How The Lord Teaches Sinners

There was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeor, the son of Bekroth, the son of Alphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power.

And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul.

There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel.

From his shoulder up, he was taller than any of the people.

Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, were lost.

And Kish said to his son Saul, Please take one of the young servants with you and arise and go and look for the donkeys.

So he passed through the mountains of Ephraim and through the land of Shalisha, but they did not find them.

Then they passed through the land of Shalim, and they were not there.

Then they passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they did not find them.

When they had come to the land of Zoph, Saul said to his servant who was with him,

Come, let us return, lest my father cease caring about the donkeys and become worried about us.

And he said to him, Look now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honorable man.

All that he says surely comes to pass.

So let us go there.

Perhaps he can show us the way that we should go.

Then Saul said to his servant, But look, if we go, what shall we bring to this man?

For the bread in our vessels is all gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God.

What do we have?

And the servant answered Saul again and said, Look, I have here at hand one-fourth of a shekel of silver.

I will give that to the man of God to tell us our way.

Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he spoke thus, Come, let us go to the seer.

For he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.

Then Saul said to his servant, Well, well said, come and let us go.

So they went to the city where the man of God was.

And as they went up the hill to the city, they met some young women going to draw water and said to them, Is the seer here?

And they answered them and said, Yes, there he is, just ahead of you.

Hurry now, for today he came to the city because there is a sacrifice of the people today on the high place.

As soon as you come into the city, you will surely find him before he goes up to the high place to eat.

For the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice.

Afterward, those who are invited will eat.

Now, therefore, go up, for about this time you will find him.

So they went up to the city.

As they were coming into the city, there was Samuel coming out towards them on his way up to the high place.

Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear the day before Saul came, saying,

Tomorrow, about this time, I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin,

And you shall anoint him commander over my people, Israel, that he may save my people from the hand of the Philistines.

For I have looked upon my people because their cry has come to me.

So when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him,

And there he is, the man whom I spoke to you.

This one shall reign over my people.

Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate and said,

Please tell me, where is the seer's house?

Samuel answered Saul and said,

I am the seer.

Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today.

And tomorrow I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart.

But as for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not be anxious about them,

For they have been found.

And on whom is all the desire of Israel?

Is it not on you and on all your father's house?

And Saul answered and said,

Am I not a Benjamite of the smallest of the tribes of Israel?

Am I family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin?

Why then do you speak like this to me?

Now Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall

and had them sit in the place of honor among those who were invited.

There were about thirty persons.

And Samuel said to the cook,

Bring the portion which I gave you, of which I said to you, set it apart.

So the cook took up the thigh with its upper part and set it before Saul.

And Samuel said,

Here it is, what was kept back.

It was set apart for you.

Eat, for until this time it has been kept for you,

since I said I invited the people.

So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

When they had come down from the high place into the city,

Samuel spoke with Saul on top of the house.

They rose early,

and it was about the dawning of the day

that Samuel called to Saul on top of the house,

saying,

Get up, that I may send you on your way.

And Saul arose,

and both men went outside,

he and Samuel.

As they were going down to the outskirts of the city,

Samuel said to Saul,

Tell the servant to go on ahead of us.

And he went on,

But you stand here a while,

that I may announce to you the word of God.

The word of God for the people.

Thanks be to God.

Thank you, Ken.

Isaiah 40 says that the grass withers and the flower fades,

but the word of the Lord stands forever.

While the word of the Lord stands,

you may be seated.

Luke 1 says that no word from God shall be void of power.

Would you pray with me?

Lord, we thank you for your word.

We thank you for how you have acted in human history

in a powerful way

to reveal who you are

and how you've captured your actions

in the scriptures.

We thank you for this narrative.

We pray, Lord, that you will use this to humble us before you.

We pray that your word will be,

as James says, a mirror

that we can see our souls and our hearts

and we pray, Lord,

that by the power of your Holy Spirit,

you will be our teacher.

We pray that your Holy Spirit, Lord,

will break up that soil

that has laid fallow and grown hard.

We pray, Lord, that it will pierce through

and that it will plant the seed of truth,

the gospel,

the living hope we have in Jesus Christ

into the souls of your people today.

