His Great Providence

Introduction: A joy of using the hymn book is to see the musical composition. It always amazes me that someone can create music out of nothing. Just a blank page of sheet music is the landscape whereby amazing hymns, rock ballads, or orchestral masterpieces are made. A composer/conductor of an orchestra. One in the same?

Mozart was known to not only compose his own world reknown compositions of music, but he would conduct the orchestra that performed the musical piece.

In modern times, the composer and conductor are usually two separate people. I would think what when a composer directs his own musical creation, there is such a greater meaning to the performance.

Many people believe that God is more of a composer than a conductor. They hold to the idea that God has created all things but he leaves creation to itself to work out its existence. This belief is called Deism and it reflects the idea God exists but does not interfere with human affairs. This deistic belief then denies common Christian beliefs like the existence of miracles, the effectiveness of prayer, or most importantly the person and work of Jesus Christ.

The opposing view of Deism is the belief of Protestant Christians today that is of God’s unhindered sovereignty and providence in all of history. God’s providence is the major theme of our story today in 1 Samuel 9. What is Providence?

Our statement of faith at RCC reads re: providence—

Boyce :

“God from eternity, decrees or permits all things that come to pass, and perpetually upholds, directs and governs all creatures and all events; yet so as not in any wise to be the author or approver of sin nor to destroy the free will and responsibility of intelligent creatures.”

Dale Ralph Davis gives a less formal but helpful definition. Providence is…

1 Samuel: Looking on the Heart Providence (9:3–27)

that wonderful, strange, mysterious, unguessable way Yahweh has of ruling his world and sustaining his people, and his doing it, frequently, over, under, around, through, or in spite of the most common stuff of our lives or even the bias of our wills.

I. God’s Supernatural Governance (1-14)

A. God Ordains All Creatures To Direct His Purposes (1-4)

Throughout scipture, the Lord shows his power over His creation. He sustains their existence so that they have all the provision they need to live. Jesus told his disciples that humanity should not worry about our lives for God’s provision for humanity is greater than his provision for the creature world.

Matthew 6:26 “26 “Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?”

Therefore friends, our provision and sustenance as humans from God’s gracious hand is all part of his providence. He sustains each of us biologically day by day throughout life with a functioning body. He sustains the environment that we live in so that we can breathe, live comfortably and have provision from his creation to thrive.

God does not just sustain, but he also governs or directs all thigns according to his will. He shows in the story of Jonah how he can make a large plant spontaneiously grow and then wither in order to teach Jonah a lesson. He can summon a large fish to find the drowning Jonah in order to swallow him, sustaining Jonah life from within, and transport him to exactly where God wanted him to go-the path to Nineveh. We have already seen how God directed two cows to carry the ark of covenant back to Israel without a driver of the cart and against the natural process of those mother cows returning to their separated young.

In 1 Sam 9, God uses another example with Saul, the main character of the rest of this book of 1 Samuel. We are told that Saul is the son of Kish, a Benjaminite. The tribe of Benjamin was Israel’s smallest tribe and so it often had the reputation of being the “least of the tribes.”

Now while Saul came from the smallest tribe in Israel, his father Kish is still described as a man of great wealth and that wealth included some livestock. It’s this livestock that serves as the providential character in our story. Kish comes to Saul after some of the donkeys belonging to them run off. Kish sends his son Saul to find these animals and in his quest, the Lord uses this situation to further his great purposes.

1 Samuel 9:3–4 “3 Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. So Kish said to his son Saul, “Take now with you one of the servants, and arise, go search for the donkeys.” 4 He passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they did not find them.”

More about Saul later, but for now we see God directing Saul on this providential journey, one that he will return from as the anointed king of Israel.

One may ask, what if the donkeys weren’t lost?

God’s purposes cannot be thwarted. The Donkeys would be lost or Saul would have another reason for another way to encounter Samuel and be anointed king.

What we learn about God’s providence is that God uses his creation to bring about his purposes. Everybody loves a good story about some animal being used to save or rescue humans.

IN 2004, Four swimmers in New Zealand were saved from a great white shark by a pod of altruistic dolphins, who swam in circles around them until the humans could escape.

Rob Howes, a British-born lifeguard, had gone swimming with his daughter, Niccy, and two of her friends off Ocean beach on the North Island, New Zealand, when the dolphins suddenly appeared. At first, he thought the mammals were being playful, but he soon realised the danger the swimmers were in.

“They started to herd us up, they pushed all four of us together by doing tight circles around us,” Mr Howes told the New Zealand Press Association.

He tried to drift away from the group, but two of the bigger dolphins herded him back – just as he spotted a three-metre great white shark heading towards him. “I just recoiled,” he said. “It was only about two metres away from me, the water was crystal clear and it was as clear as the nose on my face. They had corralled us up to protect us.”

The dolphins kept their vigil for 40 minutes until the shark lost interest, and the group could swim 100m back to the shore.

We may never be rescued by our dog or by a dolphin and yet we can still see how the Lord interacts with all of creation and we can rejoice in his power and his purposes in directing all creatures. As humans we cannot fathom how God organizes, sustains, provides for and directs all of creation and that mystery is the vehicle by which we worship him in his mighty power.

