Humble Samuel

God told Samuel in detail how the king of the world would treat the people in order to hold on to his power. God said this before Saul had even become king, and in doing so he was letting it be known that this world, too, moves by God’s working. From now on the king of the world would rule the people of Israel harshly, in a way completely different from God’s rule of love.

When the Bible speaks of the world, it means the whole of human thought, action, place and event that lies outside God. God rules his people within the covenant and uses the world as a tool to fulfill the covenant. That is why you must think deeply about whether you will meet God within the covenant, or be used outside the covenant as a tool for fulfilling it.

The people of Israel were a nation that had been led by God within the covenant, but they walked out of the covenant on their own. They dragged God, who rules heaven and earth, from the throne and went so far astray as to insist that a man should now become king and rule over them. God had chosen Israel as his chosen people and blessed them to live as God’s people. But when they would not give up the world to the end and wanted a powerful worldly king like the Gentiles, God let go of their hand. If the children he has chosen will only live a life of thanks by faith, he protects them forever, so that they receive and enjoy heaven’s blessings in Christ. But God is also the one who lets go of the hand of believers who have received his love and yet to the end do not obey the Word. It was not that people were holding on to God. God first poured out faith and love and was holding on to them, and that is why they could live in a harsh world.

The moment God lets go, we are swept away by the world’s rushing current and can only drift aimlessly, whatever we ourselves want. Once caught in the world’s rapids, we cannot get out on our own. Whether we want to or not, we have to swallow dirty water and are dashed helplessly against the rocks, until we lose every dream and hope and in the end meet death. When a human being becomes king, the suffering of the people is beyond words. God knew that and tried to stop them to the end, but for their sake, since they would not give up, God began the work of setting up a man as king.

In 1 Samuel 9:1-2 the Bible introduces a man of Benjamin named Kish, a mighty man of valor, whose son was named Saul, an impressive young man; from his shoulders and upward he was taller than any of the people. As this shows, to become a king of the world one must be a mighty man, that is, wealthier than others or as strong as a warrior. Saul had every qualification the world wants. He was born into a wealthy family, the heir who would inherit his father’s property, and his looks were outstanding; he had a presence everyone would admire.

Hebrews 1:2

2has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds.

At the end of these days God appointed Christ as his heir. God created the world together with Christ, who is the Word, and Christ the Creator became God’s heir. Yet the Lord had no beauty that we should desire him, no good looks or majesty; he was like a tender plant, and no one thought anything of him. He seemed lacking as the king who would atone for the sins of all humanity.

To become a king of the world, what can be seen matters a great deal. Those who want to be king must first win people’s approval, so they concentrate on appearances. To win people’s favor they announce plans they could never carry out, even if the pledges are false, and make promises as if, once they became king, everything could be had right away. People know he will not keep his pledges once he is king, yet if it sounds good for now, they choose him and make him king. But the Son of God, the heir of all things, sought not the world’s wealth; his only purpose was to give life to a dark world. So he did not try to win people’s approval by what could be seen.

People would rather have a powerful man like Saul, who looks as if he can make them prosper in the world, than Christ, who gives the life that cannot be seen. Even today, people looking for a marriage partner with good qualifications want someone with plenty of money, the best education or outstanding looks. Whatever the person’s character, if the outward conditions are good, they approve. Some who want to be king by these worldly standards are so disappointed when they fall short that they take their own lives. They do not know how beautiful they are just as they are; they ignore and despise themselves and throw themselves into the abyss.

Nowhere in the Bible does it discuss the looks, power or wealth of a leader working for the kingdom of God the way it introduces King Saul. On the contrary, the apostle Paul and the twelve disciples gave up good families, education and wealth and chose the narrow way. This happens because the values they look to are different. Believers who look to the kingdom of God know that the world’s splendor and riches are not theirs in the end, and so they can love God.

1 Corinthians 1:27-28

27but God chose the foolish things of the world that he might put to shame those who are wise. God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong; 28and God chose the lowly things of the world, and the things that are despised, and the things that are not, that he might bring to nothing the things that are:

This is exactly what those chosen by God look like. God does not expand his kingdom through the world’s wisdom, strength or wealth. Even if they lack a little wisdom, have no power, and are poor and ordinary, when God holds on to them they receive God’s wisdom, gain heaven’s spiritual authority, and can be materially rich as well. That is why God is not concerned with what his people already have. So when we have a whole faith, we do not envy the kings of the world. If only you have a true faith, you can look at the world calmly, like scenery spread out beyond a window pane. Whatever hardships come, I hope you will hold fast to God. For the heavenly life and blessing God gives are something this world cannot give, and they are eternal.

The work of setting up Saul as Israel’s first king begins with his father losing his donkeys. His father told his son to go and find the lost donkeys. Saul took a servant and searched for the donkeys everywhere, from his home in Gibeah in the land of Benjamin through the hill country of Ephraim and the land of Shalishah. He searched hard for the donkeys without cutting corners, but when he could not find them and time kept passing, he worried that his father would be anxious. Judging by the devotion that made him worry about the father waiting for him, Saul seems to have been a son who honored his parents and was faithful in the work entrusted to him.

When three days had passed without finding the donkeys and Saul was about to go home, the servant suggested that there was a man of God in this city, a man who is held in honor, and that they should ask him. I hope you will look at Saul’s life objectively and see clearly how God works through the events and relationships of life. The servant knew that Samuel was a prophet who had received God’s power, so he thought that if he took Saul to him, Samuel would surely find the donkeys for them. You will see God using the loss of the donkeys, and a servant who knew Samuel, as the means of sending Saul to Samuel.

