samuel 9 (1039)