Hiding in the Baggage

There were so many people. As I counted - one, two, three, four, five....I realized that all twelve had come at Samuel's command. Well God's command, I should say. He was the reason why I was in this mess, after all. What made it worse was that the more people that were there the more I stood out. I looked over the crowd and not one man's head came up past my shoulders. As my heart was excavating caves through my chest cavity, I tried to listen to Samuel relaying the words of the Lord. I couldn't help but start to panic.

It was true that something inside of me had changed after Samuel had left me in Zuph. I had started to say things I had never thought of before come out of my mouth. People started to notice a change in me. But when I returned home to my father things seemed to be back to the way they were. I couldn't tell him one thing that had happened on my journey with Samuel - even after the Spirit of the Lord came upon me! If my mouth had been silenced then, how could I lead an entire people? This was just too much for me. I wasn't special, I was a Benjamite! My family was influential among our tribe, maybe, but we were a small clan! I was never supposed to get noticed like this!

Samuel was still addressing the Israelites, but I wasn't paying attention. That was when I turned around and began to push my way through the masses. I shoved through startled men and women, eyes gawking openly at my appearance. I had always been proud of the way I appealed to women, but at that moment I had grown hot in shame. I was not worthy of this task. God needed to choose someone else. 

Searching for a place to hide, I found the center of where traveling gear was being kept during the gathering. As I surveyed the mounds of equipment I decided to find a place to hide. So quickly I ran behind some of the baggage there, hidden from inquiring eyes, my heart still thudding.

I sucked in my breath as I listened to Samuel casting lots to show the king God had chosen - he went by tribe, then by clan, then by family....

"It is Saul, son of Kish, the Benjamite!"

Everyone went ecstatic. But after all the excitement died down, when they couldn't find me, they started asking the Lord questions, which was the last thing I wanted. After all, He was the only one here who knew where I was.

"Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage."

I stood up, revealed, and was soon taken to stand up among the people.

I couldn't have begun to count the pairs of eyes that looked up at me. But I saw in every one of them the same thing: hope. Hope that I, their new king, would bring about a new nation. That I would lead them into victory over their enemies. That they would be prosperous under my rule.

"Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? There is none like him among all the people," Samuel proclaimed. I couldn't help but wonder at the tinge of sarcasm in his voice.

My thoughts were soon overwhelmed as I heard the crowd roar. I straightened my back and tilted my head back. I decided I must give my people what they want.

"Long live the king! Long live the king!"

...

This story, from 1 Samuel 10, has obviously been put into my own words. I've been studying 1 Samuel for a couple of weeks now, and the story of Saul's anointing has been a chapter that has so far stuck out to me the most. Although there are so many things I would love to pound out in this blog, I'm sure all of you would get bored. So I'm going to land on this scene I have depicted.

Are you hiding in the baggage? Here, Saul was hiding from an earthly crown. It was a healthy spout of humility and embarrassment. Growing up in a wealthy family, both tall and the best looking, he was suddenly hit with that sense of "I'm not worthy."

But for us, it is a heavenly crown, a call from God, that we are hiding from. Maybe we know it's there and we are overtly avoiding it, or maybe we're just clueless that there is so much more to our lives.

I'm not sure why I chose this part to write about. It's just something that I never realized before. If you get a chance, please read chapters 9 and 10 of 1 Samuel. It is an incredible story of how God transforms a life. The story says outright that "God gave him another heart." Before this Saul was a regular guy. It describes him as outwardly handsome, but nothing of his spirituality. There probably wasn't anything to tell. One of the reasons God gave him a new heart was probably cause his old one was far from where it should be!

I love seeing more and more of God's glory being revealed in Scripture. Truly He is the only one who can redeem life.