A New King

A NEW KING

a prayer to open

My Lord, my God, show me your heart. Ground me in your presence.

Draw me near and hold me close.

Saul was the most handsome man in Israel—head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the land.

One day [Saul’s father’s] donkeys strayed away, and he told Saul, “Take a servant with you, and go look for the donkeys.” So Saul took one of the servants . . . but they couldn’t find the donkeys anywhere. . . .

Saul said to his servant, “Let’s go home. By now my father will be more worried about us than about the donkeys!”

But the servant said, “I’ve just thought of something! There is a man of God who lives here in this town. He is held in high honor by all the people because everything he says comes true. . . . Perhaps he can tell us which way to go.”

“But we don’t have anything to offer him,” Saul replied. “Even our food is gone, and we don’t have a thing to give him.”

“Well,” the servant said, “I have one small silver piece. We can at least offer it to the man of God and see what happens!” . . .

“All right,” Saul agreed, “let’s try it!” . . .

As they were climbing the hill to the town, they met some young women coming out to draw water. So Saul and his servant asked, “Is the seer here today?”

“Yes,” they replied. . . . “He has just arrived to take part in a public sacrifice up at the place of worship. Hurry and catch him before he goes up there to eat.” . . .

So they entered the town, and as they passed through the gates, Samuel was coming out toward them to go up to the place of worship.

Now the LORD had told Samuel the previous day, “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him to be the leader of my people, Israel. He will rescue them from the Philistines, for I have looked down on my people in mercy and have heard their cry.”

When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said, “That’s the man I told you about! He will rule my people.”

Just then Saul approached Samuel at the gateway and asked, “Can you please tell me where the seer’s house is?”

“I am the seer!” Samuel replied. “Go up to the place of worship ahead of me. . . . In the morning I’ll tell you what you want to know and send you on your way. And don’t worry about those donkeys that were lost three days ago, for they have been found. And I am here to tell you that you and your family are the focus of all Israel’s hopes.”

Saul replied, “But I’m only from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest tribe in Israel, and my family is the least important of all the families of that tribe! Why are you talking like this to me?” . . .

When they came down from the place of worship and returned to town, Samuel took Saul up to the roof of the house and prepared a bed for him there. At daybreak the next morning, Samuel called to Saul, “Get up! It’s time you were on your way.” So Saul got ready, and he and Samuel left the house together. When they reached the edge of town, Samuel told Saul to send his servant on ahead. After the servant was gone, Samuel said, “Stay here, for I have received a special message for you from God.” . . .

Then Samuel took a flask of olive oil and poured it over Saul’s head. He kissed Saul and said, “I am doing this because the LORD has appointed you to be the ruler over Israel, his special possession.” . . .

Later Samuel called all the people of Israel to meet before the LORD. . . . And he said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, has declared: I brought you from Egypt and rescued you from the Egyptians and from all of the nations that were oppressing you. But though I have rescued you from your misery and distress, you have rejected your God today and have said, ‘No, we want a king instead!’ Now, therefore, present yourselves before the LORD by tribes and clans.”

So Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel before the LORD, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by lot. Then he brought each family of the tribe of Benjamin before the LORD, and the family of the Matrites was chosen. And finally Saul son of Kish was chosen from among them. But when they looked for him, he had disappeared! So they asked the LORD, “Where is he?”

And the LORD replied, “He is hiding among the baggage.” So they found him and brought him out, and he stood head and shoulders above anyone else.

Then Samuel said to all the people, “This is the man the LORD has chosen as your king. No one in all Israel is like him!”

And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

What a remarkable thing it is to see how God orchestrated this first meeting between Saul and Samuel! The day before Saul went out looking for his father’s lost donkeys, God was already speaking to Samuel about this young man God had chosen to be Israel’s first human king. We are told that Saul was tall and handsome, as the kings of the surrounding nations would have been, but when he was called forward to receive the approval of the people, he cowered in fear. Nevertheless, the Israelites affirmed him as king and began an era in which God’s people pursued the heart of the world instead of the heart of God. Don’t we know this path well?

• What might Saul’s state of mind and emotions have been as he wandered around looking for his father’s donkeys, continuing to get farther and farther away from his home, and then encountering Samuel, who anointed him the first king over God’s people?
• When have you felt lost and unsure of the way to go? Where have you seen God’s presence or orchestration of circumstances?
• When have you rejected God or his ways in order to pursue something that was popular or would make you more like the world? What was motivating you? Where did you see God in the midst of that time?

Father, I know there have been times when I have treated you as the Israelite people did, rejecting and turning away from you. Show me the ways I’m chasing after the things of the world and seeking to look more like “all the other nations” instead of attaching my heart to you and the things you long to do in and through me to accomplish your purposes. Help me remain focused on you. Amen.