And for Christ's sake,

it's that we ask this.

Amen.

Amen.

Some things are hard to watch

even if they are predictable.

Growing up, we had a boxer dog

and that's the type of dog

that's really big,

really big mouth

and a lot of slobber.

And this dog vomited on the porch.

I remember seeing it right there

with my little brother.

My parents run off to get this stuff.

They go, quick, we got to clean that up.

My brother and I just sat there watching.

Well, sure enough,

that dog comes back and you,

it's predictable, but it's still gross

and it's hard to watch.

You know what's going to happen.

The dog goes over and starts licking it.

Israel's behavior is a lot like that, isn't it?

The behavior of God's people,

even though it's predictable,

it's still hard to watch.

2 Peter 2, verse 22,

2 Peter 2:22

quotes Proverbs 26.

And it's this observation

that as a dog returns to its vomit,

so a fool returns to his folly or sin.

And the reason we have narratives like this,

that it's like watching

a slow motion train wreck.

We can all see where this is going,

but it's painful and hard to watch.

It's that point that we should learn from this.

Pay attention to these details

and learn from it.

So beloved congregation

of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the message I hope that you and I

can receive today from God

is to see how patient he is as a teacher.

Let's see together how the Lord

teaches his people.

Sinners though we are,

with remaining corruptions,

though he calls us saints in Christ.

I have five observations for us today.

Number one,

when the Lord lets his children

taste the sin they desire,

he leaves no reason

to complain of him.

When the Lord lets his children

taste that sin that they desired,

God leaves no reason

for you and me to complain of him.

Look at verse one.

There was a man

whose name was Kish.

That should remind you

of how the last episode started.

Remember,

the last episode in this book

was focused on a different person,

which was Samuel.

And it began by describing Samuel's dad.

And now we have a shift.

A new episode is beginning,

the same opening words.

He was a mighty man of power.

It could be translated

of wealth or of might.

Verse two,

this man had a choice

and handsome son.

The word choice,

it's the same words used

to describe choice silver or gold.

It's something that's been tested

and determined to be precious and good.

The word handsome

in the Hebrew is tov.

And that means good or goodly.

It's used in other places

of the Bible to describe

a beautiful woman, tov.

So if you will,

women who are married

want to give your husband

a compliment,

tell him tov.

It's good.

In the name of this

choice and handsome son,

his name was Saul.

There was not a more good

or goodly

or handsome person

than he among

all the children of Israel.

From his shoulders upward,

he was taller

than any of the people.

What that means is

even his shoulders

were taller

than the tallest head.

This is where I get distracted.

Okay, what is the height

of the average man?

5.9,

according to the internet.

And the distance

between the shoulder

and the head

is like 12 inches.

So if everyone else's head

came to here,

you add on 12 more inches,

Saul would have likely been

between 6 feet 9 inches.

Well, who is famous

that's that tall?

It's LeBron James.

Or 7 feet tall?

Shaquille O'Neal or Karim.

Saul was a tall man.

And here he comes,

walking,

son of a mighty,

wealthy father.

The name Saul

is also noteworthy.

The name Saul

means prayed for

or asked for.

A little hint,

even in God's providence,

of the name given

to the tallest man

in all of Israel.

This is exactly

who you prayed for

and asked me for.

Well, this tall,

young man

that was tall

was good.

He made a good impression

anywhere he went

by his physical appearance,

by also his bearing.

He carried himself

like a nobleman.

That's the lasting impression

you get.

Dale Ralph Davis commented,

people would have voted

Saul, Mr. Israel,

had there been

such a contest.

And Saul's associated now

with chasing

these lost donkeys.

It takes a lot of verses

to describe his search

all over for these

lost donkeys.

Well, you probably remember

the prophecy,

you know,

of Solomon

riding in on a donkey

would be fulfilled

by Jesus Christ

coming into Jerusalem

on a donkey.

So donkeys were,

it's what a king

or someone princely

or noble would ride

into the nation on

if it was a time

of victory or peace.

So you take your war horse,

if you're going to go charge,

you want to be up

as high as possible,

but if it's a time of peace,

you get to ride a donkey.

