The Reluctant King
Good morning! Thank you for reading. I pray all is well.
As we finished up last week, we were talking about divine appointments. Some people would call divine appointments good fortune or good luck. Some would say maybe fate, or chance, something opportunistic, or just plain coincidence. These descriptions are accurate in describing regular appointments. But not divine appointments. Fate, luck, chance, etc, are for appointments of the small g gods, not the God Most High.
Divine appointments are inspired by the divine. The Triune God; God the Father, his Son Jesus, and God’s Holy Spirit. These are important events, involving life changing opportunities for the participants. Millions of divine appointments take place everyday, and each one, in their own way, are miracles. Millions everyday do not take place, for a variety of reasons. These reasons being mainly some form of distraction and inattentiveness, sin, and false idols.
But for those who pay attention to God’s Holy Spirit, who awaken each day with a focus on God and his Spirit, each day can be fresh with new divine appointments.
It’s part of living the Spirit led life.
It is a way for us, as children of God, to be proactive in participating in God’s building up of the body of Christ. By being open to divine appointments with others, we are, in a sense, raising our hand and saying put me in coach.
For once an individual experiences being used by God to bless others in a divine appointment, the individual realizes that blessings flow both ways. Eventually, you will realize that this is how God wants us to live, just being open to bless others, by the guidance of his Spirit. Your spirit is energized, and you never pour out completely, because the Holy Spirit will always fill you back up.
This is true, no matter how old you are. We’ll begin today where we left off a couple of weeks ago, 1 Samuel 10:1-7,
“Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on Saul’s head and kissed him, saying, “Has not the Lord anointed you leader over his inheritance?” When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel’s tomb, at Zeizah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, “The donkeys you set out to look for have been found. And now your father has stopped thinking about them and is worried about you. He is asking, ‘What shall I do about my son?’”
“Then you will go on from there until you reach the great tree of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there. One will be carrying three young goats, another three loaves of bread, and another a skin of wine. They will greet you and offer you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from them.”
“After that you will go down to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, tambourines, flutes, and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying. The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you in power, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.”
Samuel has anointed Saul leader over God’s inheritance. The Lord’s inheritance includes both the people and the land.
Then Samuel assigns, what I would call three divine appointments:
- The first reassures Saul about his donkeys and his family
- The next assures Saul of food.
- The last and most important, equips Saul with the Spirit of the Lord.
Samuel, as a judge, a seer, is giving three signs or divine appointments that will convince Saul that the Lord has truly chosen him to be king. Saul, despite his stature and imposing physical presence, is still that donkey wrangler from the smallest tribe in all of Israel and the smallest clan within that tribe.
His dad had just sent him on a mission to walk around the region looking for some lost donkeys. My personal guess is that Saul lacked confidence and I’m sure that Samuel recognized this lack of self-confidence. Remember, Samuel was not pleased that the Israelites wanted a king in the first place.
So, it will not be a spoiler alert if I tell you that within the next 3 chapters of 1 Samuel, Samuel will rebuke Saul, and inform him that due to his inability to keep his command, God will not establish his kingdom over Israel for all time. Saul’s kingdom will last another 39 years or so, but it will not endure. God has already chosen Saul’s replacement, but that is in the future.
Saul is a specific example of a general flaw in all of the kings of Israel and Judah. They’re all men. They are not God. All of the kings have flaws, even David, the king after God’s own heart, who sinned and failed miserably in the eyes of the Lord. The sin nature is the problem, a problem that all humans have. Before we follow this story line to the end today, let’s go to the prophet Amos. Amos was a contemporary of Jonah and Hosea. He was a Judean shepherd, who God spoke a message of warning to the people of the northern kingdom of Israel 30 years before its fall.
Amos is living in the last dregs of the monarchy. The list of kings will always fail, it has to. Let’s set the scene for Amos.
Amos, a shepherd of Tekoa, is under spiritual and political attack from Amaziah, the priest at Bethel. Amaziah is sending messages to king Jeroboam that Amos is raising a conspiracy against him. We’ll go to Amos for his response. This is God speaking through Amos. 7:14-17,
“Amos answered Amaziah, ‘I was neither a prophet nor a prophet’s son, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore fig trees. But the Lord took me from tending my flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ Now then, hear the word of the Lord. You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel, and stop preaching against the house of Isaac.’”
(God is speaking directly to Amaziah now)
“‘Therefore, this is what the Lord says: Your wife will become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be measured and divided up, and you yourself will die in a pagan country. And Israel will certainly go into exile away from their native land.’”
