1 Samuel 9:11-14 – Divine co-incidence

At the coaxing of his servant, Saul then decided to go and see Samuel the seer. Together, they made their way, presumably toward Ramah. This was the place where Samuel would return to from his circuit around the territory to deal with the needs of the people. Verse 11 tells us that “As they went up the slope to the city, they found young women going out to draw water....” There are several accounts given in Scriptures of a man meeting with young women at a well and how situations were significantly shifted. We think of how Eleazar, Abraham’s servant met Rebecca at the well and found a bride for Isaac. In Genesis 29, we read of the account of how Jacob met Rachel, the love of his life at the well. We saw how God engineered his first meeting and that forever altered the course of his life. What about Moses who met his wife Zipporah at the well and became Jethro’s son-in-law? The greatest drama was Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well at Sychar, recorded in John 4. That incident had dramatically transformed the life of the woman and many men of the city forever. So now here we see Saul meeting with some young women at the well. Here he received direction to where Samuel was. And that meeting would soon become the defining moment of his life. What all these encounters tell us is that they did not happen coincidentally. God divinely arranged each one to set the course for the accomplishment of His purpose and plan.

The obvious question was asked by Saul. He inquired of the young ladies, “Is the seer here?” The response of the ladies tells us that timing was perfect. If God had not arranged for all these to happen the way it had happened, how could the meeting between Samuel and Saul be so perfect? Samuel was coming and there was a sacrifice scheduled that day. Saul, of course, had no awareness of what’s happening. So we read in verse 13 the direction of the ladies saying, “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.” Notice the focus of the direction was on Samuel, the seer. The few significant words are “invited” and “at once.” It suggests to us that only those invited could partake of the sacrifice. It appears that Samuel had called for a momentous meeting and Saul, one of the key players must be present. And his invitation was given indirectly through bizarre circumstances. Had Kish not lost some of his donkeys, would his son Saul be at Ramah for this moment? Without a doubt, the unseen hand of God was working, designing a divine coincidence. Verse 14 appears to tell us that both Samuel and Saul met on the way up to the high place where the sacrifice would be conducted.

For us Christians, there can only be “divine coincidence.” Why? It’s because God is all the time engineering our path to guide us towards His perfect plan for us. Romans 8:28 says so. “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Remember nothing happens to us by chance, only “divine coincidence”!