All of these things

describe Saul

as a very attractive choice

for God's people.

Remember,

Israel's goal

at this time

was to be

like all the other nations.

That's what they wanted

more than anything else.

Scholars have noticed

how there is only

one Israelite

in all of the Bible

described

and kind of identified

by his height,

and that's Saul.

Everywhere else

in the Bible,

tall people

are associated

with the enemies

that oppose God.

Think of the giants

in the land

as they're going to go

in the promised land.

Think Goliath, obviously.

So here's the only Israelite

described by that

very thing

that defines

the world

and that's fear striking

into the people of God.

You're getting exactly

what you wanted.

Someone commented,

this amplifies

the impression

that Saul

was precisely

the kind of king

who would be chosen

by all the other nations

and Israel gets to have him

as their king.

See how God leaves

his people

with no excuse?

It's like saying

we really want

to have the captain

of our March Madness

basketball team

be one who's going

to be NBA bound.

And God says,

oh, not only can he dunk,

not only is he going

to the NBA,

I'm going to give you one

who anybody would pick

as their first round

draft pick.

He's going to be

an all-star.

And Saul's chasing

around these lost donkeys.

There's three credentials

that stand out.

It supports his good prospects

for leadership.

God's given them someone

that they can see

is up to standard.

Anyone would want them.

First, it's this.

In verse 5,

Saul showed respect

for his father.

Second, in verse 6,

Saul showed respect

for the social conventions.

If you're going to appear

before a person of eminence

like Samuel,

you don't want to come

empty-handed.

You should bring a gift.

That was customary.

And number 3,

in verse 21,

Saul showed humility.

And he says,

am I not a Benjamite

of the smallest

of the tribes of Israel

and my family

the least of all

the families

of the tribe of Benjamin?

What we know

is that was wealthy

and mighty,

but he's being very

humble and modest.

These credentials,

you could say,

support him

as a good prospect.

There's nothing there

that would disqualify him.

We also have

in this passage

the reception.

How was this tall,

handsome man

that shows humility

and respect for his father,

how was he received?

Well, see,

the daughters of Israel,

they represent

the future of the nation

and also the heart

and the passion

of a nation.

And there's a pattern

when the daughters

of Zion

or the daughters

of Jerusalem

or the daughters

of Israel

come out to meet a man.

There's a pattern there

in all of Scripture.

Think about all the different

times this has happened.

Isaac met his wife

at a well.

So did Jacob.

So did Moses.

And now Saul,

he's welcomed

by the daughters

of Israel.

Look at verse 11.

As he and his servant

went up the hill

to the city,

they met some young women

going out

to draw water.

But let's pay attention.

If these are

the daughters of Israel,

how do they receive him?

Turns out,

they want to help him.

They give him

urgent instructions

and detour.

Go here.

So he's being well received

by the daughters

of the nation.

This is another good sign.

See,

Israel can't accuse God

of trying to sabotage

their plan

of a monarchy.

The future ruler

was given

a seat of honor,

look at verse 22,

by the man of God,

that seat that was reserved

in the presence

of these 30 VIP guests.

In verse 22,

he's given a piece

of meat

that Samuel

had intentionally

set aside

with the fat on it,

meaning it would taste

the best.

Then he gets to eat

with Samuel.

The man of God

whose word never

falls to the ground.

In verses 25 and 26,

Samuel hosts him

to say the top

of the house.

That's the place

where it was cool.

You normally have

like a guest bedroom

up there,

a place where you can

go and have meetings

like, remember how

Jesus met with Nicodemus

up there in the cool

of the night?

So he gets to be there

hosted by Samuel.

In verse 27,

the Lord gives Saul

a direct word.

Samuel pays a lot

attention to him

one-on-one

and ministers

the word of God

to this future ruler.

Saul and Israel

have no reason

to complain of God.

When the Lord

lets his children

taste the sin

they desire,

he leaves no reason

to complain.

We saw last week

how by wanting

a king like all

the other nations,

they were rejecting

God as their king

and this is exactly

what God gives them.

Has the Lord

ever taught you

what really matters

by giving you

exactly what you

thought was best

for you

and what you

really wanted?

