Samuel the prophet is looking for a king, whereas Saul is only looking for donkeys – his father has sent him along with one of his servants to search for their lost animals. Many times, we set out to fulfill what seems to be a mundane task when in fact a great mission awaits us. This is the reason we must never belittle our ordinary duties, or those who accompany us along our journey. We must try to undertake all of our responsibilities with a similar amount of excitement, because we can never know the true impact or significance of our actions.
Saul arrives in Samuel’s city and decides to talk to none other than him. Saul is assertive and proactive, trying to find the man who will show him the way. He hopes for what is possible, and indeed what is possible is what happens. God is not indifferent to His people’s distress and intervenes on their behalf. In one of their most desperate eras, God chooses an emissary to deliver the nation from the hands of their enemies. Samuel tells Saul that he is destined to become king and save Israel. Bewildered by this statement, the visitor argues he is but a simple boy from Benjamin, the smallest of the tribes. Saul’s response embodies the most important trait for an emissary of God – modesty. Like Moses, Saul understands his status in God’s world.
“Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came, saying, To morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines” (1 Samuel 9:15-16)
“And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?” (1 Samuel 9:21)
Diligence is the consistent series of choices we make to engage in spiritual work – to act, do, learn, and achieve more.
