WHEN Samuel and Saul had come down to the end of the city, Samuel told Saul to bid his servant pass on, and that he should stand still, that he might show to him the word of God. Saul did not hesitate to obey the word of Samuel, and so the servant was made to depart from them, for he might not witness the anointing of Saul. If Saul had disregarded the word of Samuel and had not obeyed him, then he could not have been shown the word of God. It may not have been pleasing to Saul to thus send his servant away from him, but that did not matter so long as Samuel had commanded it, and he was going to reveal God’s word to him.
Simple and direct obedience, dear children, is what is pleasing to God. And, if we seek to do what the Lord tells us, then He will surely open up His word to us, and make it plain to us. But, if we are disobedient and contrary to Him and to our parents, whom He has set over us to command us, then we are hindering Him from revealing His word to us and blessing us. Many real children of God sometimes act quite naughtily and willfully, but how unhappy it makes them, and how they know that the Lord cannot commune with them in His word, while they are only pleasing themselves. But the Lord loves His dear ones too much to allow them to wander away and remain there. Just as the anxious shepherd and the restless, unhappy sheep, that has wandered away from the pasture of tender grass, are at rest only when the straying one is bought back; (Original Material Illegible)
We remember the Lord Jesus said that “the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth.” (John 15:1515Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. (John 15:15)). And this may help us to understand the meaning here. A master does not reveal his mind nor his secrets to a servant, but only gives him commandments: however, to a friend or son he would be free to tell all his mind. Now the sending away of the servant may remind us of the precious truth that we are not in the place of servants. The servant could not be present when Samuel showed Saul God’s word. And so Jesus calls us His friends, and God calls us His beloved children. To us, as such we have revealed the full knowledge of His ways and counsels in His word. We not only know God as our Father, but we also learn from His word what His will is, and what is pleasing to Him. And He desires us to walk as “obedient children.” 1 Pet. 1:1414As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: (1 Peter 1:14).
Some people would be quite satisfied, if they could only know that they were saved; but God not only saves those who put their trust in Him, but He also teaches them and instructs them, as His children, and chastens them, if they are naughty. And He does all this in love, because all His children are very dear to Him.
But Saul was to stand still while Samuel made known to him the word of God. When the Lord led the children of Israel out of Egypt, and they came to the Red Sea, Moses told them to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. (Ex. 14:1313And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. (Exodus 14:13)). So whether we would understand God’s word or see His salvation, we must know what it is to “stand still,” that is, we must cease from man and from our own works. (Original Material Illegible)
We would not for a moment speak slightingly of education. Rather would we seek to encourage every dear child to pursue his or her studies at school most diligently. The mind should be exercised, developed, and well stored with useful knowledge. But this is not sufficient to understand God’s thoughts as revealed in His word. It is His Spirit alone that gives us to understand the Scriptures. “The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” (1 Cor. 2:1111For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. (1 Corinthians 2:11).) And God gives His Spirit to all those that obey Him. (Acts 5:3232And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him. (Acts 5:32).)
ML 11/16/1902