Here are the notes and questions from last night's LightHouse:
We are going to start off with a quick fire game, it’s called hero or villain. On the back of your sheet you’ll see 10 spaces to write either hero or villain and why.
1. Batman, 2. Hitler, 3. Jacob, 4. Samson, 5. Winston Churchill, 6. The Joker, 7. Police service, 8. King David, 9. Jessica Ennis, 10. Apostle Paul
We tend to instinctively view people as either good or bad. We even do that with Bible characters; we internally cheer when the good guys appear on the scene and mentally boo when the baddies appear in the narrative. What category would you put King Saul in and why? (Discuss in pairs)
There is an inherent danger in simply categorising Saul or any character, it is that in doing so we automatically distance ourselves from them and that stops us seeing how like them we may be and how their dangers, weaknesses, and failings may be ours. We distance ourselves from what God reveals about our hearts potential and his warnings, grace and salvation.
Read 1 Samuel 9:1-10:16
An unpromising beginning doesn’t bar us from serving God(1-14)
Having said that (1-2) look like quite a promising beginning don’t they, Saul has every advantage our society says that a child needs, he is from a wealthy and well respected family, he is good looking, and he is physically impressive. This could be the next Mr Israel! He fits the mould of the ideal king which Israel are looking for “a king... such as all the other nations have... who will lead us... and fight our battles.”
But there is a theme which runs throughout 1 and 2 Samuel which ought to give us pause and make us wonder if this really is such a promising background. Heart matters not appearance. Back in ch1 Hannah prays earnestly from her heart but Eli mistakes her outward appearance for drunkenness and tries to chase her out of the temple. But when he learns she isn’t what she first appeared but is earnestly seeking God he blesses her. Her heart matters the appearance is deceptive. Hannah’s prayer picks up the theme, God is the great reverse-er, not worried about standing or position or wealth or looks but looking for a faithful heart. We have seen it negatively when the Israelites do things which look like faithfulness to God – such as taking the Ark into battle – but which are really them superstitiously trying to force God to act because ‘we never lose if the ark is there’. But God sees the heart behind their actions. We’ll see it in a few weeks when we get to David, who doesn’t look as qualified but has a heart set on God.
What the world thinks of as a tantalising, promising background does not matter to God. In fact it is not that promising at all as we see in the rest of the chapter. As Saul and his servant search for the donkeys they can’t find them anywhere and Saul is about to give up(5) when **what happens? His servant suggests they go to Samuel. It’s not Saul who is spiritually aware and atuned it is his servant. In fact (18)Saul seems not to know Samuel at all. This is not such a promising beginning – Saul shows no sign of spiritual life.
There is another hint at an unpromising beginning in the repetition of Saul’s tribe. **Which tribe is he from? Benjamin. Benjamin is the black sheep of the Israelite family. Benjamin has only recently survived being obliterated from the family because of its sin. Judges 19-21 tells the story of the wickedness and evil of the people of Benjamin and how all Israel fights against Benjamin because of their sin, and how ultimately God defeats Benjamin. Benjamin is left small, weak and by-word for sin. It is not a promising background for a king, something Saul himself recognises (21) “But am I not a Benjaminite...” How could a Benjaminite be king over all Israel.
Saul doesn’t have a promising beginning. But an unpromising beginning doesn’t bar us from serving God. 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, God doesn’t save us because there is something about us but because of his character, love and grace. God doesn’t call us to serve one another because of our promising background or pedigree because none of us has that.
There are two warnings for us in these opening verses: don’t judge potential as the world judges it, look at the heart. And God can use anyone even with the most unpromising background or beginning.
2. God won’t give up on his people(15-26)
Filmmakers often use the device of part way through a film unveiling some big twist that changes the way you think about everything that has gone before it. Like in the Sixth Sense when the boy reveals he sees dead people and Bruce Willis’s character is one of them. Biblical authors inspired by the Holy Spirit use it to and we get one such moment in (15). We suddenly see why God has recorded the details of the search for some lost donkeys. God has been bringing Saul to Samuel to be anointed as Israel’s first king. The donkeys wandering off, the direction they wander in, the fruitless search, their ending up close to Ramah where Samuel lived, the servants idea, his just happening to have a coin to offer to Samuel. All used by God to bring Saul to Samuel just at the right time, just as he had said.
