Surprised by Sovereignty

OK, so I'm reading through the book of 1 Samuel now during my mornings. Now, I like history as much as the next guy, but I must admit that it can sometimes be a challenge to to be reading scripture lately and expect something, um, spiritually significant and relevant. I can be in awe of Hannah, Samuel and the God they serve. I can learn lessons of what NOT to do from those pesky Philistines and those frustrating Israelites. (Hmmm, remind you of anybody you know, Larry?!) I can even witness to the power of the words spoken and realized ("Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God?" 1 Sam 6:20; "We have sinned against the Lord" 1 Sam 7:6; "Thus far the Lord has helped us." 1 Sam 7:12). But chapter nine 'wow'ed me this morning.

When Israel asks Samuel for a king 'like all the nations', there are many biblical subplots that this activity feeds. I will limit myself (or at least I intend to) to a peek at God's beauty and power that jumped out from the pages of scripture and into the thoughts that fueled my day. I was reading along about Saul and his servant on their donkey-rescue mission. In true Old Testament form, we are given insight to varied details, some of which seem a bit much. It's like listening to a long-winded speaker that prompts me to want to speed them up a bit to GET TO THE POINT! For 'bottom right column' folk like me, the details can be a challenge at times. So instead of 'Saul and his servant met up with Samuel and were told that he had a special message for them', we are taken on a 'baker's dozen plus' journey through the specifics of donkey whereabouts, understanding parental concern, the going rate for words from the local seer, and the pre-mapquest method of getting where you want to go with the help of the water-fetching crowd. Then verse fifteen reminded me that these very particulars were part of the song of God's sovereignty that was being played out.

"Now a day before Saul's coming, the Lord had revealed this to Samuel saying, 'About this time tomorrow...'"

God had a plan. Imagine the rest of scripture without this episode. No Saul as king. No David contrasted with Saul and becoming the greatest king in Israel's history. No prophetic word proclaiming that a messiah would come from the line of that same David to save the sins of God's people. No New Testament. OK, maybe I'm reading a bit much into this, but the point is that huge things in the future get a little bit of a start right here with this unique meeting between Saul and Samuel. And it took lost donkeys, a shekel portion in the hand of a forward-thinking servant, and the brave admonishment from a young woman to 'hurry up and get to the high place!'

I would imagine that your day was like mine. Why does the truck have trouble starting again? What am I going to do about that situation at work? OK, I see what I need, but how do I get it? These, um, details are part of our daily existence (hey, donkeys just get lost...it's what they do). But could it be that God is orchestrating something beautiful behind it all?

Take courage. The 'verse fifteen' of your life will happen when it is sovereignly decided to be revealed. In fact, it's happening right now.