1 Samuel 10:9-13 – Let’s deploy our God-endowed gift

Not a single promise of God given to us will ever return to Him void but will accomplish the purpose to which it was sent forth. Just as foretold to Saul, everything God said to him through Samuel came to pass. We would have expected Saul’s heart to change only after he encountered the third event. But no, he changed as soon as he left Samuel. God began to work in him and a radical change in him took place. God kept His Word. In a summary statement, the latter half of 1 Samuel 10:9 said, “…all those signs came about on that day.” The first two encounters, the one at Rachel’s tomb and Oak of Tabor, were not mentioned. But in verse 10, the encounter with the prophets was recounted. It was this third encounter that was telling. Here in this encounter some things Samuel said earlier were omitted. Saul prophesied among them when the Spirit of God came upon him. Here in verse 1o there was no mention of the garrison of the Philistines. Earlier Saul was told that he should do as the occasion requires as soon as the Spirit of God came upon him. This suggests that he should do something to the Philistines. His empowerment was meant for a purpose i.e. to launch an attack on the enemy and to get rid of them by God’s power. Saul had failed to focus on the crucial matter which the anointing had required him to do.

Saul was nonchalant to what was required of him. Instead, he was caught up with prophesying till the people who knew him saw the change. So they exclaimed, “What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” How else could they respond since they were totally unaware of his meet up with Samuel? Instead of seeing Saul do something to the Philistines, we were only told of how caught up he was with prophesying. It would be remarkably different if he acted as the occasion called for and destroyed the garrison of the Philistines there, but he didn’t. This was not what God nor  Samuel had expected. When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place. The threat of the Philistines was ignored.

What do we make out of all these? The crux of the Spirit of God coming upon him was to enable him to deal with the threat of the Philistines that was looming large. Saul had failed to recognize the purpose of why he was empowered by the Spirit of God. Instead of fulfilling the task of getting rid of the enemy he was caught up in the emotionalism of the moment. We too have been endowed with spiritual gifts. It matters what we do with the gifts. They are given to us not to allow us to have a great experience but for the edification of the church. We are gifted so that we can help to build the fellowship. Many today, like Saul, are enjoying God’s endowed gifts but fail to deploy them to serve His purpose for the church. We must deploy our God-given gifts. Don’t fail to use it for the purpose God has intended the gift for. Be discerning and actively participate in Kingdom building. Don’t remain just an emotional spectator!