“Hey, what do we ‘make’ of this?”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Saturday, July 1, 2023
1 Samuel 9:15-10:1 (Forward, p. 63) CEV p. 285
Today’s passage once again raises the kind of questions that have long puzzled and bedeviled Bible students and pastors. “What are we to make of Biblical accounts that seem to have little or no bearing upon our lives today? How are we to interpret them? And indeed, are we to try to apply them, when our times and circumstances seem so very difficult? So, how do we answer these questions?
At the onset, God tells Samuel that He is concerned for His people Israel, concerned especially for the way that they are being treated by the Philistines. They are suffering and crying for help, so He will send someone to deliver them from this enemy. That saviour, that leader, will be none other than the future King Saul. So, what do we make of this? Some will suggest—and I would say, rightfully so—that God is concerned for His people and for the leadership of nations. But then, these nations are not Israel, so does this apply closely, or not?
Some would go further and suggest that God chooses those who will lead nations, while others would suggest otherwise, especially where leaders come to power or stay in power by force or corruption or coercion. So then, are they put there by God, even if the circumstances are somewhat iffy? And what about leaders who are elected? Are they too appointed by God? Are all our world’s present leaders all God’s choices for that position? While some would suggest so, others would firmly disagree. So, once again, we are somewhat unsure, somewhat muddled, about this line of interpretation.
There is one thing, however, that I do think that we can take away from this passage, namely that God meets us in the ordinary, everyday, prosaic circumstances of life and intervenes to change the direction of our lives. Saul was merely on an expedition to search of his family’s missing donkeys and decided to ask the man of God, Samuel, for assistance. He never dreamt that God might have other ideas. And, I dare say, that this is likewise true of us and God. We never know just who we will meet or what circumstances will head our way, and never know just how God will make
use of them. And so, it is best to be open to them, and to just go with whatever God desires. Amen.
Forward notes: “Then Samuel took Saul and his servant-boy and brought them into the hall, and gave them a place at the head of those who had been invited” (chapter 9, verse 22).
“I have a friend who lived for many years in submission to the wishes and will of those who lived with her. This situation made her feel worthless, a person of no value. Yet by faithfully reading the Word of God and praying, she obtained the spiritual food she needed and the strength to assert her dignity.
“When Saul receives the Word of God through Samuel, he feels that a mistake has been made: Saul came from the smallest, the most insignificant tribe. How could he possibly be the one that God would choose for such an important task? Yet for God, none of us is insignificant or small. Jesus calls us to pray in order to be freed from temptations. When we pray regularly, we are freed from spiritual scarcity, and we understand the value of allowing God’s will to work in our lives. Today my friend is an independent, self-assured woman—a leader in the church who is respected and loved.”
Moving Forward: “Pray for God’s will to be done in your life.”