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Qualifications for Service
1 Samuel 9:1-21
Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of valor. He had a son, whose name was Saul, an impressive young man; and there was not among the children of Israel a better person than he. From his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.
The donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. Kish said to Saul his son, "Take now one of the servants with you, and arise, go seek the donkeys." He passed through the hill country of Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they didn't find them: then they passed through the land of Shaalim, and there they weren't there: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they didn't find them.
When they had come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, "Come, and let us return, lest my father stop caring about the donkeys, and be anxious for us."
He said to him, "See now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is a man who is held in honor. All that he says comes surely to pass. Now let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us concerning our journey whereon we go."
Then Saul said to his servant, "But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?"
The servant answered Saul again, and said, "Behold, I have in my hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver. I will give that to the man of God, to tell us our way." (In earlier times in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he said, "Come, and let us go to the seer;" for he who is now called a prophet was before called a Seer.)
Then Saul said to his servant, "Well said. Come, let us go." So they went to the city where the man of God was. As they went up the ascent to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water, and said to them, "Is the seer here?"
They answered them, and said, "He is. Behold, he is before you. Hurry now, for he has come today into the city; for the people have a sacrifice today in the high place. As soon as you have come into the city, you shall immediately find him, before he goes up to the high place to eat; for the people will not eat until he come, because he blesses the sacrifice. Afterwards those who are invited eat. Now therefore go up; for at this time you shall find him."
They went up to the city; and as they came within the city, behold, Samuel came out toward them, to go up to the high place.
Now Yahweh had revealed to Samuel a day before Saul came, saying, "Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man out of the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel; and he shall save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked on my people, because their cry has come to me."
When Samuel saw Saul, Yahweh said to him, "Behold, the man of whom I spoke to you! this same shall have authority over my people."
Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, "Please tell me where the seer's house is."
Samuel answered Saul, and said, "I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today. In the morning I will let you go, and will tell you all that is in your heart. As for your donkeys who were lost three days ago, don't set your mind on them; for they are found. For whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you, and for all your father's house?"
Saul answered, "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? Why then do you speak to me like this?"
World English Bible
This passage introduces Saul, who was to be the first King of Israel. As King, Saul would win military victories, bring
about prosperity, and lead the nation to a stronger commitment to God, but Saul would also act out of arrogance, lose military conquests,
cause ruin for his people, and lure the nation away from God. In the end, God would reject Saul, and Saul would ultimately kill himself
during a crushing defeat at the hands of the Philistines. Although King Saul's reign ended badly, he started out with great promise
and potential. We can gain greater understanding from this passage about the potential God sees in each of us.
Let's first consider three different criteria for measuring Saul's potential to succeed as King of Israel that are available to us in this
story: popular opinion, modern leadership assessment, and obedience to God.
The popular opinion of Saul's day was based on superficial characteristics and biased towards the crucial role of military battle
leadership. In our day, Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. fits our image of an outstanding military leader, because he is smart, well-spoken,
experienced, and confident. General Schwarzkopf would have been a liability as the commander in Saul's day, because strategy and intelligence
were not as important as vigor, strength, and bravery. Saul is described in this passage as young, tall, and handsome, and we know from
other passages that he was strong and brave as well. He was a great fit for the visible image of what the people wanted to see in their king
and military leader. Because he looked the part, the people were thrilled to have such a visible icon of power as their king.
If I were the hiring manager, reading this passage as evidence of Saul's qualifications for leadership, I'd have laughed him out of my
office. First, his project to find the donkeys was a dismal and embarrassing failure, for not long after Saul left to wander far away, his
father's lesser servants found the donkeys nearby, somewhere that Saul failed to look. Saul had an flawed plan for the search, and
didn't have a plan for how long he could continue to search, for by the time he reached Zuph, he was out of food, he was so broke he had
to borrow money from his servant, and he faced a difficult time getting home. I think Saul committed an embarrassing social gaffe
when he asked Samuel where the seer was; it is likely Samuel was dressed in unusual ceremonial attire on his way to the sacrifice, and I
suspect Saul's servant cringed as Saul asked his foolish question of Samuel. As I see it, this man was seriously unfit for leadership.
In contrast, we read at the end of this selection the one qualification that God considered vital to Saul's ability to be king, and that was
humility. Saul did not consider himself to be handsome or noble, just a son in an insignificant family in the weakest tribe of Israel. He was
willing to listen to Samuel, God's priest, and he was willing to be obedient to God. At least at this point in history, Saul was a servant of God.
Likewise, the stories in the book of Judges teach us that the characteristic of humility is essential and completely sufficient to be a leader
called by God. Samson wasn't smart, Gideon wasn't brave, and Deborah couldn't rally the troops, but when they obeyed God, God
took care of everything else. Saul had that humility as well, and Saul could have been a great king, but he started believing the superficial
assessments of his power and leadership, and he stopped believing he had to follow God.
We are not smart enough to understand God's ways. We are not wise enough to consistently choose what is best. Our hearts are
not tuned to God's Heart closely enough for us to resonate with God's Love. We are not qualified, and we are not worthy--and God
knows that about us better than we do. Our hope is in our humility, both that we recognize that we are inadequate and that still we
approach God with faith that God is more than sufficient for all our weaknesses. When we think we are strong, we stop God from
working through us. When we are weak, we know the words of God that the apostle Paul wrote in 2nd Corinthians 12:9: "My grace is
sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."