Before opening the Word my knees hit the floor in prayer.
” I only desire holy. LORD, to fulfill this desire please open my mind to what You have for me. Amen”.
Over a cup of coffee my eyes take in something new to me (1 Samuel 9:23). Looking at what seems inconsequential, I am focused onto what appears to have no immediate value in our spiritual walk; food.
Samuel (prophet and Man of God) has seated the young Saul at the table with the other 30 invited guests. Saul and the Servant are at the head of the table. By tradition this is a place of honor and it had to be quite troubling for both Saul and the Servant as to why they are seated there. Truly, a very awkward situation made even more uncomfortable as Samuel tells the cook to “Serve Saul a special selection of the sacrificial lamb”. This leg of lamb had been set aside earlier in the day as per Samuel’s instruction; hours before Saul had even connected with him on the street. At this invitation-only banquet ALL eyes must have been on the two men seated at the head of the table. Who are they? Where are they from? Who invited them? Who is this young man and why did the cook give him the special plate?
I see a picture here. The sacrifice is blessed by God, and following that – those who are invited come to the table. It is By Invitation Only.
There are ‘Servants’ at the head of the table along with those they serve. The Host welcomes each one and all are fed. Some arrived only because of divine intervention – because they were lost and then they were found.
It is a celebration. Does this sound familiar?
” Stay here a while, so that I may give you a message from God.”
“Stay here a while, so that I may give you a message from God” Samuel said to Saul the morning after the banquet. It was spoken to Saul and no one else. What does one do with that kind of heads-up?
Words from God are intimate, powerful and life-changing. To know that a message from God is coming must be quite unsettling! Saul may have been more than a little anxious, especially having witnessed Samuel send his Servant-guide out ahead of him. Now alone with a man of God and not sure what was going to be spoken, it goes without saying that fear with trembling is an appropriate response.
Saul had gone in search of his father’s livestock and ended up at the home of a seer. A special plate had been served to him. This was too much. How would he tell the folks back home? Inner thoughts race when the unknown steps up to greet us.
Saul’s mind had to be racing at warp speed, full drift!
