“Sha’ul approached Sh’mu’el in the gateway and said, ‘Please tell me where the seer’s house is.’ Sh’mu’el answered Sha’ul, ‘I’m the seer. Go up ahead of me to the high place, because you are going to dine with me today. In the morning, I will let you leave; and I will tell you everything that is on your heart‘”.-1 Samuel 9:18-19
Interestingly, Saul had no idea who Samuel was…
When he approached him he innocently asked “Please tell me where the seer’s house is”…
Samuel replied:
“I’m the seer.
Go up ahead of me
to the high place,
because you are going
to dine with me today.”
Then Samuel reassured Saul he would inform him of everything that was “on his heart”.
Now if you’re a westerner, that phrase does not mean what you think it means.
Remember, the Scriptural meaning of “heart” is “mind”.
Ancient Middle Easterners believed that our hearts function the way we know the brain functions today.
So it’s not like Samuel was gonna expose Saul’s innermost feelings or something like that.
He was simply gonna tell Samuel what was on his mind…which was where the heck his family’s donkeys had run off to.
But when Samuel told Saul his donkeys had been found, he did it in a very aloof manner.
As if it wasn’t a big deal…
And the truth be told, it wasn’t a big deal…
Because what Saul revealed next was a much weightier matter…
Finally Samuel broke the big news:
“Now, who is it that all Israel wants?
Isn’t it you, and all your father’s household?”
Now that might sound like a vague statement to us…
But it was as clear as day to Saul.
Because every person and his or her grandma knew Israel was desiring a king during this time.
Of course Saul was stunned at the revelation that he was the chosen one.
What began as a simple journey to find some lost donkeys ended up with an announcement from Israel’s ruling judge that he was going to be Israel’s first king!
Of course, all Saul could do was respond with the expected grace and humility customary of ancient Middle Eastern culture in those days.
Saul tells Samuel:
“I’m only a man from Binyamin, the smallest tribe in Isra’el; and my family is the least important of all the families in the tribe of Binyamin! Why are you saying such a thing to me?”
Was Saul speaking the truth here?
While it’s true that Benjamin was one of the smaller tribes…
Was it really true that Saul’s clan was the least important within the tribe of Benjamin?
The answer to this question is possibly…
Because his family was just one of many who made up the ruling clan…
So in Saul’s mind, his family wasn’t necessarily the one who carried the most authority in the clan…
Now here’s your takeaway for today…
Saul went on a journey to chase down a bunch of lost donkeys.
Yet the Lord had so much more in store for him.
This was reflected in the dismissive way Samuel told him to stop fretting about the donkeys.
Because God was going to make him Israel’s first king…
So the lesson here is you may be worrying about some “lost donkeys” in your life…
But you may be missing the big picture…
Because the Lord may have much more important things in store for you…
In other words, don’t focus on a lost candy bar, when God has a full course banquet meal prepared for you…complete with a dessert that’s a million times better than some candy bar.
I leave you this verse from the prophet Jeremiah:
‘For I know the plans
I have for you,’
declares the Lord,
‘plans to prosper you
and not to harm you,
plans to give you
hope and a future.'”
-Jeremiah 29:11
Today I see this “straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel” mentality in the modern form of legalism, which is people who are trying to make an absolute determination of the proper pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton, or which calendar is really accurate, or deny this holiday because of some ancient relationship to a totally different one, or how to pronounce the Hebrew name of the Messiah, or deny the use of the standard name used for the Messiah, or any other number of minutia that do not have any effect on one’s salvation
These minor issues have nothing to do with faith in Yeshua as the Messiah, but they do affect our salvation in one way- they turn our attention away from the big picture, and force us to concentrate on unimportant things.
As with most things that misdirect us, they are disguised as “wanting to know God better” or “you must know his true name to call on him” or any number of baseless excuses just to seem more “holy” or better informed than someone else.
Wow! I am really going on about this, aren’t I? I think maybe because it is important!
Don’t sweat the small stuff, people, as Rich says here- concentrate on what God says he wants you to do and ignore all the Gnostic drek that people get involved with.
When you pray, no matter which term you understand to mean God or his Messiah, they know who you mean.
We aren’t saved by pronunciation, or by detailed knowledge of the Bible, but by child-like faith.
You’re concluding statement says it all: “We aren’t saved by pronunciation, or by detailed knowledge of the Bible, but by child-like faith.”
Amen!