Looking for Donkeys
In 1988, the iconic band U2 won a Grammy for their song, "I still haven't found what I'm looking for." The song is a haunting quest for meaning inspired by the gospel music and themes of American Music. 1 Samuel 9 & 10 record for us the anointing of the first king of Israel, King Saul. Like U2, the story begins with Saul looking for donkeys, but as we will see Saul wasn't the only one unable to find what he was looking for.
Highlight:
'Samuel summoned the people to the Lord at Mizpah and said to the Israelites, “This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the power of the Egyptians and all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and afflictions. You said to him, ‘You must set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and clans.” ' 1 Samuel 10:17-19
Explain;
These were the words spoken by the prophet Samuel on the cusp of anointing the first king of Israel at Mizpah. The last time the people had gathered at this place (7:5) they had come in deep confession for their sin. See they had been defeated in 1 Samuel 4 after they decided to use the Ark of the Covenant as a good luck charm in their battle against the Philistines. They decided that if the Ark went into battle, then God would fight for them and theyto were soundly defeated. The presence of God isn’t some good luck charm so that we can get God’s favor on what we expect Him to do to make our lives better. God doesn’t exist for our pleasure, we exist for His. But the last time they gathered here, they were confessing their sin and pledging their allegiance to God.
Now they are gathered at Mizpah for a very different purpose. See in less than a few chapters, these people have demanded that they have a king just like everyone else. It is clear from Samuel’s words that God sees this as complete rejection of Him as the leader (even though in the previous chapter they are appealing for God to lead them and to bring victory). Well as the saying goes you can’t have your cake and eat it too. You can’t expect God to lead you and then demand the right to govern yourselves. Either God is your master or He isn’t. But as the people of God will soon find out, Samuel tried to warn them in chapter 8, to be careful what they wished for.
As a result, God decides to give them exactly what they ask for. He fits the bill according to their standards, head and shoulders above every one else, from a well to do family, with the right pedigree. By all physical and human accounts, this man is very impressive, the text even calls him that. But on the inside, where it counts, he leaves quite a bit to be desired.
For starters, he’s a lousy shepherd. Nearly every great leader in Israel was a shepherd. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, all shepherds. In this respect, Saul is a shepherd but he’s a sorry one. Tasked with finding the donkeys by his father he searches for them for days and can’t seem to locate them.
He doesn’t know the Lord or His prophet. When in their quest for the donkeys, Saul and his servant come near the home town of Samuel, the servant has the idea to go to Samuel with their dilemma. It’s clear from Saul’s response, he has no idea who Samuel is. In the New American Commentary, Robert Bergen writes, "Saul, the paragon of spiritual blindness, knew nothing of the most famous man in Israel even after he encountered him”. Even when they did finally meet, he didn’t even recognize him.
Thirdly, he argues with the servant about going to meet Samuel because he doesn’t have a bribe to give him. His response is reflective of Saul’s misunderstanding of ministry objectives and priorities. Without a bribe of some kind, Saul had no intention to talk to the prophet. Saul clearly thought that God could and must be bought which reflects a deep misappropriation of God’s purposes.
He lacks the courage to lead. When the time comes for the big reveal at Mizpah, Here is your leader, and the spotlight turns to an empty chair. Saul is nowhere to be found. When the chips were down and the time came for someone to lead, Saul had vacated his seat and was hiding among the supplies (10:22)
Saul was the classic choice of the person with all resume and no skills, but they got precisely what they asked for, what they didn’t know is it was nothing like what they needed. But maybe that’s the whole point. While the people were supposed to be looking at the Divine, they were searching for donkeys instead, and they found just what they were looking for.
Apply:
How do we apply this to our own lives? We have to make sure in leadership in God’s church that we look for men and not donkeys. Sure there will always be men who on paper look like just the right kind of leaders, but we have to ask ourselves, which is more important their head that’s higher than everyone else’s or their heart that’s hidden with God. We need to look to God as our leader, not for men to lead us apart from God’s wisdom. It is clear that God uses men to govern and direct His church, but we must not clamor for what everyone else has by our own standards of success, we must look for men who do the very things well that Saul struggled with.
How good a shepherd are they? Can they shepherd people well and take care of them? As overseers of God’s flock we must be careful to shepherd people well. To know where they are spiritually and not loose sight of them. We have to develop relationships deep enough with them to help shepherd their spiritual development and not leave them to wander away from the flock. When they do we have to know how to help lead them back and not loose track of them.
They better know the Lord, and I don’t mean in salvation. I mean these men need to know how to recognize the Lord. They are hearing His voice daily. They are in HIs word, learning to listen and grow.
They also better have an understanding of nature of ministry. We are not in this for the money and they can’t have their hearts infected with greed. They have to understand the relationship between finances and ministry.
Finally, they have to have to courage to lead. When the bright lights of leadership shine on them, they can’t cower behind the supplies, they have to have the courage to lead when the chips are down.
Respond:
We have to understand that kinds of leaders we choose says something about us as a people. Do we want leaders who look the part outwardly or men who possess the inner qualities to lead well? The answer reveals the priorities of our own lives and our church. Jesus help me to be a leader who embodies these things. Help me to be a better shepherd, help me to hear Your voice and know how to listen to You, guard me from misunderstanding the priorities of ministry, and give me the courage to lead.
