Misplaced in God’s Windfall: How He Works Our Wanderings for Good

Saul stands as a controversial first king in Israel’s historical past.

At occasions, he fought valiantly towards the Philistines and judged them on behalf of the Lord. At different occasions, we see a person selective in his obedience. Nonetheless at different occasions, we see him with a King Lear paranoia, hurling spears at David, raging at his daughter, and threatening to kill his personal son. He had the Spirit, and he had the Spirit taken away; he had the dominion, and he had it torn from him; he ascended to the throne after which was violently forged down.

King Saul was worthy of dying and worthy of tune honoring him at his dying. When Saul and Jonathan fall collectively in battle, David, the sufferer of Saul’s demon, leads Israel within the dirge: “Your glory, O Israel, is slain in your excessive locations! How the mighty have fallen!” (2 Samuel 1:19).

He’s a conflicted character within the storied historical past — extra like Boromir (we hope) than Smeagol. We are able to sympathize with him. He by no means requested to be king, in spite of everything; he hid from the crown behind the luggage. Although a head taller than everybody else in Israel, he appeared small in his personal eyes. Most know the temptation to really feel unequal to the duty and tiny earlier than others.

I need us to study from his origin story. How did Saul, an unassuming Benjamite from the humblest clan of the least tribe, ascend to the throne as soon as reserved for God himself? On this article, I wish to remind you of the meticulous sovereignty of our gracious God, his care then and his care now, and his ordering of seemingly irrelevant particulars to additional his nice identify and our nice good. Saul stumbled onto the throne on the finish of a protracted seek for donkeys.

Scene One: Out with the Previous

In 1 Samuel 8, Israel has simply requested Samuel to seek out them a human king so that they may be just like the nations. Samuel is getting outdated; his sons are taking bribes; why not catch as much as trendy occasions and discover a human king? Samuel tries to cause with them, but Israel is not going to be moved, irrespective of the price.

“Obey the voice of the folks in all that they are saying to you,” the Lord tells Samuel, “for they haven’t rejected you, however they’ve rejected me from being king over them” (1 Samuel 8:7). Samuel relents and sends the folks residence. The place is he to seek out this new king?

Scene Two: Misplaced Donkeys

The following verse introduces us to Saul’s father, Kish. A rich man of Benjamin, his son is the good-looking large of Israel: “From his shoulders upward [Saul] was taller than any of the folks” (1 Samuel 9:1–2). However the first domino falls fairly unexpectedly: “Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, had been misplaced. So Kish mentioned to Saul his son, ‘Take one of many younger males with you, and come up, go and search for the donkeys’” (1 Samuel 9:3–4).

Saul and his servant cross by territory after territory however fail to seek out them. Saul desires to return: “Come, allow us to return, lest my father stop to care in regards to the donkeys and turn into anxious about us” (1 Samuel 9:5). However earlier than they flip, an concept simply occurs to return to the servant’s thoughts: “Behold, there’s a man of God on this metropolis, and he’s a person who’s held in honor; all that he says comes true. So now allow us to go there. Maybe he can inform us the way in which we must always go” (1 Samuel 9:6). Saul asks what reward they may supply the person for his assist. “Right here, I’ve with me 1 / 4 of a shekel of silver, and I’ll give it to the person of God to inform us our means” (8). Persuaded, Saul goes forth to fulfill the person who would make him king.

Now, here’s what ought to amaze us. Rewind to the day gone by:

Now the day earlier than Saul got here, the Lord had revealed to Samuel: “Tomorrow about this time I’ll ship to you a person from the land of Benjamin, and also you shall anoint him to be prince over my folks Israel. He shall save my folks from the hand of the Philistines. For I’ve seen my folks, as a result of their cry has come to me.” (1 Samuel 9:15–16)

Behold the God of meticulous, donkey-dispersing sovereignty. A God who brings forth a king from a no person wandering after misplaced beasts of burden. A God who brings alongside simply the fitting companion to deliver him into his future. And a God, not simply of meticulous sovereignty, however of meticulous mercy. Did you catch it? “I’ll ship to you a person. . . . He shall save my folks from the hand of the Philistines. For I’ve seen my folks, as a result of their cry has come to me.” This God has no equal. When rejected as king over the folks, he nonetheless sees and hears their cries and brings his substitute to ship them.

