One of
the Servants
I Samuel 9
Introduction
notes: In this story, we see that...
A. Saul is a type of the Saviour
1. He was sent by his
Father vs. 1
2. He was described as:
vs. 2
·
a choice young man
·
goodlier than all the children of Israel
·
higher than any of the people
3. He was sent to seek
and to save that which was lost vs. 3
4. He made himself of no
reputation, and took upon himself the form of a servant
5. He manifested a
strong love for his Father vs. 5
6. He was anointed to be
the captain over Israel vs. 16 ( see Heb. 2:10)
7. He was anointed to
save his people vs. 16
8. He went from
'Searcher' to 'Sovereign' in just 3 days! (resurrection) vs. 20
9. He was very humble,
in spite of his Father's mighty power vs. 21 (see vs. 1)
B. Servant is a type of the Saint (see following outline)
I. The Servant was
Chosen – vs. 3 And Kish said to Saul his son, Take
now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses.
Thoughts: Unlike Kish, God
knows where every lost person is. But he
sent his Son to seek and to save them. That Son has chosen us to help him find
them. In this story, no doubt Kish and
Saul had many servants. But Saul hand
picked this one. We don't even know his
name. You know why? He wasn't chosen because of who he was! He was chosen because the son needed
help! He just happened to be in the
right place at the right time, and heard the son calling for somebody to help
find the flock. And notice that he
didn't send him out alone. He went with
him! Actually, the verse says 'Take now
one of the servants with thee" which tells me that Jesus is not with me,
I'm with him! He's searching for the
lost; where are you at? Serving God is
not a chore; it's an honor. We should be
thankful for the privilege to serve such an awesome God!
1
Timothy 1:12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath
enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;
- 1 Corinthians
1:27,28 But God hath chosen the foolish
things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the
weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;And base things of the world, and things which are
despised, hath God chosen, yea,
and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
- 2 Corinthians 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; (we are to bring together the lost flock and the Father!)
II. The Servant
was Committed – vs. 6 And he said unto him,
Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honourable man;
all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he
can shew us our way that we should go.
Thoughts: By the way, the
word 'Zuph' in verse 5 means 'honeycomb'.
They were in a good place to park!
They were in a great place to sit down and take it easy! But they didn't. Most Christians stop working
when God starts blessing. They get their eyes off of the need and succumb to
the greed. He could have stopped in vs. 5,
but he didn't. Besides, it was just
dumb, stupid donkeys. They really
weren't worth the trouble. That's what
they get for leaving in the first place.
Serves 'em right. Whatever
happens to them is what they deserve. Of course, the Father cared for them. Vs. 5. So whatever the Father cares about, we
should care about. No, we can't stop
searching for the lost, because it's a major priority to the Father. After all, he sent his Son to look for them,
and the Son chose us to help him.
- Colossians
2:5 For though I be absent in the flesh, yet
am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the
stedfastness of your faith in Christ.
- 1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
III. The Servant
was Conscience – vs. 6 And he said unto him,
Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honourable man;
all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he
can shew us our way that we should go.
A. Conscience of the Man of God
– there is in this city a man of God
B. Conscience of the Work of God
– all that he saith cometh to pass
C. Conscience of the Way of God
–he can shew us our way that we should go
Thoughts: This servant was
busy. He was working. He was searching for the lost flock. But he didn't get so busy that he got out of
touch. He knew where the man of God was
and he knew where to get help when he needed it! He knew the man of God could help him in his
search. Furthermore, he realized he
might not be on the right path, and could still change! Though he was chosen by the son, and the son
was with him, he still needed a man of God!!
He also said "Let us go thither." He didn't wait for the God's man to come to
him, he went to him for help. What's
more, they didn't give up the idea of searching for the lost flock. They could have just looked up the preacher
for some new wisdom and some new teaching.
But instead, they searched for the answer to the problem they were
having. They were conscience of their
need for help and where to get it!
IV. The Servant
was Contributing – vs. 8 And the servant answered
Saul again, and said, Behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel
of silver: that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way.
- 2 Corinthians
9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in
his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God
loveth a cheerful giver.
- Philippians 4:14-17 Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction. Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity. Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.
Thoughts: The servant could
have had the attitude that it was not his problem. The flock belonged to Kish, and that was his
loss. But not only was the servant
concerned about what the father was concerned about, he was willing to
sacrifice every bit of his money to find those sheep! Where do you suppose he got that money? No doubt from Kish. He figured that Kish would give him some more
when he needed it! He was a
servant. A servant really doesn't own
anything. That money was not even really
his!! He didn't tell Saul to pay for
it. He was so concerned about finding
those sheep that he paid for it himself!
In verse 7, the son said 'What have we?'
The servant didn't ask him if he had a mouse in his pocket! He realized they were in this thing together!
They had both been sent to find the flock, and it was his problem too!! God forbid the Savior look at us and ask,
"What have we?" and we act as if we don't have anything to
give!! He gave his life. What have you contributed? This servant gave all he had.
V. The Servant was
Commended – vs. 10 Then said Saul to his servant, Well said; come, let us go.
- Matthew 25:23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
Thoughts: Imagine the joy
that servant felt to hear the son tell him "Well done!" That made it
all worthwhile.
VI. The Servant
was Compensated – vs. 22 And Samuel took Saul and
his servant, and brought them into the parlour, and made them sit in the
chiefest place among them that were bidden, which were about thirty persons.
Concluding Thought: The
servant searched all that time, and didn't find the lost flock. Somebody else did! Was he disappointed? Of course not. Was he mad at the son for asking to go with
him and search? Was he aggravated to
think of all the time he wasted walking all over creation for a bunch of stupid
donkeys? Of course not. You know why?
He did what he was told to do, and that is all that matters. He obeyed with all his heart and put
everything he had into it, and that is what counts. (He even spent his 1/4th
of a shekel of silver!) But if he hadn't
been committed, and been conscience and been contributing,
he never would have been commended or compensated! Bottom line: Payday's coming. In the meantime, get to work!
- 1 Corinthians
3:7 So then neither is he that planteth any
thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.
- John 9:4 I must
work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh,
when no man can work.
