CALL TO CONFESSION

Hebrews 4:12-13

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Mighty God, your Word penetrates our hearts and exposes the truth about our thoughts and intentions. It uncovers our self-confidence and self-centeredness, as well as the secret sins that we hide so successfully from one another. The truth is that we cherish and love many evil thoughts in our hearts, even when outwardly we pretend to be full of spiritual desires. We harbor hatred and anger for those around us, along with jealousy and malice. We judge and condemn others in our hearts and envy them. Instead of loving our neighbor as we ought, we use our neighbors to feed our desires and passions. Even our good deeds are stained. We often wait to serve others around us to be seen and admired and glorified. We speak your truth and impatiently and without gentleness in order to prove ourselves. Father, forgive us not just for our sinful actions but for our corrupt and perverse hearts.

Jesus, thank you that you came to deliver us from our sinful self-centeredness. Your heart was always perfectly aligned with the Father’s Word. Your thoughts as well as your actions were always pure and undefiled, filled with love for those around you and compassion for lost people. Even though you are the Lord of Glory, eternally deserving of praise, you never glorified yourself. Instead you laid aside your glory and became a humble servant, defeating the forces of Satan through your own death, and winning victory in our place.

Holy Spirit, teach us not to trust in ourselves or an earthly sources of power and strength. Enable us to rest from all our attempts to win the Father’s favor on our own, and to trust completely in Jesus, our great high priest, who faithfully intercedes for us. Help us not to be unduly discouraged by the heavy load of guilt that's so easily clings to our hearts. Instead, whenever we see clearly the sins of our hearts, enable us to fly to the truth of the Scriptures that in Christ the penalty of those sins has been paid for once for all. Remind us that we are now clothed in Christ's perfect righteousness, and that therefore there can be no condemnation left for us. In Christ’s name, amen.

“Take a few moments to personally confess your sins to the Lord.”

ASSURANCE OF PARDON

“Hear these words of comfort and assurance.” 

Hebrews 4:14-16

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

• The people have rejected God as their king, they’ve demanded a king like all the other nations, they’ve refused to obey the voice and wisdom of Samuel and clamored for a King to rule over them.
• And The Lord has told Samuel “Obey their voice. Make them a King.” And that's not an instant request to grant and so Samuel sends them home.
• And we’re left to wait to see what unfolds next with many unanswered questions: Who will be made king? How will he be chosen? When will the king be crowned? Where will he rule from? This is a completely new phase in Israel’s history, they’ve never had a king before other than God. 
• They’ve had leaders, like Moses and Joshua, and all the judges to lead them. They’ve certainly had failed leadership within the priestly system. So how is Samuel going to make sure he gets this right? 
• Well in the wisdom of God, it’s not Samuel’s decision, it’s not up to him, it’s the Lord’s choice and the Lord’s doing and so we come to verse 1 of chapter 9 which starts a brand new story in Israel’s history.
• And in this chapter we’ll see that during the course of just 3 days, everything changes. God does something providential and unexpected, and he shows us how it all unfolds to reveal the next leader for Israel.
• We’ll look at this account in 3 parts: First looking at the leader the Lord chooses we’ll see his Favorable Looks and his Flawed Leadership, and then we’ll see that all this is divinely orchestrated by the Lord because of his Foreordained Love for his people.
• And the main point we should come away encouraged with is that even the mundane daily events of our lives are being providentially used by the Lord to work out his good plans for his people whom he loves and hears. We see this reality begin to unfold in our text today with a simple search for lost donkeys.

1 Samuel 9:1-10

There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth. 2 And he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.

3 Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul his son, “Take one of the young men with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.” 4 And he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then they passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them.

5 When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let us go back, lest my father cease to care about the donkeys and become anxious about us.” 6 But he said to him, “Behold, there is a man of God in this city, and he is a man who is held in honor; all that he says comes true. So now let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us the way we should go.” 7 Then Saul said to his servant, “But if we go, what can we bring the man? For the bread in our sacks is gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?” 8 The servant answered Saul again, “Here, I have with me a quarter of a shekel of silver, and I will give it to the man of God to tell us our way.” 9 (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he said, “Come, let us go to the seer,” for today's “prophet” was formerly called a seer.) 10 And Saul said to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.

