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A Band of Men Touched by God

by Jerry Ousley  
4/12/2008 / Christian Living

The story is told in 1 Samuel 10 of the very first king of Israel. Earlier God had told Samuel that Saul was the one to be anointed as king. Privately he had poured a horn of oil over Saul and told him to go home and await further instruction. The day came when Samuel was going to anoint Saul publicly and so he called for an assembly.

The Bible tells us how that Samuel went through the ceremony of selecting the very family that their king would come from then pin-pointed it down to Saul the son of Kish. Everyone was standing in expectation hoping to catch a glimpse of their first king. "He'll be a magnificent specimen of a human being" someone cried out. Certainly he'd probably be a very rich individual capable of representing their nation. But when they called for Saul to come forward, while everyone looked around trying to see him a hush must have fallen over the crowd because Saul was nowhere to be found. Samuel had to send someone to look for him and they finally found their magnificent king hiding among the supplies they had brought with them. Not a very good first impression if you ask me.

When they did get Saul to come forward they publicly anointed him and dismissed the congregation. Some belly-ached and complained; isn't that just like people? You can't please everybody no matter what you do! After Saul was anointed as king and the congregation was dismissed I can't help but think Saul wondered, "What am I supposed to do next?" There was no royal city to go to; no palace in which he was going to be living and no crown to place on his head. His only choice was to go home just like everyone else. So here he was, the new king of Israel and his only option was to go home and plow fields like he had always done.

But the Bible tells us that a group of men who had been touched by God followed him. That had to be encouraging to Saul. God had given him a job to do and on this first day on the job I don't think he felt very much like a king. However this group of men had confidence in him because they had confidence in God. Their hearts were touched and in obedience they followed Saul and that had to make him feel better about the whole situation.

It made me to think about how God anoints us today to do a job. Often He doesn't give us a lot of detailed instructions because He doesn't want to overwhelm us. But then many of us need a plan and after God has given us a call without instructions we may feel like we just stepped into "Dumb and Dumber" because we just don't know what to do next. But think about it; when God does something He does it right. Even though He may not give us immediate instruction He will always provide a few who are touched by Him to follow us. They are there to help, encourage and lift us up.

Maybe you are the one called or perhaps God has dealt with your heart to follow. No matter what service God may call us to it takes both. It takes the one God has given the plan and it takes those touched by God to help carry it out. A kingdom wouldn't have been much without a group of people. This band of men was a start. It's the same way today. Maybe you've been called to pastor a congregation. But that won't happen until you have a band of people who see the vision and are touched of God to help.

Moses was a great man of God and was given personal instruction by God as to just how to make the Tabernacle and all its furnishings. But Moses had grown up as the son of a king. Then he was banished to the wilderness where he tended sheep for forty years. He wasn't an artist and he knew nothing about metal-crafting or sewing or carving. But God told him to do it. That was where the people came in. God had especially prepared two men who knew all about that kind of stuff to get it done. Their hearts were touched by God to jump in and help with the project. It's the same today. So whether you're the one with the calling or your one of a band of people, you are just as important. Let's work together and build a Kingdom; what do you say?

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.

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