God is at work through the mundane everyday moments, even their frustrations, for the good of his people. But notice specifically how God describes Saul’s appointment of Saul(16), **what does he say? “Anoint him over my people Israel; he will deliver them from the hands of the Philistines. I have looked on my people, for their cry has reached me.”
God is not here playing the role of Father of the Bride at a wedding. What does the Father of the bride do? He gives his wife over into the care of her husband who then takes on that responsibility. His responsibility for her is discharged and now he is in another man’s care. God is not doing that, he doesn’t hand Israel over to Saul as his responsibility. No! Israel remain God’s people. Despite their rejection of him God won’t give up his people, he hears their cry and he acts to appoint Saul to rule as king under him. He is not to be a king like other kings.
It’s important that we see how Saul’s kingship is to be different. As Samuel meets Saul, feeds him, and gives him the best place to sleep Samuel remains the agent of God’s word and Saul follows his instructions. (27)Sets the tone for kingship in Israel, the king is to rule under the rule of God whose word would be provided by the prophet. Saul is to be king but king under God’s rule, governing according to God’s word not his own wisdom. God has not given up on his people and that is shown in him continuing to speak to them and guide them.
God is faithful to his people even when they reject him, God doesn’t take his word away.
God equips those he calls(10:1-16)
(1-8)Samuel gives Saul a list of very detailed events which will happen to him as confirmation of his calling and anointing as king. But don’t get too caught up in the signs, they aren’t here as a blueprint for us in how to seek guidance, we aren’t to do likewise. What they do is provide confirmation for Saul and they are the backdrop to God’s equipping Saul and changing him so that he can be Israel’s king.
The most significant thing isn’t the signs, but (6)that God will equip Saul by his Spirit coming on him changing him and the promise of God’s presence(7). God will be with him and enable his kingship. The importance of that is seen in(9) which blandly states that all the other signs are fulfilled but focuses on the change of heart and the coming of the Spirit.
God doesn’t call Saul and leave him to it. Saul can only do this task with God’s empowering and equipping, filled with God’s Spirit, with God with him not against him. God fits him for the task to which he has called him, he takes the unpromising beginning and overcomes it.
It poses a question about guidance and signs for us. It is not here as a primer for how to seek God’s will. We live as those who have been given the Spirit permanently in us to equip us to live as God’s people, enjoy his rule and be made more like Jesus as we listen and respond to his word. God makes us his people as he changes our hearts by his Spirit and his word. We don’t need to ask for signs we need to live out our identity as Spirit filled sons in Christ given all we need for godliness(2 Peter 1v3).
God’s Hidden but Dynamic Kingdom
**What do Israel know of these events? Nothing. In fact Saul starts off in the dark, his servant leaves in the dark, and Saul doesn’t even tell his uncle what has really happened at the end. The only people who know what God is doing are Saul and Samuel, and Saul only knows what Samuel has revealed, and Samuel only knows what God has told him. God is sovereign and he is at work. God doesn’t give up on his kingdom, he is working quietly, equipping, changing, calling Saul. It is not big and dramatic but God is faithful, working through the mundane moments of life to bring about his kingdom. You can imagine the Israelites thinking where is the king he said he would give us, what’s God doing, but God is at work.
It’s a pattern we see again and again, God works quietly to build his kingdom through the faith of ordinary people who he calls and equips to serve him. It’s seen in the everyday faithfulness of Ruth and Boaz, the stealthy anointing of David, the humble coming of Jesus the creator of the universe, and the one heart at a time growth of his kingdom ever since. This passage calls us not to lose heart if it is not obvious what God is doing, but to trust in the God who is working for his glory and our good, working to bring about his kingdom until the day when one day every knee will bow and recognise God’s true King - Jesus.
God’s kingdom is not big and brash, it is not an X-Factor extravaganza. It often works like yeast through the dough, or looks like the mustard seed but God is sovereign and he is at work. At work through his people who live faithfully equipped by him to serve and love his King Jesus.
1. What things might we be tempted to use to evaluate someone’s potential as a leader or for serving? What ought we to look for and how do we do it?
2. Are there wrong ways of seeking guidance and why are they wrong? How does God guide us?
3. How do we live faithfully in the light of God’s promises about his kingdom?
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