Remember, the proof of a prophet’s ability lies in their prophecies being born out. Amaziah was denying the exile, God sent Amos to declare his truth to the people, and God’s judgment upon Amaziah. Amos was a true prophet of God. Amaziah was not.
Saul’s reign began in 1051 BC, Amos 750 BC, so having seen the sad future of the Israelite monarchies, let’s head back 301 years and pick back up with Saul. 1 Samuel 10:9-11,
“As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. When they arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he joined in their prophesying. When all those who had formerly known him saw him prophesying with the prophets, they asked each other, ‘What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?’”
Saul is a changed man. When the Spirit of God takes hold of us, we will be different. It is then very difficult for those who know us best, like family or friends, to accept this change as real.
But alas, this is pre-Pentecost, the Holy Spirit is not all present throughout mankind. Only in specific instances such as this with Saul, or when God would speak through a prophet is the Holy Spirit engaged here on earth. Even then, as today post-Pentecost, the human will can force out the Holy Spirit of God. God loves us so much that he gives us final say as to whether or not the Lord’s Spirit reigns supreme within us. However, for those of us who welcome God’s Spirit, we are guided by the Spirit. Not forced by the Spirit, or directed beyond our will like driving a robot, but guided, the way pointed out, and then we are left to choose our path on our own. There is a building of trust that continues to develop, to a point where the individual being led becomes so comfortable with the Spirit that there is no other option left to the believer that seems viable, other than the being guided by God’s Spirit. No matter how difficult or undesirable that choice may seem.
There is a time when Jesus, at the Feast of the Tabernacles, is trying to explain his complex knowledge of the Scriptures. John 7:14-19,
“Not until halfway through the Feast did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. The Jews were amazed and asked, ‘How did this man get such learning without having studied?’ Jesus answered, ‘My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?’”
God’s Spirit is the key that unlocks understanding from within God’s Word. Christ’s teachings are direct from his Father. Poor Saul, he is full of doubts, especially in himself. He will attempt to please his men, instead of pleasing the Lord. This is always a poor choice. His fear and doubts are his downfall. It is this way with many of us. We are fine walking on the water as long as we keep our eyes on Jesus. But as soon as we begin to worry, and we take our eyes off of Christ and then we begin to flounder.
We get distracted by the world and its pressures. We miss our big moments, we fail at our big moments, we do not take advantage of our divine appointments. We have to trust the Spirit. 1 Samuel 10:17-22,
“Samuel summoned the people of Israel to the Lord at Mizpah and said to them, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’ But you have now rejected your God who saves you out of all your calamities and distresses. And you have said, ‘No, set a king over us.’ So now present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and clans.”
“When Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, and Matri’s clan was chosen. Finally Saul the son of Kish was chosen. But when they looked for him, he was not found. So they inquired further of the Lord, ‘Has the man come here yet?’ And the Lord said, ‘Yes, he has hidden himself among the baggage.”’
This is a truly amazing story. The first king chosen by God, when announced, is hiding in the baggage. Hiding so well, that God had to find him for the people. He looks like a king, but inside, he’s just a man, scared, intimidated, and feeling in over his head. 1 Samuel 10:23-25,
“They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others. Samuel said to all the people, ‘Do you see the man the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.’ Then the people shouted, ‘Long live the king.’
They had been waiting to shout this, like the people of neighboring nations, they had been looking forward to shouting ‘Long live the king.’
Do you believe the Spirit of God had led Saul to hide in the baggage? I don’t believe so. I believe he was afraid of the responsibility. Overseeing a herd of donkeys is one thing, but leading a kingdom for God? It could have been a panic attack.
Of all people, I can’t be too hard on Saul, because I ran from my call to preach for a couple of decades. I had panic attacks too.
But I reached a point that I just had to say to God, ‘If you want me to do this, I’m going to need your Holy Spirit.” And every time that I prayed this prayer, God’s Spirit was there. Finally, God’s Spirit assured that he would always be with me. The trust was established.
Please agree with me, let us pray,
Heavenly Father,
I am so thankful that you have sent Jesus to be my King, Savior, and Lord of all. Thank you.
I put my faith and trust in Jesus. I believe in Jesus, and I know that he died on the cross of Calvary for my sins to be forgiven.
Thank you for Jesus. I confess him as my King, Savior, and Lord of all.
Please forgive me of my sins. Please send your Holy Spirit to guide and direct me to divine appointments with others.
Help me, through your Spirit, to not fear what you call on me to do.
In Jesus name I pray, your will be done, Amen.
Do no harm, do good, and stay in love with God.
Blessings,
Thad Brown
Opportunity House
and Harmony Church
Concord