Chosen

He had no clue that the day his father sent him in search of their lost donkeys, he would encounter the prophet Samuel instead. The idea that he could one day be king of Israel, that he would be chosen to save Israel out of the hands of the Philistines, probably never crossed his mind. But in his search for donkeys, he found divine destiny.

Chosen- adj: selected from several; preferred; elect

Choose- verb: to select from a number of possibilities; pick by preference; to prefer or decide; to want or desire

Selected among all the tribes of Israel… Saul became Israel’s first king. Anointed, chosen. And things went well for a while...until a single choice changed everything.

In 1 Samuel 13, we find that Saul waited for Samuel for 7 days to offer the sacrifice before battle. The Philistines were many and were ready for battle. Saul’s men were hiding and scattering from fear. (Some of them even joined the Philistines!) But instead of building the faith of his men, Saul let fear overtake his faith and he took matters into his own hands…he performed the sacrifice meant for the prophet.

You can almost hear Saul’s desperation as he tries to justify to Samuel why he didn’t wait.

“My men were leaving me…”

“You didn’t come when you said you would…”

“Look at those Philistines!”

But deep down, Saul knew that the choice he had made was wrong. He got complacent. He let the crown ON his head go TO his head.

Just because he was chosen, didn’t mean he was free to do things his way. On the contrary, he was the one the people looked to for leadership. He was to set the example. He, of all people, was to walk uprightly and obey God’s commands.

I Peter 2:9 says we are a chosen people. And like Saul, even though we are chosen, we still must make the right choices. We must follow the commands and guidelines laid out for us in the Bible. We must walk uprightly. We must fulfill our destiny. We must build God’s kingdom!

Saul was chosen, but forfeited his purpose. You have been chosen…what choices will you make?

Brandi Burton