Lineage

• Just as we wait for the next season of a show, Israel had been waiting since the 'cliffhanger' of Chapter 8.
• Now, the camera pans to a man named Kish, a man of Benjamin. And this story now happens to start just like we saw the book of 1 Samuel start. 
• 1 Samuel 1:1 begins with “There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim”, and now here a new story starts with the same introduction: “There was a man of Benjamin”
• And the first thing we notice then is that the cliffhanger isn’t immediately addressed here. We know this story will eventually complete where chapter 8 left off, but it’s an important account in its own right and so we must take time to let it unfold.
• The name of the man from the tribe of Benjamin is Kish. And his tribe of Benjamin was not a big tribe like Judah. It was the smallest tribe as we read later on in vs 21. You might recall back to the end of the book of Judges where the tribe of Benjamin was nearly wiped out and so they were small.
• But that is the tribe of Kish, who was the son of Abiel, who was the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, son of Aphiah. 
• Anyone familiar with those names? No? Well neither was anyone in Israel! This was a country family living on the farm that few had heard of. And the only other one in the family that might ring a bell was Saul’s cousin, Abner—the man who would eventually become the commander of Israel’s army. Other than that, this was not a family of any great significance.
• However, unknown as Kish was, he was a man of means; a man of wealth.

Looks

• Now in verse 2 we’re introduced to the son of Kish, named Saul. Ironically his name means “asked for”. In chapter 8 we had the people asking, clamoring for a king. And now in chapter 9 a man is produced with a name meaning "asked for."
• And what we’re told about him is exactly what the people were envisioning as they asked for a king. Does he look like a King? Is he kingly and handsome like the kings of the nearby nations?
• And so the first thing we’re told here is that yes, he is a handsome young man. He’s good looking! He’s got the looks a king should have, his face will look nice on a coin and on their stamps. He looks like a king the nation can be proud of as they compare themselves to their neighbors.
• From the shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people! This is significant! In a society with lots of farming and constant wars, being well built was a huge advantage.
• And what a stark contrast we see here to the next appointed king, David, as when Samuel goes to anoint him, Samuel first sees David’s brother Eliab and thinks to himself “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before” (me). “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as many sees; but the LORD looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:6-7)

Christ’s Visage

• There's an even greater contrast to our true king Jesus in his incarnation. Remember what the prophet Isaiah said of him in Isaiah 53:1-2

1 Who has believed what he has heard from us?

    And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,

    and like a root out of dry ground;

he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,

 and no beauty that we should desire him.

• Our perfect and true King didn’t have the good looks when he was on earth. There was nothing physically that would bend people's hearts towards him. No human majesty. No beauty. No impressive form.
• But he had the heart of a good and gracious king. He was gentle, and lowly of heart. He had compassion on the multitudes. 
• And now he reigns on high, clothed in majesty, glory and honor!
• But as we saw last week, that’s not the king the people were stubbornly clamoring for. They wanted an earthly king, a king like all the other nations, a king that looked the part, and that they could see and visibly trust. And that's the type of king God is going to give them.