I remember a time

maybe 10 years ago

there was an opportunity

for a promotion

and it was,

you know,

of course outside

of church

but I thought

I really wanted this

and the analogy

my dad gave me,

I have a wonderful

Christian dad

and he said,

Jason,

sometimes we want

to chase a tiger

and we think

that's what we want

and then when you

catch it,

what do you have?

You've got a tiger

by the tail

and that's often

how it is,

isn't it?

The Lord patiently

lets us learn

the lesson.

What you think

matters most

is not what your

loving father

has for you.

When we finally

get it,

we turn around

and our loving father

is there

and he's a patient

teacher.

Here's our second

observation.

When sin-desiring

men try to push

the Lord away

from his people,

where does he go?

When the sin-desiring

men try to push

the Lord away

from his people,

where does he go?

What happened

last chapter

is that the elders

of Israel

came to Samuel,

they heard all

the stern warnings

that God gave them

through Samuel,

this king is going

to become a Pharaoh

figure,

but their hearts

desire this,

this is the man

they want.

Where does the Lord

go when God

says they have

rejected me?

I want you to see

here in an indirect

way that God

stays near

his people.

God orchestrates

and presides

over and powerfully

causes all things,

even that which men

intend for evil,

like in this case,

to work together

for his good purposes

for those who are

his called ones.

Romans 8, 28.

I want to point out

five coincidences,

so to speak,

five ways in which

it just so happened,

and all of this

shows the providence

of God,

how he's near

all along orchestrating

everything according

to his will.

First,

it just so happened

that as Saul's

father's donkeys

got lost

at that time,

and that it took

exactly three days,

and in that time,

Saul searches everywhere

only to end up

right where God

wanted him to be.

Number two,

it just so happened

that they came

to the land of Zoph

where Ramah was.

Oh, remember Ramah,

that's the mountaintops

where Samuel lives.

Number three,

it just so happened

that Saul's servant

remembered about Samuel

and the fact

that he lived there,

and he spoke

on behalf of God.

He was a seer,

and he could perhaps

guide them

in the right direction.

Number four,

it just so happened

that the young women

told Saul

where to go

just in time

so that as he would

walk out there,

he would be able

to meet up with Samuel

on the road

right before he goes

up the hill

for the sacrifice feast.

And number five,

it just so happened

that there was already

this great feast plan

with meat set apart

and 30 elite guests

invited.

Of course,

Saul is portrayed

in this whole chapter

as someone really

bumbling through

these events.

A spiritually blind person

will fail to acknowledge

that in all of these details,

it's the sovereign hand

of God

being so close,

orchestrating everything

for his great purpose.

Look at verse 15 with me.

See, all along,

the Lord had told Samuel

in his ear

the day before

that Saul came,

saying,

verse 16,

tomorrow,

about this time,

I will send you a man

from the land

of Benjamin.

This tiny little tribe,

you're not going to see

too many of those

in a lifetime,

and I'm going to send them

right here to you

this time tomorrow.

See how close God was

all along,

orchestrating every detail?

It was God

who sent Saul

to Samuel

at that exact moment.

I want us to

take this story

as one small example

and see what this

reveals to us

about our great God.

See, God,

all along,

was the first

and primary cause.

God makes

all things

happen

just so.

It wasn't that

it just so happened,

it was God

who caused it

to be that way.

Providence,

the providence of God

is the expression

or the application

of the attribute

of God,

which is his sovereignty.

God is sovereign.

He reigns freely

over all his creation,

and he displays that

in his providence.

Of God's providence,

we agree with

the catechism question

that nothing happens

except through God

and by his will.

It's God who

providentially controls

even the smallest

matters in your life

and in mine

according to his will.

In God's perfect design

and according to

who God is

in his essence,

he uses

other means

to accomplish

his will.

See,

this is a wonderful,

wonderful doctrine,

a wonderful truth

from scripture

that we could meditate

on for an entire life

and we won't plumb

the full depths of it.

Who is God

in his essence?

God is

all powerful

all the time.

And God

operates

in human time

and space.

