Glossa Water: First Samuel 9 and 10

Showing posts with label First Samuel 9 and 10. Show all posts

Friday, October 3, 2014

With Interest...

In First Samuel chapters 9 and 10, we see an interesting progression of events in the narrative:

v Saul leaves home for a few days: not because of his own desires, but because his father’s donkeys are lost and he needs to find them.

v Saul seeks out Samuel: not because of his own desires, but because his servant knew of a prophet that could lead them to the donkeys.

v Saul receives a prophetic word concerning his destiny as king of Israel: not because of his own desires, but because Samuel obediently shared the word of the LORD with him.

Sometimes we think of prophecy as an event that we ought to run to. And, sometimes, we do run to prophetic events. We hear that a famous minister is preaching, and we show up to hear him. Or we get on a plane and fly out to see an individual who we believe may have “a word” for us. But, in Saul’s case, he had no desire to seek out a word for himself. His interest was in finding his father’s property.

I wonder if any of us today are interested in finding our heavenly Father’s property. I wonder if any of us today will walk the miles, and write the letters, and make the phone calls, and pray the prayers on behalf of those who are unsaved.

Could it be that the receiving of authentic personal prophecy, even in today’s context, must be preceded by our heart’s desire to find the ones who have gone missing from our Father’s house? There’s part of an old chorus that says “So forget about yourself, and concentrate on Him, and worship Him, worship Christ, the Lord.” Worship is far more than singing. It is a declaration that our Father is awesome and His interests are our interests. It is an indication that we have forgotten about ourselves. Our lips declare this, and our lives demonstrate this.

But what a gracious God He is! As we seek to save the lost, He shows up and surprises us with great things that we weren’t even looking for. As we seek to save others, it is He who does the saving. As we commune with Him in His sanctuary, He tells us things about ourselves. And when we have heard His word and left His house of worship, He does the amazing work of establishing His residence in us. Saul experienced this at various moments in his life. We can experience this every day too! All we need to do is ask the Spirit of Jesus to cleanse us from sin and make us more like Him by sending His Spirit to live in us.

Today is a good day to stop chasing after “a word” about what interests us, and start chasing after the things that interest our Lord.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Missing Donkeys. Circus Monkeys.

When I was a little girl, my mom used to take me to the circus. I was fascinated by the clown acts. These talented men and women would entertain the crowds through slapstick humor and creativity. Sometimes, the clowns would incorporate dogs and chimpanzees into their acts. Oh, how we would laugh.

When I was sixteen years old, though, a curious thing happened. Not one person in my family wanted to go to the circus that year-- that is, no one except me. So, I went by myself. As I sat in the arena and watched the circus with no family to talk with, I was able to see something very interesting: this particular show used the clowns only during set changes. Their antics, highlighted in one section of the arena, were pulling the audience’s attention away from a different part of the arena-- the dimly lit part, which was being set up for a large, exciting display. The spotlight was on the clowns—but, in that moment, I saw what was happening in the shadows.

Pastor Andy noted that God sets up all the connections that move us into our destiny. Our pastor shared from First Samuel 9, in which we find Saul and his servant focused on finding the missing donkeys which belonged to Kish, Saul’s father. Pastor Andy said, and I paraphrase here: For Saul, the pressing issue was that his father’s donkeys were missing. But Saul didn’t realize that the missing donkeys were the means by which God would move Saul into a far greater event—the distinction of being Israel’s first king.

Not every event becomes a precursor to a life-changing experience. But, as our pastor said to us on Sunday, we are called to be observant. Maybe you’ve been laughing at the clowns and dogs and chimpanzees, completely unaware of the set changes occurring on the other side of the arena. Maybe you’ve been wandering around looking for someone else’s missing donkeys, not realizing that your kingship is just around the corner.

Now Saul's uncle asked him and his servant, "Where have you been?" "Looking for the donkeys," he said. "But when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel." (First Samuel 10:14)

Monday, September 29, 2014

He's Hiding Among The Supplies.

Yesterday’s sermon, Moving Forward in God’s Destiny, pointed us to the means by which God reveals His desire for our lives. During this week we will reflect on a few of the themes Pastor Andy shared with us. For today, let’s read the chapters referenced in the sermon.

First Samuel 9 and 10

There was a Benjamite, a man of standing, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bekorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. Kish had a son named Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else.

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 someone went to inquire of God, they 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.

As they were going up the hill to the town, they met some young women 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 ruler over my people Israel; he will deliver them from the hand of the Philistines. I have looked on 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 send you on your way 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 your whole family line?”

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 thigh 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 for a while, so that I may give you a message from God.”

Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it on Saul’s head and kissed him, saying, “Has not the Lord anointed you ruler 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 worship 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, timbrels, pipes and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying. The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, 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.”

As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. When he and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he joined in their prophesying. When all those who had formerly known him saw him prophesying with the prophets, they asked each other, “What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” A man who lived there answered, “And who is their father?” So it became a saying: “Is Saul also among the prophets?” After Saul stopped prophesying, he went to the high place.

Now Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where have you been?” “Looking for the donkeys,” he said. “But when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.” Saul’s uncle said, “Tell me what Samuel said to you.” Saul replied, “He assured us that the donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about the kingship.

Samuel summoned the people of Israel to the Lord at Mizpah and said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’ But you have now rejected your God, who saves you out of all your disasters and calamities. And you have said, ‘No, appoint a king over us.’ So now present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and clans.”

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.”

They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others. Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the man the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” Then the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

Samuel explained to the people the rights and duties of kingship. He wrote them down on a scroll and deposited it before the Lord. Then Samuel dismissed the people to go to their own homes.

Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, accompanied by valiant men whose hearts God had touched. But some scoundrels said, “How can this fellow save us?” They despised him and brought him no gifts. But Saul kept silent.