Positive Qualities

• So Saul had the looks of a King. But did he have the leadership qualities of a King?
• We’re told that the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. They’d wandered off somewhere and someone has to go get them and bring them back. So Kish tells his strapping young son, “Take one of the young men and get out there and find my lost donkeys.”
• And we’re not told of any complaint on Saul’s part, any objection, and so it would appear that he was obedient and respectful of his father and his father’s wishes. He was a good son and he heads out to look for the donkey’s with a servant. That’s a good quality for a leader! To respect the authority and word of your parents. So far so good.
• So they head out to the hills in Ephraim. Then they check in the land of Shalishah. No donkeys. They go look in the land of Shaalim. Not there either. They look through the land of Benjamin. Still no donkeys. And when they get to the land of Zuph there are no donkeys there either.
• At this point it’s been 3 days and we hear the first words of Saul which he speaks to the servant with him: “Come, let us go back, lest my father cease to care about the donkeys and become anxious about us.”
• And again, at first glance, Saul appears to handle himself well. He has searched extensively, diligently, and now is more concerned about his father becoming anxious about how long he has been gone.  
• This is also a good quality. Showing concern and deference for your father and the compassion to consider him ahead of the donkeys in this case. Especially, when you compare him to the sons of Eli and Samuel who we’ve seen showed no deference to their fathers only selfish and self-serving agendas.
• However, the servant doesn’t agree with Saul. Notice where they are at this moment: In the land of Zuph!
• What’s so special about a place called Zuph? Well if you think all the way back to the very first verse of the book of 1 Samuel, 1 Samuel 1:1, Zuph was the great-great-great-grandfather of Samuel! And Samuel’s father was from the hill country of Ephraim which they had just passed through. And Saul and the servant are now in the very region now that the prophet Samuel calls home!
• And so the servant says “Look, there is a man of God in this city, he’s held in honor, and all that he says comes true. Let’s go ask him, perhaps he can tell us which way we should go. Let’s seek a man of God who can direct us from the Lord.”
• Now Saul is hesitant, but in this case it would seem it's because he is being considerate of the man of God. “We can’t show up and bring him nothing, and ask for help for nothing. That wouldn’t be the right thing to do. We don’t have any bread left and we didn’t bring a present to bring him.”
• That’s a wise response we might think. And when the servant just pulls a shekel of silver out, he says, “Here, let's give him this!” then Saul’s immediate response is, “Well said! Let’s go!”
• Contrast this to other recent leaders we’ve seen in 1 Samuel, where there was no effort to seek the Lord. The sons of Eli certainly didn't. The leaders who brought the ark to the Philistine battlefield did so without seeking the Lord. The elders of Israel who were clamoring for a king didn't seek the Lord.
• Seeking the Lord, even in mundane daily matters, like lost donkeys or a difficult situation at work or an exhausting task, these are the times to seek the Lord.
• How many times in the book of Proverbs are we encouraged to acknowledge the Lord in all our ways, to seek wisdom, to recognize that it’s the Lord who directs our steps.
• These are positive qualities we see in Saul that would support his abilities and qualities to lead.

Negative Qualities

• As we read those things about Saul, on the surface he appears well qualified to be chosen as a leader. Combine that with the fact that he’s got the looks, the build, the respectful and compassionate demeanor, the fact that he isn’t so proud as to ignore good advice and common sense, and the observation that he’s seeking the direction of the Lord.
• All those things would commend him to us for this role.
• But I want you to notice a few other details here about Saul.
• Notice first that Saul failed in his search for the donkeys. He couldn’t track them down! Think about all the famous leaders in Israel’s history who learned to shepherd the flock of God’s people through actual shepherding. Abraham was a shepherd. Isaac was a shepherd. Jacob was a shepherd. Even Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro in Midian when the Lord spoke to him in the burning bush.
• Saul couldn’t find even a few stray animals that had wandered away and that didn’t speak well to any ability to spiritually lead a people who were prone to wander away from the Lord.
• And notice second that Saul gave up. He threw in the towel, he was ready to turn back. He’d searched, he was out of food, and he’s done. In fact, it was his servant who urged trying another option and asking the prophet for guidance from the Lord, not Saul.
• And speaking of the prophet of the Lord, we can notice next that Saul was completely oblivious in recognition of the prophet nearby. It was his servant that pointed this out! They were near Ramah, where Samuel had built an altar to the Lord, where he judged Israel from. 
• And back in chapter 3 we were told that “Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the LORD.” (1 Samuel 3:19-20)  
• Now granted many years have passed and Samuel is in old age now, but yet it would seem that Saul was oblivious to him, even though all Israel knew of the prophet. Both Saul and the servant don’t appear to know Samuel’s name, they just call him the “Seer”.
• And In verse 9, the narrator of this story takes time to put in a little footnote pointing out that back in the day a prophet was called a seer.
• And we can understand that in the time of this writing, they no longer used the term ‘seer’ but rather 'prophet.' A seer was someone that you could go to in order to inquire of God. But Samuel was more than that. He was a prophet who also served in the role of the priest.
• And notice lastly, that even after the servant points out the nearby prophet, Saul was still hesitant to press on! He objects initially: “But if we go, what can we bring the man?”
• It would seem that from a true leadership sense, the servant was taking the lead in the search, in overcoming obstacles, and in spiritual direction, and Saul was just kinda swayed and followed that lead. Unfortunately that’s something we will see as a common pattern throughout Saul’s life.

