Chosen

 1 Samuel 9:1-21

¹ There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth.

² And he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.

³ Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul his son, “Take one of the young men with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.”

⁴ And he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then they passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them.

⁵ When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let us go back, lest my father cease to care about the donkeys and become anxious about us.”

⁶ But he said to him, “Behold, there is a man of God in this city, and he is a man who is held in honor; all that he says comes true. So now let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us the way we should go.”

⁷ Then Saul said to his servant, “But if we go, what can we bring the man? For the bread in our sacks is gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?”

⁸ The servant answered Saul again, “Here, I have with me a quarter of a shekel of silver, and I will give it to the man of God to tell us our way.”

⁹ (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he said, “Come, let us go to the seer,” for today’s “prophet” was formerly called a seer.)

¹⁰ And Saul said to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.

¹¹ As they went up the hill to the city, they met young women coming out to draw water and said to them, “Is the seer here?”

¹² They answered, “He is; behold, he is just ahead of you. Hurry. He has come just now to the city, because the people have a sacrifice today on the high place.

¹³ As soon as you enter the city you will find him, before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat till he comes, since he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now go up, for you will meet him immediately.”

¹⁴ So they went up to the city. As they were entering the city, they saw Samuel coming out toward them on his way up to the high place.

¹⁵ Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed to Samuel:

¹⁶ “Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have seen my people, because their cry has come to me.”

¹⁷ When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke to you! He it is who shall restrain my people.”

¹⁸ Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate and said, “Tell me where is the house of the seer?”

¹⁹ Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind.

²⁰ As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not set your mind on them, for they have been found. And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s house?”

²¹ Saul answered, “Am I not a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel? And is not my clan the humblest of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?”

And so we are introduced to Saul, the future and first king of Israel. The rest of the book of 1 Samuel deals with Saul and his 42 year reign over Israel. Other than being tall (a head taller than everyone else) there seems to be nothing special about him except that God has chosen him. That alone makes him remarkable. God arranges a meeting between Saul and Samuel that changes the course of history and sets Saul upon the path that God has chosen for him. You see, at the end of the day, it is always all about what God has chosen.

As we meet Saul he is a fairly young man from the tribe of Benjamin. This was considered “the least” of the tribes, as Benjamin was the youngest of the 12 sons of Jacob and this was the smallest tribe. They were closely linked to the tribe of Judah, as Judah was larger and stronger, thus providing some protection for Benjamin. Saul knows his place in the grand scheme of the nation of Israel. He is no one. Throughout the Scriptures we find story after of story of how God chooses the least likely candidates for service in His kingdom. You need not be a particularly gifted individual to serve in God’s house – you need merely to be chosen by God; that is qualification enough.

Most of us would admit that we certainly do not feel particularly remarkable at all. In fact, we often feel like the lowest rung on the ladder as others seem to step over (or maybe even on) us as they climb to the top. But apparent gifting and a gregarious personality are not what God looks for in His chosen. He is looking for someone who is simply willing to be used; and He looks for a humble spirit. It would appear that Saul is fairly humble – at least at this point in the story. Sadly, that humility will fade as time and power take their toll. But God’s choice of servants usually defies all of our expectations or standards.

Have you been chosen by God? The answer is a resounding “yes”; even if you don’t particularly feel like you’ve been chosen, you have! In your baptism, God came into your life and called you His own. And God never chooses someone to simply set them aside. He has purpose and plan for every single member of His Kingdom – every single one, which includes you. Will you be a king? Probably not. The world doesn’t really need any more kings, presidents, or movie stars. The world needs people who will faithfully follow the voice of God and reach out to those who struggle with hunger or pain. The world needs faithful moms and dads who teach their children about Christ. The world needs humble servants who will surrender their own comfort in order to meet the needs of another. The kingdom of God needs people who will follow the lead of their Savior and be content to live a life that loves. I know, it sounds cliché. But that doesn’t make it any less true. You are remarkable simply because you’ve been chosen by the King of the Universe. See yourself as remarkable and you will accomplish remarkable things.