Thoughts for the Day

Samuel summoned the people to the Lord at Mizpah and said to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “I brought you out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.” But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses; and you have said, “No! but set a king over us.” Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your clans.’

Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families, and the family of the Matrites was taken by lot. Finally he brought the family of the Matrites near man by man, and Saul the son of Kish was taken by lot. But when they sought him, he could not be found. So they inquired again of the Lord, ‘Did the man come here?’ and the Lord said, ‘See, he has hidden himself among the baggage.’ Then they ran and brought him from there. When he took his stand among the people, he was head and shoulders taller than any of them. Samuel said to all the people, ‘Do you see the one whom the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.’ And all the people shouted, ‘Long live the king!’

Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship; and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people back to their homes. Saul also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went warriors whose hearts God had touched. But some worthless fellows said, ‘How can this man save us?’ They despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Samuel calls the people to come before God at Mizpah (meaning 'watchtower'). We saw Mizpah previously when Samuel called a day of repentance in the heights of Benjamin's territory and where subsequently the Philistines attacked, but God protected them. It was near Mizpah that Samuel erected the Ebenezer stone to remind the people of God’s help, and it was here that Saul from the tribe of Benjamin would be chosen as Israel’s first king.

Choosing by lot was a common practice. It was used, for instance, when Joshua allocated land to the tribes, allowing Yahweh to make the choice of who took which territory (Joshua 18.10). There would have been no disagreement to the choice, only puzzlement at Saul's disappearance. Presumably despite his anointing by Samuel, and other signs that God has called him, he does not feel ready for the task. But Samuel has deliberately links this day to the Covenant the people originally made with God. His words at Mizpah are a direct reminder of those in Exodus 20.2 where God says: "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me."

We previously saw God's warning to the people about what would happen to them if they chose a king (Samuel 8.10-18), but this monarchy is to be different. There were to be the checks and balances built into the system. It was to be a 'constitutional monarchy' and what had been agreed would be written into law. So we leave the story at the point where Saul's accession as king has been supported by most of the people, but there is still some opposition. However, it is quite clear that Yahweh's Spirit has touched Saul and those warriors who support him.

Lord God,
when we turn to You
in truth and honesty
we too are touched by Your Spirit,
who is there to guide and inspire us.
May our good beginnings
show fruition,
and may we never get
'too big for our boots',
but realise that we always
need Your guidance and support.
Amen.