And what we recognize

is that

who God is

is displayed

by how he acts

so that the operations

of God

in the world

reflect back on us

his essence

and his attributes.

He is absolutely

sovereign.

He is

infinite

completeness.

There was an old word

in Latin

where these theologians

after the Reformation

are trying to describe

who is God

and acting

in such a

sovereign,

providential way.

and the Latin word

was this,

actus putus,

pure actuality.

That's who God is.

The Lord God

is close to his people

causing all things

to happen.

So if God

is the primary cause

and these other

events

and choices

and decisions

that others make,

what does it make those?

Well those become

secondary means

or secondary

causes.

the word is

volition.

Creatures have

volition.

Creatures have

the ability

to choose

and make decisions.

So the Lord

would use

for example

the free choice

or the volition

of the donkeys

to run away.

He would use

the choice

of his father

to send Saul

with this particular

servant

and the volition

of that servant

to put a shekel

or some money

in his pocket.

The volition

of those 30 guests

to prepare

a sacrifice feast

and even the volition

or the free choice

of rebellious Israel

to prefer

an earthly monarchy

as their idol

over God

as their king.

You see how it

becomes obvious

from this passage

exactly what

Acts 15.18

says

that all

God's works

are known

to him

from

eternity.

Let me run

that by you

one more time.

Acts 15.18

all God's works

are known

to him

from

eternity.

Is your view

of God

big enough

for this God

of the Bible?

We should be

stretched.

Are your thoughts

about God

high enough

for the only

living God

who is the creator

and the sustainer

of everyone

and everything?

The Lord

has acted

in human history

and he's recorded

for us

and he patiently

uses his word

in every generation

to elevate

our thoughts

of him

that we see him

more and more

by faith

in all his splendor

and glory

that we'll never

get to the end

of it.

See how much

higher the Lord

is than

worldly idols.

With such a high God

we have to confess

back to him

who he is

using the words

of his own Bible.

In Job 36.22

behold

God is exalted

in his power

and who is a teacher

like him?

Psalm 32.8

what we read earlier

the Lord promises

to his people

I will instruct you

and teach you

in the way

that you should go.

I will counsel you

with my loving eye

upon you

using all things

for his glory

and our good.

Well the third observation

is that the Lord

shows

how far

those desires

of sinful hearts

fall short

of his glorious reign.

The Lord

shows how far

the desires

of sinful hearts

fall short

of his glorious reign

as our king.

See in verse 20

would you look there?

He says

on whom

is all

the desire

of Israel?

As Saul

is presented

to them

and providentially

brought before

these 30

invited guests

representing leadership

for the whole nation

and will soon

be anointed

and presented

as the king

the Lord

is pointing out

that the desire

of Israel

is not on God

their desire

their longing

is on

this man.

the irony

here is brought

out in how

Saul

is truly

incompetent

and not suited

to lead

God's people.

Let's unpack

this desire

of Israel

in four ways

here.

First

the desire

of all Israel

was upon

a man

from the wicked

tribe

of Benjamin.

In Genesis

Benjamin

is described

along with all

his descendants

as a wolf

that will devour.

In the book

of Judges

Benjamin

is abused

I'm sorry

a Levite

brings his concubine

and the people

of Benjamin

abuse the concubine

bringing a civil war

and all the other

tribes come

and slaughter

the men of Benjamin

for their wickedness

leaving only 600

men surviving.

