I Samuel 9:3-27 - Samuel Meets Saul

I Samuel 9:3-27

About this time tomorrow I will send you a mean from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel; and he shall deliver My people from the hand of the Philistines. For have regarded My people, because their cry has come to me.

Message: Samuel Meets Saul

Time: This book is a biography of Samuel's life and career up to his death. It took place over a period of about 110 years, stretching from the closing days of the judges, when Samuel was born (ca. 1120 BC) through the death of Saul (1011 BC).

What the Lord is Saying: Tabletalk lesson on this passage begins by talking about God's providence with the premise that God "works all things according to the counsel of his will" (Eph. 1:11). Nothing is random. According to Westminster Larger Catechism 18 (Completed 1647) -- "God’s works of providence are his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving, and governing all his creatures; ordering them, and all their actions, to his own glory."

Ps. 145:17 - The Lord is fair in everything he does and full of kindness. 

Ps. 104:24 - O Lord, what a variety you have made! And in wisdom you have made them all! The earth is full of your riches. 

Isa. 28:29 - The Lord Almighty is a wonderful teacher and gives the farmer wisdom. 

Heb. 1:3 - God’s Son shines out with God’s glory, and all that God’s Son is and does marks him as God. He regulates the universe by the mighty power of his command. He is the one who died to cleanse us and clear our record of all sin, and then sat down in highest honor beside the great God of heaven. 

Ps. 103:19 - The Lord has made the heavens his throne; from there he rules over everything there is. 

Matt. 10:29-31 - Not one sparrow (What do they cost? Two for a penny?) can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t worry! You are more valuable to him than many sparrows. 

Gen. 45:7 - God has sent me here to keep you and your families alive, so that you will become a great nation. 

Rom. 11:36 - For everything comes from God alone. Everything lives by his power, and everything is for his glory. To him be glory evermore. 

Isa. 63:14 - Like cattle grazing in the valleys, so the Spirit of the Lord gave them rest. Thus he gave himself a magnificent reputation.

I found these verses on a website in support of the catechism. They speak of the Lord being fair, that creation is made with God's wisdom and He regulates the universe which he orders it or keeps it in the direction it should go. He rules and the father knows it all. God sends people to achieve outcomes. He knows all that will occur. Everything is for His glory. Cattles graze, the Spirit directing them. Proverbs 16:9 - The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. So man plans, but the Lord directs the outcome. I suppose this takes me back again to God's sovereignty and understanding what this means. It is like I read these words and then wrestle with their meaning. 

I mean, I have studied this previously and seen this. It is said that God is infinite and God cannot be explained by man. We attempt. The whole subject of free will is presented and how do these ideas fit with free will. Man sins and God cannot be an author of sin and man cannot come to God on his own, as a sinner. God must intervene and direct man to Himself. Man can't make Himself on his own right with God. God makes Him right through the sacrifice of His Son - Jesus Christ. 

So God regulates all but not man's sin. He knows His Sin. He determines a path, man makes a choice, God knows the choice and while this outcome is directed by God or ordered by God, with the free will that He has given man, man is still responsible for the action. That is the idea I think. God is not responsible of man's sin but instead man is responsible and yet God orders the result of the sin which He knew would occur. I see that. 

Here is my thought: 

Man has a choice. It is A or B. There will be a result - C. God knows the result. Man chooses B. It is God's will for man to choose B, but man still makes the choice and man alone is accountable to God for that choice even though choosing B was God's will.

A is a choice for good. B is sin and man is completely responsible for this. God cannot sin and does not author sin. But God knows man will sin and it is His will for man to choose sin at times. The B choice results in an outcome of C - death. 

But for some chosen by God, instead of man receiving C, man receives D which is life. But that gift of life came about when God interceded and made it possible for man to choose A - good. Left to himself, man will always choose B. Man is incapable of choosing A without God intervening. And yet for many choosing A will still result in C - death. D only occurs when God determines that person's choosing of A will result in D for that person.

I am simply trying to understand this, but not sure if I do. For me, it is based upon the idea that all good in this world is of God. All the evil of this world is not of God because God cannot sin, but He allows the evil to occur. 

Any good that happens in this world is because of God. When I look at the fruit of the Spirit - Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control. People in this world are capable of exhibiting these. And yet, how? The presence of the Spirit is only in the believer. The believer is filled. My non-Christian friends can be people of Love, Joy, Peace, etc. But perhaps what they are choosing there is not necessarily of God, but only human acts. To forgive like Jesus forgives then that person needs to be filled with the Spirit of Christ. 

I still struggle with these ideas. I read of them but then upon dissecting them don't quite understand. 

I need to get back to the lesson here. 

I Samuel 9:3-27 - Saul is now on the scene. He is the one that the people want. The description of Saul in verse 2 is one of his appearance. That is what stands out. Not who he is on the inside, but rather his appearance. 

Verse 3 begins a story -  Donkeys owned by Kish, Saul's father are lost and Saul is to go search for them. Saul begins the trek through Ephraim, Shalishah, Shaalim, and the land of Benjaminites, but nothing. In the land of Zuph, Saul thinks they need to go back thinking his father will be concerned for Saul and others, moreso than finding donkeys. Saul knows of a man of God in this City and plans to go to him for help. And yet they need to bring him something, a gift or something for payment I suppose. The servant states that he has a shekel of silver to give. In verse 11 they arrive at the city and there are women there drawing water and they ask them for the location of the man. The young women tell them the man is coming to the city to bless a sacrifice that is taking place and this will be an opportunity to see him. The man that is coming is Samuel. The Lord had already been preparing Samuel to anoint Saul to one day deliver His people (Israel) from the hand of the Philistines. Samuel spoke to Saul, telling him the donkeys had been found. And tells him to go to the place and Samuel will come and meet with him there. A meal is prepared for Saul, a special one as Saul was placed at the head of the 30 men that were there. And Samuel speaks to Saul on the roof, proclaiming a word of God to him. 

This lesson points back to the idea started here and that is God directs events for his good purpose. Events that look like coincidences can be part of his plan. The donkeys were lost so that Saul's father would send Saul to find them and on this long trek of not finding the donkey Saul is then led to seek out a spiritual man that ends up being Samuel. And the Lord had already been preparing Samuel for this encounter. 

God directs our encounters and guides the events of our lives. He does this to bring us to a particular place for His purposes. God can use unexpected situations to bring us closer to Him. Therefore, this gives the idea that God is working all things for his good pleasure as Romans 8:28 mentions. The random events in our lives are not random. 

Do we possibly need to think of our lives differently? To not question so much why things are happening the way they are. But to keep trusting God and believing that He has a reason for these events. We keep praying which shows our dependence on Him. 

Summary: Saul's father lost donkeys and sent Saul to find them. He ends up in a city and is led to a seer which is Samuel who is there to give a special word from the Lord to Saul.

Promise: God is working out His good plans for His people even when we cannot see how all the pieces fit together.

Prayer: Lord, increase my faith. Lord, when do I make things happen and when do I not get involved in people's lives. Lord, there is a situation in my life and I feel a need to let you be master over it rather than me interjecting my solution through it. It is hard to know what to do when not doing something results in someone's hardship or intense trial. Lord, it is difficult to balance it all. There are so many with needs. It has taken me so long to get through this lesson Lord. But I thank you for the journey. I want to keep praying and talking to You. Help me to not get in the way and think it doesn't matter. Thank you for making it all work together for good. 

Note: If you are interested in other studies/devotions, check out my index of Bible Study's.