Leadership Application

• As we read this, many of us have roles that we are called to lead in. Maybe it's in your job. Maybe it’s in your family as a husband called to lead your wife. Maybe it's as a mother leading your children. Maybe you are taking the lead in your community or here in the church.
• Maybe you're still young and are still developing leadership qualities that will be foundational in your life as you grow.
• So there is opportunity here for all of us to reflect and ask ourselves: what kind of leader am I? What kind of leadership am I called to?
• Do I lean into areas I need to lead in, or do I sit passively on the sidelines, and allow others to sway and guide where I should be stepping up?
• When there is need, do I hesitate, or hold back, or do I step forward with conviction and determination?
• Saul gives us an example of a failed leader from the start, which we’ll see repeated throughout his life. He gives us an example not to follow.
• We should seek the Lord first, not as an afterthought. We should seek the Lord in the daily and the mundane. We shouldn’t be leaders that give up, that throw in the towel when the going gets tough. When it’s hard.

Christ’s Qualities as a Leader

• As Christians our leadership won’t always be perfect, but our perfect example of leadership is Christ. Christ is the good shepherd. And the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He doesn’t give up on us. He seeks us out, and then brings us into the fold and celebrates the one lost sheep that was found!
• His leadership is servant-leadership. He came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
• He was a leader that prayed to his Father first and then acted in perfect obedience. Obedience to the Father wasn’t an afterthought. It was his first!
• And our leader won’t need a successor. He won’t fail in his leadership. He won’t be replaced. 
• J Oswald Sanders in his book Christian Leadership writes, “Only one leader holds office forever, no successor is needed for Him.”

1 Samuel 9:11-27

As they went up the hill to the city, they met young women coming out to draw water and said to them, “Is the seer here?” 12 They answered, “He is; behold, he is just ahead of you. Hurry. He has come just now to the city, because the people have a sacrifice today on the high place. 13 As soon as you enter the city you will find him, before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat till he comes, since he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now go up, for you will meet him immediately.” 14 So they went up to the city. As they were entering the city, they saw Samuel coming out toward them on his way up to the high place.

15 Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed to Samuel: 16 “Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have seen my people, because their cry has come to me.” 17 When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke to you! He it is who shall restrain my people.” 18 Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate and said, “Tell me where is the house of the seer?” 19 Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind. 20 As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not set your mind on them, for they have been found. And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father's house?” 21 Saul answered, “Am I not a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel? And is not my clan the humblest of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?”

22 Then Samuel took Saul and his young man and brought them into the hall and gave them a place at the head of those who had been invited, who were about thirty persons. 23 And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Put it aside.’” 24 So the cook took up the leg and what was on it and set them before Saul. And Samuel said, “See, what was kept is set before you. Eat, because it was kept for you until the hour appointed, that you might eat with the guests."

So Saul ate with Samuel that day. 25 And when they came down from the high place into the city, a bed was spread for Saul on the roof, and he lay down to sleep. 26 Then at the break of dawn Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Up, that I may send you on your way.” So Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went out into the street.

27 As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to pass on before us, and when he has passed on, stop here yourself for a while, that I may make known to you the word of God.”