Second

the desire

of all Israel

was upon a man

known for having

lost his donkeys

see God

often has prepared

in his scripture

up to this point

spiritual rulers

by making them

first practice

caring for livestock

that's how God

trains the leaders

of his people

God's leaders

are introduced

consistently

as good shepherds

going all the way

back to Abel

the first martyr

he tended sheep

remember that

Abraham

his flock

thrived

Isaac was a

hands-on shepherd

who went out

and dug

well after

well for his

sheep

Jacob's sheep

multiplied

unexplainably

remember Moses

went and protected

the sheep of his

future wife

from the bullies

and then the Lord

had him be prepared

to become the one

he would use

to deliver them

out of Egypt

by spending

40 years

as a shepherd

tending sheep

what is Saul

doing in this

list here

Saul is not

a shepherd

the fact that

his dad was

wealthy

and had these

female donkeys

which are even

more expensive

it's most likely

points to him

being a farmer

because donkeys

are beasts of

burden

and they would

pull a plow

so it would be

the work of a

farmer

Saul's incompetence

as a shepherd

is highlighted

by his inability

to watch over

the herd of

donkeys

even though

these beasts

of burden

are much louder

bigger

and easier

to find

than the lost

little lambs

would have been

and third

the desire

of all Israel

was upon a man

who was spiritually

blind

when he finally

gets to meet

Samuel

the servant

tells him

there is a seer

here

there is a man

of God

and Saul

doesn't know

anything about this

this should be

concerning

in chapter 3

verse 20

we're told

all of Israel

from Dan

to Beersheba

knew

that Samuel

was established

as a prophet

of the Lord

chapter 4

verse 1

says that the

word of Samuel

came to all Israel

so how

how could Saul

have never

have heard

of this man

of God

to make matters

even worse

when he finally

meets him

in chapter 9

verse 18

he asks

Samuel

the prophet

himself

tell me

where is the

house of the seer

only to find out

that's exactly

who you're talking

to

see this

foreshadows

Saul's

spiritual

blindness

he's going

to accuse

his godly

son

he's going

to accuse

David

falsely

and he's

going to

show

this man

has no

fear

of the

true king

of Israel

well

fourth

the desire

of all Israel

was upon

a man

who consistently

fails

to lead

while Saul

is set up

as this

good looking

new commander

of Israel

who is it

that's really

guiding him

all along the way

and telling him

what they should

do next

and pointing it

out

it's his servant

the unnamed

servant

Saul neglects

to be

a leader

to seek out

the will of

God

and instead

he's always

going to be

turning throughout

his career

to unwise

counsel

and he'll

neglect

going himself

to get the

guidance

that he needs

from God

one commentator

pointed this out

how the

Saul's of the

world

you probably

work with some

they're ones

who have

little competence

for the

actual job

at hand

but only

the carefully

cultivated

impression

of superiority

Saul is the

kind of man

who often

comes to

prominence

and power

in this

world

isn't that

true

this commentator

said sadly

even in many

churches

so the Lord

in this

ironic setup

shows how

far the

desires

sinful hearts

fall short

of his

glorious

reign

well the

fourth question

and observation

is this

though sin

flirting hearts

reject the

Lord of glory

for an idol

how does

God

view

his own

people still

though their

sin flirting

hearts have

rejected the

Lord

for this

idol

this monarchy

how does

God view

his own

people still

would you

look at me

with verse

15

the Lord

told Samuel

tomorrow

I'll send

you a man

from Benjamin

you shall

anoint him

commander

notice how

God doesn't

say king

you'll anoint

him commander

or princely

ruler over

my people

Israel

that he may

save my

people from

the hand

of the

Philistines

for I have

looked upon

my people

because their

cry has

come up

to me

God's

people

rejected

him

but God

has not

rejected

his people

these are

my people

God says

and the

elect within

Israel

the remnant

they are

crying out

to God

still

he still

hears

their prayers

says they

cried out

to me

and I

heard them

even if

they're

suffering

at the

sin

of the

elders

of the

nation

and the

leaders

someone

brought up

the question

I thought

the

Philistines

had been

pushed

back

and we

go back

two chapters

it's true

there was

peace in

the land

even the

Amorites

were at

peace

because the

Lord

ruled and

displayed his

power

but remember

what happened

since then

is the

failed succession

of Samuel's

sons

they were

corrupt

unjust

and when

the people

of God

are not

submitting

to God

as their

king

