The Search for Missing Donkeys

Yesterday we read about how the Israelite people demanded that Samuel give them a king.  They rejected God’s kingship over them in favor of an earthly king to protect them.  So Samuel is going to give them what they ask.

The passage today begins with what feels like an odd jump from the previous chapter where Samuel and the Israelite people are debating and discussing the desire for a king.  Chapter nine begins with the introduction of a handsome young man from the tribe of Benjamin named Saul.  Saul starts his day with a charge from his father to find some missing donkeys.  Little does he know that his entire world is about to change.  

Saul and his servant search all over for several days for those wayward donkeys without success.  The servant then has the bright idea to ask the famous prophet they have heard is nearby where the donkeys are.  The prophet is Samuel.  Saul agrees and off they go.  

Saul is still clueless that God is about to interrupt his comfortable life.  God uses a pretty surprising set of circumstances to bring Saul to Samuel.  Who would have thought that missing donkeys and the search for them would lead to a search for a prophet who could help him?  A prophet who has just been told by God that he is to anoint a man who God will reveal to him as king of Israel.

Like Saul, God often interrupts our lives in unusual ways.  God brings us to the place where we are supposed to be and then challenges us to go further, to take a step we might not have expected in order to follow God or serve others.

QUESTIONS FOR THE FIELD

• Has God done something surprising in your life?
• How can you be on the lookout for ways that God might interrupt your life for a purpose?

FAMILY FIELD TALK

• Do you like surprises?  Why or why not?
• Do you like them when God is involved?

PRAYER
God of interruptions, thank you for the ways you surprise me.  Open my eyes to how interruptions might be invitations to follow you.  Amen.