Meeting the women at the well

• First thing is that as Saul and his servant head up the hill towards the city, supposedly Ramah, they meet some young women coming out to draw water from the well. And I’m sure a handsome tall rich young man like Saul had no problems getting an answer from these young ladies to his question.
• And you might note here that historically, Israel's leaders who met young women at the well, tended to find that encounter highly important or instrumental in their lives. 
• Issac’s servant found a wife for Isaac at a well. Her name was Rebekah.  
• Jacob encountered the flocks of Laban and first laid eyes upon Rachel, at the well. 
• Moses fled Egypt to Midian and sat down by a well where he protected the flocks of the daughters of the priest of Midian and ended up living there and marrying one of them. And then the Lord speaks to him in Midian from the burning bush and the rest is history.
• This situation of conversing at a well would have probably been just about as commonplace a situation as a couple of lost donkeys wandering off. It wouldn’t have appeared as anything out of the ordinary.
• Little does Saul know that following this encounter at the well, his simple country life is about to be turned upside down!
• Now we can’t help but notice that his timing to arrive at the well couldn’t have been better. Or was it his timing? Because the ladies answered him, “The seer is here! Behold, he is just ahead of you. Hurry! He has come just now to the city, because the people have a sacrifice today on the high place! If you go right now, you will find him as soon as you enter the city, before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat, they won’t get started, till he comes, since he must bless the sacrifice; and afterwards, those who are invited will eat. So go now, for you will meet him immediately!”

God’s Providence

• So they went up to the city. A young man started on a search for his father's lost donkeys. He goes up to the hills of Ephraim; he looks in the land of Shalishah; he searches the land of Benjamin; he ends up in the land of Zuph; and there as he’s ready to throw in the towel, his servant “happens” to recognize that there’s a Prophet in the area. And he happens to produce a small piece of silver to bring to the prophet; and they happen to decide to go search for him; and they happen to arrive at the well in the nick of time to be sent to the city where as they enter, Samuel is coming out towards them.
• That’s not just the strangest line of coincidental timing, good luck, fortune, or a string of chance encounters. That’s the Providence of God!
• That’s God orchestrating his plans among the affairs of men! That’s God bringing all that he has decreed to pass!
• Our 1689 Confession reminds us that while God is the 'First Cause' of everything, He also uses what we call 'second causes.' God didn't need to teleport Saul directly to Ramah; He used the natural, free choices of those around him, his servant’s memory, a small piece of silver, and the directions of young women at a well. These are the 'second causes' that God sovereignly directs to fulfill His one, great primary decree.
• And as we’ll see in a moment, God had a very special plan in mind for Saul and the children of Israel. But before we look at what that plan is, I don’t want you to miss how this would have appeared prior to the revelation of God’s Providence in this situation!
• What more mundane and insignificant event was there for a farm boy than a few lost donkeys! How often had this happened? What a “just another day on the farm is this!” And yet, this seemingly insignificant event was used by God as foundational in his plans and purposes to bring Saul to a foreordained meeting with prophet Samuel at that very time and place in Ramah!
• And God has purposes and works within his providential wisdom in the mundane events of our lives too! Maybe you're a student and your day to day is repetitive with classes and studies and extracurricular activities. God is sovereign over those and can and does use them for his purposes! 
• Maybe you're a mother and your day to day mundane involves a lot of wearying activities. God uses your faithfulness for his good purposes! Generations of godly men and women have been raised by mothers who were faithful day in and day out raising children. You never know what word or example or action in the day to day the Lord might use to draw your children to himself.
• Maybe you're retired, and your daily rhythm now goes at a slower pace than it used to. But God’s plans and purposes don’t end with your retirement. Those days you spend in retirement are still spent under the Providence of a God who can and does use them for your good and for his glory! That’s what he does! 
• Children, fathers, husbands, grandparents, office workers, laborers; whatever place and position God has put you in is because he has a great and wise plan for this world and that includes you!
• So do you need to wonder “is God at work in my life? Does he want me to search for donkeys or stay at home?” Sometimes we paralyze ourselves by asking our equivalent of that question.
• But the beautiful thing is that God’s Providence is over all our decisions. We aren’t going to thwart his good plans with our choices! We’re not going to put him in a bind with a course of action we take! 
• “But I want to please him and honor him in my actions and I want to do whatever he wants me to do.” Yes and amen! 
• So seek the wisdom of Scripture. Pray and ask for wisdom and guidance and discernment. Evaluate your decision on biblical principles, get godly counsel. In our society there are foolish Christians that make poor decisions because they lack wisdom or don’t seek godly counsel, not because they didn’t want to please the Lord. 
• Seek the Lord first, seek counsel in his word, pray, seek godly counsel from someone you trust, and then trust your way and your decision to the Lord.
• Believe that he is sovereign in both the large and small matters of this life and uses your decisions in his good and great plan that he is working to completion.
• The hard part is we don’t necessarily see God’s providence being worked out from his vantage point, only our own. When Saul was searching for the donkeys, he had no idea how the Lord would use that situation. 
• It’s only after the situation plays out that we can look back and see what the Lord was up to. And in this case we’re actually told what the Lord is providentially at work doing here.

