1 Samuel 10:17-22
17 Samuel summoned the people of Israel to the Lord at Mizpah 18 and said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’ 19 But you have now rejected your God, who saves you out of all your disasters and calamities. And you have said, ‘No, appoint a king over us.’ So now present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and clans.”
20 When Samuel had all Israel come forward by tribes, the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. 21 Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, and Matri’s clan was taken. Finally Saul son of Kish was taken. But when they looked for him, he was not to be found. 22 So they inquired further of the Lord, “Has the man come here yet?”
And the Lord said, “Yes, he has hidden himself among the supplies.”
Yesterday we thought about how Saul’s calling as King was affirmed by the activity of the Spirit. The second way it was affirmed was through the drawing of lots; the Israelites were whittled down by tribe, then by clan and finally by person. A bit like the original adverts for the National Lottery, it could be you, and it was for Saul. We don’t really go in for drawing lots so much today when determining what to do or seeking God’s plan, but I guess a modern way of looking at it would be to ask where are circumstances leading us? God can you the events around us to open up possibilities for us and close down other options.
Spirit, help us to be open to what you might be saying through the circumstances we find ourselves in today, especially as we mark a year in the pandemic and look to emerging out of lockdown.
Leave a Reply