“Trusting God to control our lives quiets many anxieties and affords a lot peace.”

At any level, the plan might have aborted; but it couldn’t have, as a result of at each level the Lord guided the plan. He instructed Samuel to count on Israel’s deliverer “tomorrow about this time” — and in stumbles the clueless Saul from stage left. When Samuel sees Saul, the Lord tells him, “Right here is the person of whom I spoke to you! He it’s who shall restrain my folks” (1 Samuel 9:16–17).

Windfall, Not Puppetry

Can’t we be reminded of God’s minute orchestration in Saul’s life and learn to higher learn our personal tales?

First, think about the character of our God’s “sending” of Saul to his destiny. From misplaced donkeys, to the fitting servant chosen, to the concept about going to Samuel for assist — these had been finely tuned secondary causes (or means) utilized by the First Trigger to meet his will and obtain his ends. Westminster helps us perceive the mysterious interaction: “Though, in relation to the foreknowledge and decree of God, the primary trigger, all issues come to cross immutably and infallibly: but, by the identical windfall, He ordereth them to fall out in keeping with the character of second causes, both essentially, freely, or contingently” (5.2).

In different phrases, the Lord despatched Saul to Samuel, not by taking up Saul’s thoughts and puppeteering him towards his selections, however by creating the exact circumstances (secondary causes) to information his will this fashion and that. As God guides the stream of a king’s coronary heart, so he directs the steps of kings-to-be (Proverbs 21:1). So, over the identical occasion, it may be spoken: Saul selected to obey his father and seek for the donkeys and go to the person of God, and God despatched him to Samuel. God positioned the strolling stones that he knew Saul would freely step upon to deliver him to Samuel. I’ll ship to you a person from the land of Benjamin.

Misplaced within the Fields

Saul stays a controversial first king in Israel’s historical past. I have no idea whether or not these misplaced donkeys led him down a path that led to everlasting life. God will decide. However we do know that for his youngsters, minute sovereignty is working for them, not towards them, for his or her everlasting good.

Apply this lesson to your individual life, Christian. If we consider on this God of meticulous windfall, we are going to put extra confidence in him than in our meticulous planning. “The center of man plans his means, however the Lord establishes his steps” (Proverbs 16:9). We do our little planning, but when we all know this God, we are going to principally pray that he’ll set up our steps and maintain us open to his many surprises alongside the way in which.

Trusting God to control our lives quiets many anxieties and affords a lot peace. Consider it: isn’t the unfolding of our lives wrapped in thriller? One small step this fashion and never that, one inconsiderate act, one sudden dialog, one small tilt within the rudder, and all is modified. One insignificant donkey hunt ends in a throne. If left to navigate ourselves, ours are perilous waters under and a sky of shifting stars — we’d be misplaced earlier than morning. How very important for us to not play Captain: Lord, set up my means!

And reward be to God that he hears our cries and can ship us, even after we as soon as rejected him as King. Lay maintain of the promise: “For individuals who love God all issues work collectively for good” (Romans 8:28). And he is not going to merely wave the wand on the finish of time and renew our shipwreck, however he’s working all issues for good now — even that factor you by no means selected. He surrounds his youngsters with inescapable good — though his windfall will be laborious and complicated, and we silly and sinful. His promise to us shall not break.

You can not see now how a path of ache or fields of pointlessness result in everlasting good, however he does. “Belief within the Lord with all of your coronary heart, and don’t lean by yourself understanding. In all of your methods acknowledge him, and he’ll make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:5–6) — even when these straight paths observe wandering donkeys.