Now it is Saul who must choose whether to go and meet the prophet Samuel or to go home out of worry for his father. God did not send Saul straight to Samuel. He moved him through a worldly problem and took time to bring Saul to the point where he had no choice but to go to Samuel. This is what life is.

You may be thinking that if God wanted to make Saul king, he could simply have sent Samuel straight to Saul. But God never leads a life unilaterally. He set up every circumstance and then had Saul make the choice. For which way to go, among all the events and people we meet from moment to moment, is entirely each person’s own choice to make.

I tell you that you must read the Word and raise your children in faith. That is because, just as Saul’s choices, and so his life, turned on the knowledge, faith and judgment he had, so do ours. So that we can judge rightly when God gives us an opportunity, we must make the effort in everything to prepare ourselves and grow.

You will know the navigation systems that guide you to your destination. When you enter heaven as your final destination and set off, it is you who choose whether to go the way the navigation leads or the way you know. There will have been times when, as soon as a road you knew even a little came up along the way, you stopped following the navigation and got lost. But the navigation finds the way again toward the final destination from the very spot where you got lost. As long as the final destination is not changed, it leads you there. As long as you do not turn the navigation off, it will do its best to tell you the way and lead you to your destination.

The final destination for those of us who believe is heaven. But even when the way of truth is shown, if we do not wholly believe it or keep our hearts filled with the world, we will not be able to make the right choice, and because of that our lives will take the long way around. If the home you are going to is heaven, you will meet many hardships in keeping your faith in the world, but in the end you will enter the road to heaven. Whether you choose the way of Christ, even though it looks narrow and restricted, or the wide way that many people take, the choice in the end is yours. We must make right spiritual decisions quickly so that we do not throw away time for nothing. That is why we must always pray without ceasing and be filled; only then can we choose wisely when God shows us two paths.

In verse 16 God told Samuel that tomorrow about this time he would send him a man out of the land of Benjamin, and that Samuel was to anoint him to be prince over God’s people Israel. God calls Israel not Saul’s people but “my people,” and tells Samuel to make Saul prince over “my people.” Though God allowed a man to be king, as Israel wanted, the Word makes it plain what a sin this decision was and how deeply it grieved God. God also gave his purpose in setting Saul up as king: Saul was to save his people out of the hand of the Philistines.

Saul was born into Benjamin, the smallest tribe. But look at the blessing Jacob gave in Genesis 49:27, and you see that the tribe of Benjamin was skilled in war. Jacob prophesied that Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he will devour the prey, and at evening he will divide the plunder. This means the tribe had the courage to lead wars to victory like a fierce wolf. Just as it was prophesied, a king who would defend the nation came from the tribe of Benjamin, and once Saul became king he did in fact lead many wars to victory.

Saul decided to meet Samuel first, and on the way he asked a young maiden going out to draw water whether the seer was there. Then the maiden explained in detail what Samuel did and how much people respected him. Usually, when we ask where someone is, common sense says the answer is that they are there or not, or where they are. But this maiden went into detail, even saying that he would go up to the high place to offer sacrifice, that the people would not eat until Samuel came, and that only after Samuel blessed the sacrifice would those who are invited eat.

God had the maiden tell Saul all this in detail; through her he was working to give weight to Samuel’s words. For if Saul first heard about the ministry Samuel carried out and then met him, he would not be quick to judge for himself whatever Samuel said. Can you feel God’s careful heart, attending even to such small things? Through this whole process Saul would have come to recognize Samuel as a seer even before meeting him, and to have a heart ready to obey his words.

God told Samuel ahead of time that Saul would come to him. Saul came to Samuel without knowing this, but Samuel had already heard from God, so he knew how to deal with Saul. In every part God is helping Samuel carry out his mission better.

In verses 19-20, Samuel said that he was the seer, that Saul would go up to the high place with him today and eat, and that in the morning he would tell him everything in detail. He told him not to set his mind on the donkeys lost three days ago, for they had been found. And telling him that the desire of all Israel was for him and for all his father’s house, Samuel let Saul know that he was the one chosen as king.

When Samuel said the donkeys Saul was looking for had been found, Saul came to trust Samuel completely. God works with care, missing nothing as his work goes forward. Like him, when you plan and carry out any task, you must pay attention even to the small details; only then can you handle it without missing anything. You see as much as you pay attention to, and you can handle as much as you see.

Those who deliver God’s word must first earn people’s trust. For if someone preaches the Word but their life is not upright, that alone lowers the authority of God’s word. This is why believers must live with more character and morality than people of the world. For if they tell others to believe in God but their lives are no example, the hearers will never accept the gospel, however much they evangelize.

As the work of making Saul king goes forward, what we must not miss is Samuel’s self-sacrificing obedience to God. Until now he had ruled the people as judge, in the place of a king. But when God named Saul as king, Samuel used every ability he had and did his utmost to help Saul become king. He is doing as God commanded, without envy or jealousy. No one with even a little worldly greed could ever act as Samuel does here, and it is by no means easy to act as humbly as he did, seating Saul in the best place so that everyone would know Saul was the chosen king. This attitude is the mark of a true prophet; it is impossible without a character that knows oneself to be God’s servant and knows that even this mission is carried out by the grace God gives.

God is still looking for the humble, like Samuel. For though the world has many kings, God is building his kingdom together with those who, like Samuel, stand upright in spirit and obey. I hope you will have an obedient heart like Samuel’s. If you are faithful to God in a low place as Samuel was, and serve God and his people with a humble heart, God will lift you up just as he lifted up Samuel.

Whether God lifts you up or brings you low, may you believe that he is working for the saving of souls in all of it, and always obey. I bless you in the name of Jesus Christ.