THE NEW EWE

"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'"

Luke 15:4-6

February 8, 2023

LIFE IN THE FOLD

I've been reading 1 Samuel. I love reading the Old Testament stories!

In 1 Samual chapter 10, we read where Samuel anoints Saul to be the first king of Israel. He poured oil over Saul's head, kissed him, and said, "I am doing this because the Lord has appointed you to be the ruler over Israel, his special possession."

Samuel called all of the Israelites to gather at Mizpah. He gave them a message from the Lord. God told them that He had been the one to lead them out of Egypt and rescue them from the Egyptians and from all of the nations that were oppressing them. Then God had Samuel speak these words: "Though I have rescued you from your misery and distress, you have rejected your God today and have said, 'No, we want a king instead!'"

I find this next portion of the story interesting. Samuel had already anointed Saul, but the two men had been alone when that had happened. Now, Samuel told the people that they were to present themselves before the Lord by tribes and clans. So Samuel brought each tribe of Israel before the Lord, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen by lot. Then he brought each family of the tribe of Benjamin before the Lord, and the family of the Matrites was chosen. Finally Saul, son of Kish, was chosen from among them.

But when they looked for him, he had disappeared. So they asked the Lord, "Where is he?" And the Lord replied, He is hiding among the baggage." They found him and brought him out, and he stood head and shoulders above anyone else.

Why would Saul slip away and hide during this process of Samuel showing Israel who their next king would be? He already knew that Samuel had anointed him and he had been chosen!

Then Samuel presented Saul to all the people and said, "This is the man the Lord has chosen as your king. No one in all Israel is like him!" And the people shouted, "Long live the king!"

Samuel then told the people what the rights and duties of a king were. He wrote them down on a scroll and placed it before the Lord. Then Samuel sent the people back to their homes.

Scripture says that Saul returned to his home at Gibeah, and a group of men whose hearts God had touched went with him.

There was no palace or kingly home that had been built for him to go home to. He had been out looking for his father's lost donkey's when Samuel saw him and told him that he was the one whom God had chosen to be king, so likely lived with his father (back then sons would tend to build a room onto their father's house to bring his bride to when he got married) or near him. Traditions back then were different than they are nowadays.

Chapter 13 tells us that Saul was thirty years old when he became king. His son Jonathan is mentioned in one of the first wars that they fought, so Saul was married and had a family when he became king. Later in chapter 14 it named Saul's three sons, two daughters, and his wife. So he wasn't a young, unmarried man when God called him to be king. He was a grown man, with a wife and family, and a farmer.

What I had never noticed before (or had forgotten) was that after Samuel declared to all of Israel that Saul was to be their king and they declared, "Long live the king!", Saul went back to his home just like everyone else. He didn't immediately begin gathering and training armies or building himself a kingly palace or asking what his pay was going to be. He didn't do anything differently than what he had been doing prior to this! He went back home, and went back to plowing his fields.

The king of the Ammonites had been oppressing the tribes of Gad and Reuben, who lived east of the Jordan River. He had gouged out the right eye of each of the Israelites living there, and didn't allow anyone to come and rescue them. Seven thousand men had escaped from the Ammonites and had settled in Jabesh-gilead.

A month after Saul had been anointed and appointed as the king of Israel, this king of Ammon led his army against the Israelite town where those seven thousand men had escaped to. The people began pleading for peace and a treaty. The only way that the king would agree to their terms was if he was able to first gouge out the right eye of every one of them as a disgrace to Israel. They asked him to give them seven days to see if anyone would come to save them. If not, then they would agree to his terms.

When messengers came to the town where Saul was living and told the people about their plight, everyone broke into tears.

Scripture says that "Saul had been plowing a field with his oxen." When he returned to town, he asked why everyone was crying, so they told him.

Saul called together an army and had 300,000 men from Israel and 30,000 from Judah that went with him to rescue the people at Jabesh. They had victory over the Ammonite army.

