Today's Scripture Reading (May 19, 2025): 1 Samuel 9
God told me. There might not be a phrase that I dislike more than that one. For one thing, it is a discussion ender. What do you say in reply? No, he didn't. Are you crazy? It also stops the necessity of talking to each other. I have people who won't speak to me because I think we need to discuss things they consider a done deal. They believe there is no room for conversation; in fact, some seem to think the conversation itself is a sin. I remain unconvinced.
The truth is that I think God speaks to us all the time. He talks to all of us and uses several different methods to get his message through. In speaking to Saul, God used the language of lost donkeys. God needed Saul to go somewhere, so he used donkeys to lead Saul there. Some have argued that God used these donkeys because Saul didn't have a relationship with him. That might be true, but it doesn't have to be. God uses whatever language he can to get our attention. For Saul, that language happened to be donkeys.
Samuel was a little more sensitive to the voice of God. This sensitivity became evident when Samuel was a child living with Eli. Then, he heard the voice of God, and the child thought Eli was calling him. Then, it was Eli who helped Samuel listen to the voice of God and find out what God needed to share with him. But that wasn't the last time God shared something with Samuel; the priest had learned that God could share a message with him in many different ways. In this case, the original text says God "uncovered his ear." It is a phrase used when someone wants to tell another something with a whisper, and they have to push aside the headdress so that the whisper can be heard comfortably. For some, this means that Samuel heard God's "still, small voice," just as Elijah would later on the Mountain of God. Others think that it means that Samuel had not heard God's voice as he had as a child but that God revealed his message to him in some other way. Nevertheless, Samuel was sensitive enough to hear the message and know that God was talking to him. There was nothing obvious about the voice, but at the same time, Samuel heard it.
Today, I am convinced that one of the languages God uses is our interaction with other people. God has placed certain people in our lives for a reason, and we can hear God's quiet voice somewhere in our discussion. God continues to speak through our interactions with each other and his scripture. If you want to hear God speak, these discussions, sometimes outside our comfort zones, become essential. But if you don't want to hear God, all you have to do is run from Christians who might want to speak to you.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 10
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