To Encourage You

1 Samuel 10:7 “Now when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you.”

One of the things that God did to certify that Saul was to be the first king of Israel was to attest to His choice with signs directed by His Providence.  Samuel refers to these signs in the verse above. And what were they?  First, he tells Saul that “When you depart from me today, you will meet two men by Rachel’s tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you, ‘The donkeys that you went to seek are found, and now your father has ceased to care about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?”’” The second was this: “Then you shall go on from there farther and come to the oak of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from their hand.”  Finally, the following would occur: “After that you shall come to Gibeath-elohim, where there is a garrison of the Philistines. And there, as soon as you come to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying. Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.”  Then we are told that all three of these signs were fulfilled in one day.  So, the incredulous Saul, who had simply set out to inquire of Samuel about some lost donkeys, came to be convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was God’s chosen one to become king. 

This makes me think about the ways in which God has given us so many signs to convince us that Jesus is the chosen King of kings.  Incredibly, God didn’t just give us three signs to confirm to us the choice of His Son, but over 400 prophecies about Him were given in the Old Testament hundreds and even thousands of years before He came. All of these signs were fulfilled in the 33 years in which Jesus walked on this earth.  We were told that He would come from the lines of Shem (Genesis 9:26-27), Isaac (Genesis 17:19), Jacob (Genesis 28:14), Judah (Genesis 49:10), and David (2 Samuel 7:12).  We were told that He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), and that His birthplace would be the town of Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).  It was prophesied that He would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9) and that the mouths of babes would praise Him (Psalm 8:2). Yet He would be one to suffer great sorrow and grief (Isaiah 53:3).  In His suffering He would be smitten on the cheeks (Isaiah 50:6), spat upon (Isaiah 50:6), struck on the back (Isaiah 50:6), and lots would be cast for His clothing (Psalm 22:18).  We are told that He would be betrayed by a close friend (Psalm 41:9) for 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12-13).  We are told that He would be given vinegar for His thirst (Psalm 69:21).  He would be silent before His accusers (Isaiah 53:8).  He would die for the sins of the world (Isaiah 53:8), yet He would rise from the dead (Isaiah 16:9-11) and ascend back to Heaven from where He had come (Psalm 68:18).  Over and over again God prophesied about the many wonderful signs that He would give us that Jesus was His chosen One. 

So, are you looking for another Savior? Are you waiting for some other king? Surely God has given us enough to believe in Him. Surely, we need no more signs to know that He is the One.