“His servant replied, ‘Here now, there’s a man of God in this city, a man who is highly respected, and everything he says proves true. Let’s go to him; maybe he can tell us something about where we should go.'”-1 Samuel 9:6
So Shaul accepted the young boy’s suggestion to go see the man of God in the city.
Perhaps this so-called holy man could at least point them in the right direction in terms of where the lost donkeys could be.
But there was one small problem.
It was normal to a pay a man of God for his services.
That’s how a servant of the Lord earned his keep.
However, Saul didn’t have any money or anything of value on him.
And there was no way he and the boy were going to approach the man of God empty-handed.
But what to do?
Well, it turned out the lad had a fourth of a shekel of silver on him…
And he offered it to Saul to use to pay the man of God.
So thanks again to the young boy…
Who in so many ways seemed infinitely more wiser than Saul during this mission…
The search for the lost donkeys was not abandoned…
And so the two continued on into the city located in the territory of Zuph.
Now I need to share some thoughts about the phrase ISH ELOHIM or “man of God”.
Here’s the thing:
The meaning of this term changed over time.
In the beginning, the term just meant some sort of holy man who possessed mystical abilities.
As time went on, the term evolved to mean a seer…
Kind of like the Mesopotamian sorcerer Bil’am who possessed the ability to see the future and cast spells or curses.
Later on, the meaning further evolved to mean a Prophet…like how we traditionally understand the word, in other words, meaning one who is capable of predicting the future.
So which meaning applies in the context of 1 Samuel Chapter 9?
I would say the meaning here is more like a seer who possesses a divine ability to supernaturally know things as a gift given to him by God.
And by the way, it shouldn’t surprise us that the meaning of certain key phrases in Scripture evolve and change over time.
Consider the word GOYIM.
For centuries, it was just a generic term for “nations” meaning any and all nations…
However, once Israel became a nation in her own right, GOYIM evolved to mean only gentile nations.
And now it means pagans living in the nations.
Anyways, let’s switch over to the lesson for today.
Notice how Saul and the boy knew they couldn’t seek the man of God’s help without giving him something…
They understood they couldn’t approach him empty-handed.
They had to give him something…
So they decided to give him the only thing they had:
One quarter of a shekel of silver…
Which was really just one-tenth of an ounce.
Now that one decision to commit all they had resulted in them being warmly welcomed by the man of God…
Finding their lost donkeys…
And being given the best spot at a feast that had about 30 guests in attendance…
The takeaway here is you need to give your ALL to God in order to get something…
But what you give doesn’t have to be a lot…
And it doesn’t necessarily have to be money…
It can be your faith…
Or it can be your trust that you give Him…
Give whatever you have…
And don’t worry if what you give is as small as a mustard seed…
Because it can grow into a huge mountain…
Remember, it’s not the size of what you give that’s important…
It’s WHO you give it to that’s key!
A million dollars given to Satan will result in chaos and destruction in your life.
But a mere one dollar given to the Lord can blossom into an oak tree that provides shelter for many.
Ya feel me?
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Yeshua looked up and
saw the rich putting their gifts
into the offering box.
He also saw a poor widow
put in two small copper coins.
He said, ‘I tell you the truth,
this poor widow has put in
more than all of them. For
they all offered their gifts
out of their wealth. But she,
out of her poverty, put in
everything she had to live on.'”
-Luke 21:1-4
“He replied,
‘Because you have so little faith.
Truly I tell you, if you have faith
as small as a mustard seed,
you can say to this mountain,
‘Move from here to there,’
and it will move. Nothing will
be impossible for you.'”
-Matthew 17:20
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