the enemies

encroach

and who is

left to

protect them

when they've

rejected the

only one

who is

powerful to

do this

to the

extent that

Israel is

a type

of God's

heavenly kingdom

on earth

just as the

church is

the enemies

on this earth

will always be

with us

and the Lord

warns of wolves

and those will

come in seeking

to devour

as well as the

enemies inside

of us

you know

Satan

the remaining

corruptions

of our own

hearts

these things

are always

at battle

in this life

on this earth

until that

great day

when the

kingdom of heaven

is on the

earth

and the

glory of

God

covers

the entire

earth

and every

enemy and

foe has

been vanquished

but in the

meantime

we need the

Lord

driving away

the enemies

and the

minute

God's people

take their

eyes off

of him

they ask

for more

trouble

in verse

17

when Samuel

saw Saul

the Lord

said to him

there he is

the man

of whom

I spoke

to you

this one

shall

reign

literally

the word

is this

one shall

restrain

my people

so how

does the

Lord view

his people

he's giving

them

this idol

he's letting

them taste

the sin

that they

have desired

and put

their heart

on

knowing

as a

loving

father

what you

are getting

is going

to restrain

you

you think

this is going

to make

you advance

as a

kingdom

this is going

to withhold

my blessings

upon you

this idol

that you

want

so badly

this is

holding

you back

this is

not

advancing

my kingdom

in my

way

notice how

the donkeys

were eventually

found

Samuel says

don't worry

about the

donkeys

three days

later

they've been

found

and that was

without any

leadership

provided by

the man

put in

charge

of them

so if

this is an

analogy

the herdsman

represents

the king

what does

this say

about

this herd

of rebellious

donkeys

that ran

away

from Mr.

Kish

Saul's

dad

do you see

the beautiful

irony here

that's implied

people who

reject God

as their

king

what does

that make

them

loud

stubborn

lost

that's right

donkeys

we'll stick

with that

psalm 78

says

the Lord

led his

people out

like sheep

and he

guided them

in the

wilderness

like a

flock

psalm 80

says

that God

calls himself

the shepherd

of Israel

in psalm 95

God's elect

are the people

of his

pasture

and the

sheep

of his

hand

and by

turning to

an idol

we're like

those donkeys

wandering away

from the good

shepherd

from the Lord

who provides

all that we

need

we forfeited

the safety

and contentment

we enjoyed

in the green

pastures

of our

wealthy

generous

mighty

owner

and what

does that

father do

he sends

his own

son

on a mission

to save

them

to save

me and

you

but where

the son

of Kish

fell short

in every

way

the son

of God

our Lord

Jesus

Christ

he fulfilled

his father's

mission

perfectly

completely

and forever

John 17

4

Jesus says

I have

accomplished

the work

you gave

me

to do

those

sin

flirting

hearts

reject

the Lord

of glory

for an

idol

do you

see how

God

views

his

people

still

well the

final

observation

for today

is this

that the

Lord

just as

he orchestrated

the events

in this

narrative

he has

orchestrated

all of

redemptive

history

to teach

his people

through

God

the son

think how

how sweeping

this statement

is

decide if you

agree that

this is

true

the Lord

God has

orchestrated

all of

redemptive

history

to teach

his people

through

God

the son

I want to

point out

five ways

in which

this is

true

I'm sure

there are

many more

number one

in his

providence

to become

the king

of kings

God

the son

entered

human

history

our

Lord

Jesus

Christ

could have

come from

a powerful

nation

like Egypt

or Persia

or Babylon

but instead

fulfilling

Isaiah 41

18

which calls

Israel weak

and small

this is the

nation

that the

God

the son

chose to

come in

through

second

in his

providence

to become

the first

born

from the

dead

our

Lord

Jesus

Christ

was born

into a

family

he had

to be

like

everyone

else

right

and he

could have

chosen

to be

born

a beautiful

Rachel's

line

or the

wealthy

queen

of Sheba

or whoever

he wanted

but instead

he chose

the stock

of ugly

Leah

and poor

Mary

third

in his

providence

to redeem

his bride

God the son

took on

a body

our

Lord

Jesus

Christ

could have

been

tall

and

impressive

in his

form

he could

have been

stately

and attractive

in appearance

but instead

fulfilling

Isaiah 53

2

our Lord

Jesus

Christ

did not

have

an

impressive

form

or majesty

that we

should

look at

him

no

appearance

that we

should

desire

him

fourth

in his

providence

to pour

out

every

blessing

upon

his

people

from

his

own

eternal

unchanging

endless

bounty

God

created

a people

from

nothing

and when