The Lord’s Plan

• Look at verses 15-17; We find out that the day before Saul came, while he was still out chasing donkeys, the LORD had already revealed to Samuel that tomorrow, the LORD would send to him a man from the land of Benjamin. 
• Not that a man would wander in by luck or happenstance, but that the LORD would providentially send him to Samuel. And Samuel was to anoint him to be prince over the Lord’s people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines, it says.
• Now, there are a couple points we need to note about what the Lord is doing here:
• First, this man that the Lord sends from the land of Benjamin Samuel is to anoint him to be, not a King as the people were clamoring for, but a prince. And if you're reading the ESV Bible, the title for chapter 8 is Israel demands a king, and the title for chapter 9 here is Saul chosen to be King, and the title for chapter 10 for next week is Saul anointed King, and yet the Lord says “anoint him to be prince”.
• Now why is that? Is that because Saul is young and there will be some process before he becomes king? Is prince a term they used for king in this text? No, the confusion comes more from our English understanding of the term ‘prince’. The meaning of the word here is not King, it’s leader. You shall anoint him to be leader over my people Israel.
• Just like God had handpicked Moses, and Joshua, and all the Judges over Israel who had provided leadership to Israel, God was still their King and they were still his people! He wasn’t handing them off to a King now, the King was yet another leader that God raised up to lead his people.
• And second, we should make no mistake that they are God’s people. Twice in vs 16, and once in vs 17, God hammers it home and uses the term “my people!” "They are mine," says the Lord! They are a people separated unto him, and God is ultimately their king! So he does raise up a leader, the people will convey to him the title of king, but don’t forget who their true and good King is, and that is the LORD!
• And third, notice the purpose of this leader. Just as God raised up Moses to lead the people out of Egypt, having heard their cry in bondage, and just as he raised up judges when his people cried out from their oppressors, God says this leader shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. Once again, as his people have cried out to him, he will raise up a leader to save them. God remains faithful, he cannot deny himself!
• And we can be encouraged that God didn’t send them a leader to rescue them because they asked for a King. He sent them a leader because he heard their cry, and because he foreordained his love for them, he responds!
• He is a God who works things together for the good of his people. They were bent on becoming like the nations around them, and yet in vs 17, it says that God would send a man who shall restrain my people. God intends to use this leader to keep Israel from becoming just like the other nations! They are a people he’s set apart unto himself and Saul will be used providentially for that purpose.
• So we see then that this is all the Lord’s doing. He has a purpose in mind and now Samuel is in on the plan as the Lord has revealed to him whom he was sending, why he was sending him, what his purpose was in sending him.
• But Saul is still oblivious. In fact, he’s so out of touch with Israel’s spiritual leadership, he doesn’t even recognize the prophet when he sees him!
• Vs 18 Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate and said “Tell me, where is the house of the Seer?”
• And Samuel answers I am the seer. And then he proceeds to implement the plan God has laid out. “Go up before me to the high place” presumably the altar at Ramah, “for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind. As for your donkeys that were lost 3 days ago, do not set your mind on them, for they have been found.”
• And you can imagine for Saul in this moment his confusion, that his search for the donkeys that then turned providentially into a search for the prophet, turns now into the prophet instructing him to come eat with him as a guest of honor, and not worry about the donkeys because they've been found!
• As Saul is trying to process all this, Samuel says this: “And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s house?”
• He’s saying “You’re the one the whole nation has been waiting for!”
• That’s when Saul finds his tongue and he’s flabbergasted: “Am I not a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes? And my clan, my family, they are the least in that tribe! How can you be telling me this!” 
• He’s a hick from the sticks, he’s just there for the donkeys, and here is the previously unknown-to-him prophet saying you're going to be my guest of honor!
• And Samuel proceeds to show the chosen one of the Lord honor. He brings him into the dining hall, he seats him at the head of the table giving him the best place among other special guests.
• And Samuel goes to the cook and has him bring out the best portion for Saul!
• Choice food was generally reserved for the priests, but here the priest honors Saul with the choice portion. And all this was planned and prepared ahead of time by Samuel following the Lord’s direction. Samuel had told the chef in advance to hold that portion for his special guest, and now instructs Saul to enjoy it because it was kept for him until the appointed hour.
• We’re told little else about that feast. It says they ate together. And then when they were done feasting, they came back down into the city and an honored place was given to Saul to sleep.
• So we see that Saul is given the highest seat and the best bed. But as we look at this earthly king being honored, our minds should immediately go to our True King.
• Our King didn't come to be given the rooftop suite; He came with no place to lay His head.
• When King Jesus walked the earth, he said “Foxes have holes and birds have nests but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head.” He came to earth, humbling himself to take on the form of a servant. We see him sleeping in fishing boats, teaching on the mountainside, withstanding in the wilderness the temptations of the devil offering up all the kingdoms of the earth if only he would bow down. Our King wasn’t exalted on this earth, he was executed on a Roman cross, the lowest death possible.
• But God has raised him up and exalted him to the highest place possible. Giving him the title of Lord over all and seated him at the right hand of the Majesty on High; that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord to the glory of God!
• At dawn, Saul is awakened by Samuel to send him on his way. And as he’s about to leave the city, Samuel dismisses the servant and says “Saul, stop a while, that I may make known to you the word of God.”
• The word of God. What greater honor to be had, what greater to be given, than the word of the living God! Saul left his home seeking donkeys, and then he hoped to find a man of God to help him in his search, but what he’ll receive is the Word of the Lord which will fundamentally change the course of his entire life and impact the entire country of Israel! 
• God’s word is the best! It’s choicer than the choicest meats, sweeter than honey in the honeycomb, it’s a greater gift than the best bed on the highest floor, it’s the word of the Giver of Life, the Creator and sustainer of the universe, the word of the One who upholds all things by the word of his power, and that word is about to come to a rich, handsome, country boy named Saul. He didn’t find the donkeys, but he was given something better!

