Israel's First King!

Israel's First King!

Samuel had judged Israel for many years. He was good and followed God. But Samuel’s sons were evil. Samuel was getting old and people did not want his son to be their leaders. So the people thought that they can have a King like all other nations. They told Samuel about it.But it upset Samuel as the people rejected his leadership. Samuel prayed to the Lord and the Lord told Samuel not to feel bad as the people had not rejected him but rejected the Lord to be their leader.  Still, the Lord told Samuel that he would let the people have their way. Samuel warned the people about how a King would be. They would have to pay taxes and some of them would have to be servants. But the people still wanted to have a King. Now,there was a young man named Saul.  He was from the tribe of Benjamin and the clan of Matri.  His father’s name was Kish and Kish owned a lot of donkeys.  Saul was looking after them but the donkeys were lost.  Saul and his father’s servant looked all over the hill country for the donkeys but they could not find them anywhere. Finally, Saul told the servant that they had better go back home.“I heard that Samuel, the man of God, is in the next town.  Maybe he can pray to God and ask him where the donkeys are.”So Saul and the servant went to the next town to find Samuel’s house.  When Saul saw a man walking along the road he asked where Samuel was ,the man said, “ Saul, I am Samuel.  Stop worrying about the donkeys.  They have been found.  You are going to come to my house today and eat a special meal. Tomorrow morning I will tell you everything that is in your heart.” God had already spoken regarding Saul to Samuel. Saul went inside Samuel’s house and ate a special meal with him.  The next morning they walked outside and Samuel gave Saul a special message from God.“Saul, the Lord has chosen you to be the king over all of Israel.”Then Samuel did a special thing to show that Saul had been chosen by God.  He poured oil on Saul’s head.  Pouring oil on a person’s head to show a special purpose is called anointing. Samuel wanted Saul to understand that God was choosing him to do something very special.  If Saul could see God’s power then he would know it was true.  So Samuel told Saul exactly what would happen for the rest of the day as Saul was travelling. And it happened exactly like how Samuel told him. So Saul went to Gilgal to wait for Samuel. All the people were waiting for Samuel in Gilgal too because they wanted Samuel to tell them who the new king would be. When he arrived Samuel showed that the Lord had chosen a man from the tribe of Benjamin, the clan of a man named Matri. From the clan of Matri,the family of Kish, Kish’s son, Saul.But Saul became afraid and hid himself. Samuel prayed to the Lord again and the Lord told Samuel where Saul was hiding .” He was taller and handsome than all of the other men.  The people were finally happy.  They could have a king of their own. Saul was the first king of Israel.  

Lesson to be Learnt:

                God is a Provider. Provider means, He fulfills the needs of His children. When Israel needed a King He gave them one. Now look at the description of Saul in the Bible. He was taller and handsome than any other man in Israel. There is a difference between how we choose things for ourselves and how God chooses things for us. For example, When you are in school and you need to take college, you might think you will do best if you are a doctor/ Engineer or something. But I bet if you let the Lord make that choice for you, you will have the best of God’s Provisions. For you sought and gave Him honor by letting Him choose for you. Likewise young men/women who are wanting to marry, Pray to God, let your marriage happen according to His will, you will surely see His best waiting for you. You would have never imagined a life like that. So stop wasting time dreaming about Prince/Princess charming of your life and use your time to pray to the Lord for His best to come to you.

1Co 2:9

(CEV)  But it is just as the Scriptures say, "What God has planned for people who love him is more than eyes have seen or ears have heard. It has never even entered our minds!"

(Hindi) परन्‍तु जैसा लिखा है, कि जो आंख ने नहीं देखी, और कान ने नहीं सुना, और जो बातें मनुष्य के चित्त में नहीं चढ़ी वे ही हैं, जो परमेश्वर ने अपके प्रेम रखनेवालोंके लिथे तैयार की हैं।

(Kan) ಆದರೆ ಬರೆದಿರುವ ಪ್ರಕಾರ--ದೇವರು ತನ್ನನ್ನು ಪ್ರೀತಿಸು ವವರಿಗಾಗಿ ಸಿದ್ಧಮಾಡಿರುವಂಥವುಗಳನ್ನು ಕಣ್ಣು ಕಾಣಲಿಲ್ಲ, ಕಿವಿ ಕೇಳಲಿಲ್ಲ, ಇಲ್ಲವೆ ಅವು ಮನುಷ್ಯನ ಹೃದಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಸೇರಲಿಲ್ಲ.

 (Mal) “ദൈവം തന്നെ സ്നേഹിക്കുന്നവര്‍ക്കും ഒരുക്കീട്ടുള്ളതു കണ്ണു കണ്ടിട്ടില്ല ചെവി കേട്ടിട്ടില്ല, ഒരു മനുഷ്യന്റെയും ഹൃദയത്തില്‍ തോന്നീട്ടുമില്ല.” എന്നു എഴുതിയിരിക്കുന്നതുപോലെ തന്നേ.

 (Tamil OV)  எழுதியிருக்கிறபடி: தேவன் தம்மில் அன்புகூருகிறவர்களுக்கு ஆயத்தம்பண்ணினவைகளைக் கண் காணவுமில்லை, காது கேட்கவுமில்லை, அவைகள் மனுஷனுடைய இருதயத்தில் தோன்றவுமில்லை;

(Telugu)  ఇందునుగూర్చిదేవుడు తన్ను ప్రేమించువారకొరకు ఏవి సిద్ధపరచెనో అవి కంటికి కనబడలేదు, చెవికివినబడలేదు, మనుష్య హృదయమునకు గోచరము కాలేదుఅని వ్రాయబడియున్నది. ³