That is a great story; but I would like to focus on one particular point. After Saul was appointed to be the king of Israel, he waited until God's timing for him to take up that leadership role. He went back home and went about his daily life, as before, until God showed him what to do next. This new king went back to plowing his field with his oxen. It seems as if soon thereafter his duties consisted of leading the Israelite men into many battles against their enemies.

I believe that many times people will feel God call them to a particular ministry or have a dream that God has placed within their heart. When they go back home and go on about their daily lives, until God shows them what to do next, there can be negative reactions from people as well as doubt begin to settle into their heart.

People can say, "I thought you said God called you to....." or "You said that you felt that God was leading you to do..." or "How come you're not doing anything about what God spoke to you....." or "God gave you a word that you were supposed to....." They don't understand that God has not yet given you the next step and you are waiting for Him to speak and tell you what to do next or open up the appropriate door. You've said yes to God, but now waiting for direction.

If we aren't careful, during that time, Satan can bring thoughts and feelings of doubt and question into our minds. We begin to wonder if we were really called or if we misunderstood. We may ask ourselves if it was really God, then why aren't doors opening or things falling into place? Discouragement may try to slip into our life.

But when we KNOW that God has placed a call upon our lives or given us specific direction, we need to hold fast to that and not give any room to negative thoughts from Satan or listen to questions from people. We stand firm in knowing what God has spoken! We "keep plowing our fields", so to speak, until God shows us what to do next. Then we step into that role and fulfill what God has called us to do.

Due to Saul's sins, God regretted that He had ever appointed him to be king. In fact, Samuel tells Saul, "You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. Had you kept it, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after His own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of His people, because you have not kept the Lord's command."

After God had Samuel to anoint David to be Israel's next king, it was somewhere between 15-20 years before that actually happened. After Samuel anointed him and told him that he would be Israel's next king, he went back to watching his father's sheep. He played his harp for Saul when tormenting spirits overcome him. He became Saul's armor-bearer. He became a man of war, himself, and many times had to hide from Saul so as not to be killed. What God promised was not immediately fulfilled, but David had to spend years going about his daily life and doing whatever he needed to do to survive and fulfill God's purpose.

Whatever God may be calling you to do, don't be discouraged or down-hearted if it doesn't come to pass when you think it should. Be faithful each day to do what God places before you, and when His timing is right, it will come to pass!

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

Moses had to go through that, too. God called him to go to Egypt and demand that the Pharaoh let the Israelites go back to the promised land. Even when he did make the demands, it took a long time and many plagues to convince Pharaoh. And as soon as they got a safe distance, they camped and stayed for years in one place. Moses and a few others cooperated with God, but most of the Israelites complained and outright rebelled against God. It took 40 years to get to the promised land, and even then, Moses didn't get to cross the river and enter it.

Joseph spent years as a slave and prisoner between God telling him he would be master over his own older brothers and seeing it come true.

It was many generations before the promised Messiah came to Israel, and many more since He said He would come again. But every time, so far, the prophecies have come true. There are a few we are still waiting for, but they will come true, too.

ON THE MENEWE:

Zippy Potatoes

Cut potatoes into even sized, bite-sized pieces. (Enough to fill a medium-sized bowl.)

Place potatoes in microwave-safe bowl.

Coat with olive oil. Season potatoes, to taste.

Microwave 8 minutes. Stir; check for tenderness and microwave in increments of 3 minutes, until done.

*Note: If you do not have Lawry's seasoned salt, you can do a combination of salt and paprika.

This is a quick and easy side dish that is good.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

My niece's oldest daughter had her 16^th birthday a few days ago. Her parents bought her a "new to her" car. The evening of her birthday, my niece and her husband and their four kids went out to dinner. When they arrived home, this strange car was parked in their driveway. My niece was videoing her daughters reaction. When the kids saw the car, they thought someone had broken into their house! They were making comments like, "What if someone is inside our house?! I'm scared to go in there!" My niece said, "There's a sign across the driver's door. Jaycee, what does it say?" Jaycee went over and read, "Happy Sweet 16^th Birthday!" She still had a hard time believing that it was her car!

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Happiness is not about getting all you want.

It's about enjoying all you have. - unknown

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org