[One-Verse Meditation]

1 Samuel 10:24 (NIV) “Samuel said to all the people, ‘Do you see the man the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.’ Then the people shouted, ‘Long live the king!'”

[Meditation]

God grants the ungrateful demand of Israel for a king. He designates Saul as king through the casting of lots. But the man himself, Saul, hides among the baggage, unable to overcome his fear. When they finally bring him and set him before the people, Samuel speaks first: “Do you see the man the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” After Samuel’s words, the people look at Saul’s tall and handsome appearance and shout, “Long live the king!”

This scene makes our hearts uncomfortable. To those who had rejected Him as king, why did God give them the best man that all the people would desire? It seems more fitting to have appointed a shabby and insignificant person to make them realize their wrong choice.

But herein lies God’s deep purpose. God held up a mirror reflecting their own desires. They wanted a strong and splendid king visible to the eye, ‘like all the other nations,’ and God granted them the very person who perfectly met their standards. This was God’s warning, as if to say, “Is this not the very king you so desired? Now, experience for yourselves the consequences of that choice.”

This fact makes us examine ourselves today. It makes us see where our choices and steps are, where our gaze and prayers are. ‘Are we truly rejoicing in God Himself, or are we rejoicing more in the fulfillment of our desires, in the answers to our prayers? Are we not the Israelites who rejoiced at Saul’s appearance?’

[Prayer]

Lord, let the purpose of all my living days be not me, but God. Let the value that the world would mock and worry about become an irreplaceable treasure to me instead. Today, I pray for a new day of enjoying the joy that comes from ‘I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.’ Amen.
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[Daily Meditation]

1 Samuel 10:10-27