B. God Ordains Those Nearest to Us to Direct His Purposes (5-9)

In v 5, Saul wants to give up on the search for the animals. He believes that their absence will cause his father greater alarm than the missing donkeys themselves. Now it is in this section of v 5-9, that we see once again God’s provdince. This time, the Lord directs the servant of Saul to speak boldly enough to him to keep the journey alive.

1 Samuel 9:5–9 “5 When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, and let us return, or else my father will cease to be concerned about the donkeys and will become anxious for us.” 6 He said to him, “Behold now, there is a man of God in this city, and the man is held in honor; all that he says surely comes true. Now let us go there, perhaps he can tell us about our journey on which we have set out.” 7 Then Saul said to his servant, “But behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread is gone from our sack and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?” 8 The servant answered Saul again and said, “Behold, I have in my hand a fourth of a shekel of silver; I will give it to the man of God and he will tell us our way.” 9 (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he used to say, “Come, and let us go to the seer”; for he who is called a prophet now was formerly called a seer.)”

Zuph was the land where Samuel dwelt, it was named after his descendants. Zuph draws us closer to the interaction of Saul and Samuel which will be the climax of this event for Saul. God uses the boldness of Saul servant to intervene and suggest that Saul not give up on the search for the animals. Instead, the unnamed servant suggests that they visit a well known seer in a local city that was famous for “all that he says comes true.” Now we know that Samuel is the prophet to whom he is referring and as a prophet, his words come true because he speaks what the Lord tells him to speak.

It has baffled commentators that Saul does not know Samuel the prophet at this point. It is a mark against Saul as the future king that his servant has heard of this prophet, also called a seer, and Saul has not heard of him. This most likely points to the spiritual change needed in Saul’s heart before God ordains him as king.

While Saul lacks a spiritual connection, his servant displays a solid faith in the prophet Samuel helping them. The Lord uses this servants faith to lead Saul onward in the journey to his encounter with Samuel. There is even enough money in the servants possession that a gift can be given to the prophet.

This speaks to the way that God ordains people close to us in our lives to be vessels of his providential work towards the Lord’s purposes. There is a contrast there also. There was evil people in our lives that can lead us to evil but godly people can lead us to good.

Psalm 1:1–2 “1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.

Proverbs 27:17 “17 Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another.”

God places people in our lives for our good, for our salvation and for our spiritual maturation. We should cling close to these people for they are a gift from the Lord and they are given to direct us close to the Lord’s purpose for us.

That is most clearly found in the intimate community of a church. Hunting clubs don’t provide it. Sports teams aren’t sufficient. The church is the place for the spiritual community helping each other grow in a walk with Christ.

Hebrews 10:24–25 “24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”

This is the importance of uniting with a church home and living out our spiritual lives growing together in Christ. They spur us to growth in Christ. They encourage us as we all look and live in the same direction of Jesus’ return to consummate his kingdom.

The lost donkeys took Saul to a certain point in the journey. His servant took him further along the path that God ordained for him to take. Let’s look at the last part of this journey.

C. God Ordains Strangers to Direct His Purposes (10-14)

1 Samuel 9:10–14 “10 Then Saul said to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was. 11 As they went up the slope to the city, they found young women going out to draw water and said to them, “Is the seer here?” 12 They answered them and said, “He is; see, he is ahead of you. Hurry now, for he has come into the city today, for the people have a sacrifice on the high place today. 13 “As soon as you enter the city you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat, for the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now therefore, go up for you will find him at once.” 14 So they went up to the city. As they came into the city, behold, Samuel was coming out toward them to go up to the high place.”

Finally, we see the providence of God where the Lord uses total strangers to guide Samuel to the divine appointment with Saul. This time it is women coming out to the draw water at the city well. What we learn from v 12-14, is that these women had vital information as to Samuel’s whereabouts. It should not surprise us that the Lord uses these women in this way. Women have great attention to detail and always have a connection to the current affairs of what is going on.

Maybe if Saul found men asked about the prophet, those men might say, “yeah, he is around here somewhere.”

But the message from these unknown women was one of haste and detail. Go quickly and go specifically where I tell you. That is not a mere accident or coincidence, friends. God precisely and timely ordained even the encounter with these women so that when we come to the end of v 14 Saul is exactly where he needs to be….to meet Samuel the prophet.

v 14 Samuel was coming out toward them to go up to the high place.

From these examples about God’s providence, we can simply take away that the Lord will uses whatever means necessary for his will to be accomplished so that we are exactly where we need to be and with whom we need to be with so that his plans are fulfilled.

Have you ever been a stranger to someone that the Lord used to direct him to salvation? Have you ever been open and bold enough to be used by God that even though you didn’t know a person, you pushed through fear to point them to find the life giving hope in Jesus alone? I think our role as Christians are to be signposts always point others to salvation in Jesus alone. Signposts are always there and always doing there jobs pointing others to the place they need to go.

Are you the close friend who needs continual spurring on to love and good works in their faith in Christ?