Closing

• If we compare the end of this chapter from the beginning, it’s quite astounding all that has transpired over the course of 3 days.
• Saul left his fathers house to look for donkeys. He abandons his search to look for the prophet. 
• He encounters young ladies at the well who point him to where he needs to go, and he finds the prophet who then seats him with honor, treats him as the one for whom is all that is desirable in Israel, the one they’ve been waiting for, he feeds him the best food available, gives him a grand place to sleep, and now is about to make known to him the word of God! Saul’s life has changed drastically in just 3 days.
• And while he’s got the favorable looks of a king, we know that’s only what the world expects of a king. The true King, the One who is building an eternal kingdom, was not a King because of his looks but because of his perfect obedience to the Father and his sacrifice on the cross.
• King Jesus led with perfection, he wasn’t a flawed leader, he didn’t shrink back or hesitate or give up. He wasn’t swayed by the opinions of others, but he faithfully fulfilled the purposes and plan of His Father who sent him.
• That plan was to show us unimaginable grace in action as the foreordained love of the Father was made manifest to us in the giving of his Son! Before the foundations of the world the Father chose us to be his holy people, and to accomplish our salvation through the terrible price of the blood of his Son.
• And even now that plan is being worked out in and around us. And even the mundane daily events of our lives are being providentially used by the Lord to work out his good plans for his people whom he loves and hears.

APPLICATION AND REFLECTION

In light of today's message....

• What did I learn about the gospel?
• How can I apply what I learned about the gospel to my life?
• With whom can I share the gospel this week?