II. God’s Sovereign Appointment (15-27)

A. He Brings Us Together( 15-19)

In v 15-17, we see the Lord’s providence working from the other end so that this divine appointment happens. The Lord used donkeys, servants and strangers to direct Saul but he simply speaks to Samuel the day before Saul arrives.

What Samuel is told by the Lord is the fulfillment of the promise to give Israel the king that they desired. They desired a king like all the nations and so the Lord will give them exactly that. Saul is described earlier in v 2 as a “choice and handsome man, and there was not a more handsome man among the sons of Israel and …he was taller than any of the people.” Saul would be anointed king so that he would be a reflection of the evil intentions of the heart of Israel. God is working through his providence to accomplish two things:

Judge the people for their sinfulness. They give the people a good looking man who is not an adequate king to lead them. Instead, in v 17, the Lord’s declaration to Samuel is “this one shall rule over my people.” This word “rule” literally means to restrain or hold back. This is how some translations read. God warned the people that desiring a king for the wrong intentions was going to bring a king to rule over them, to make them servants under his leadership. God providentially gives the people a king who looks good on the outside but on the inside, He is not fit to be a king.

Look forward with me to 1 Sam 16:7 as the Lord directs Samuel to anoint David as king.

1 Samuel 16:7 “7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.””

This is how the Lord works. He looks not our outward appearances but what is our heart. Humanity is in a battle to fight the affects of aging and we look like on the outside and the Lord tells us that He is concerned with the heart of a man. A man or woman heart must be right toward the Lord and a Christ honoring heart will lead to a leader that God can truly use for His glory. All else is vanity as Solomon so correctly instructs us in Ecclesiastes.

2. Bring about a Kingdom for His glory: regardless of man’s failures, God’s purposes stand. Saul will fail as a king and yet God will still use him to establish a monarchy that points us to the Lord Jesus Christ. There will be a promise made to King David about an eternal kingdom where the Messiah will rule and reign and that begins with the kingship established with Saul.

God’s providence ensures us that….

Proverbs 16:9 “9 The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.”

We should find great comfort in knowing that God works regardless of evil men or evil circumstances. He does not create evil or chaos. He is not the inventor or cause of evil. But he does use evil for His good purposes. Joseph told his murderous brothers, “what you meant for evil, God meant for good.” (Gen 50:20) Whatever evil circumstances we face , the Lord will use it for our spiritual and physical good. Often we have to look backwards in history to recount how the Lord did amazing things through trials, but praise him he gives us recall to see his good works.

B. He Makes His Purposes Clear (20-27)

Finally, we come to where the Lord works through his providence to reveal his purposes to us.

Samuel already begins to treat Saul as if he is already King. Samuel honors Saul by inviting him to eat with him in the high place. Once they arrive, Samuel treats Saul as the most important guest at the gathering. He sits him at the head of the table (22) before all the guests there. Trusting the Lord’s promises, Sameul had already began to make arrangements the day before for Saul to arrive by setting aside the best of the feast.

1 Samuel 9:24 “24 And Samuel said, “Here is what has been reserved! Set it before you and eat, because it has been kept for you until the appointed time, since I said I have invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.”

This is a beautiful picture of the faithfulness of Samuel to trust the promises of God and carry out the plan that was spoken to Samuel by the Lord. May we all be faithful stewards to hear GOd’s word and do all that it is says.

Let me be clear that the Lord works through circumstances but he does not speak through circumstances. The Lord may be at work doing this or that in your life but we are foolish to try and interpret circumstances as the word of God to us. We are poor and fallible interpreters. We will always fall into heresy and foolish choices if you live as if we are responsible to interpret circumstances as a word of God to us.

We are so quick to want to find these hidden messages from our circumstances and translate them as some special message from the Lord. “Why do I keep seeing the same blue 2026 Ford Raptor? Maybe the Lord is telling me to buy one?” That is not the Lord speaking, that is just mysticism with endless possibilities.

But the way in which this story ends is not Saul trying to interpret all these ways the Lord was directing his path. The story ends with the declaration of the word of God.

1 Samuel 9:27 “27 As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Say to the servant that he might go ahead of us and pass on, but you remain standing now, that I may proclaim the word of God to you.””

It will be the word of God that takes priority here. The providence of God should always lead us to the word of God for direction. What has the Lord to say to me…find it in his words. His words declare his truth, his character, his promises and his purposes in this world.

We can have no doubt that God is directing and working all human events towards the fulfillment of His supreme glory. Every year, at Christmas time and Resurrection Sunday, we focus on all those key events that led to the providential redemptive work of the Father sending his son into the world to die for the sins of his people. He used angels, wisemen, shepherds, pagan rulers, faithful servants, fishermen, evil religious leaders, crazy storms, crowds of hungry people, pagan guards, and so much more to show us that the Son of Man came into the word not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Consider your life and how the Lord arranged all the ways for you to have the sustenance you need but more importantly to introduce the gospel message of salvation in Jesus Christ alone. Have you considered those steps.

Remember Peter Baptism -statement before the church