And Samuel was angry and cried to the Lord all night…

Occasionally, a verse jumps off the sensible, black and white font of the pages of Scripture, and reminds me that the heroes in these pages were actually human.  As a woman, too prone to tears and anger, it makes me feel just a bit justified that this happened to Samuel, a great man of God, if only once in his life.  (There’s something else I want to point out here, but I’ll leave it until next week, or this blog would get way too long.)

And I want to know, WHY was Samuel angry and crying to the Lord all night?

You remember the story, I’m sure…Israel asked for a king, Samuel told them it was a bad idea, Israel said they wanted one anyway, and God said, okay, fine, let’s start with Saul, a tall, handsome man from a wealthy family.

I think that Samuel, even though he knew the Israelites shouldn’t have asked for a king, was hoping that King Saul would work out.

I think that, even though he had warned the children of Israel that kings were demanding masters, he was glad when he found Saul hiding among the stuff, showing his humility and fear of the spotlight.

In his farewell address, Samuel had said to the people,

“Behold, I have obeyed your voice in all that you have said to me and have made a king over you…behold, the Lord has set a king over you…and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well…do not be afraid; you have done all this evil…  Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart.  And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty.” –I Samuel 12

That’s why I say, I think Samuel was cautiously hopeful that the people and their king, would actually follow God.

Three chapters later, God was finished with the king, and told Samuel, “I regret that I have made Saul king.”

And Samuel was angry, and cried to the Lord all night.

On first look, it doesn’t seem clear why either God or Samuel was surprised that things weren’t working out. They had both said very clearly that having a king was a bad idea.

But as I consider, I don’t think it was surprise.

I think it was love, a love that transcended the people’s sins, Saul’s sins, a love that foreshadows Christ.

• I think God loved Saul, loved the tall, handsome young man to whom he had given his spirit in I Samuel 10:9…(“When [Saul] turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart.”)
• I think that Samuel, too, loved the tall, handsome rich kid he had anointed and kissed…(“Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, ‘Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel?'”)
• And, I think the people loved the tall, handsome king they had begged for, who was absent when the kingly lot fell on him and they had to go looking for among the stuff.  I think they admired the fact that King Saul was not rattled by the ‘worthless fellows’ who ridiculed him and brought him no presents, and later saved their lives, saying, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for the Lord has worked salvation in Israel.”

Samuel surely knew that if he wished to avoid all disappointment, he shouldn’t have hoped for the best.  If he wished to protect himself from all pain, he shouldn’t have developed a relationship with Saul.  If he never wanted to be angry, he shouldn’t have loved Saul, or the people of Israel.  He shouldn’t have prayed for them day after day (“Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you!”) and he shouldn’t have tried to teach them (“And I will instruct you in the good and right way!”), if he didn’t want all this pain, all this baggage.

But he did it anyway, knowing that God was in charge, not him.  Knowing that God had called him, and he would be faithful no matter what.

Even faithful men of God are brought to their knees, brought to tears, when someone they love turns from God.  This is the hard part of love, the hard truth that everyone has a choice, and they will not always choose God.  That if we are the one loving them, the pain may be nearly unbearable.  But then, it is God’s work in the end, not ours.

What did Samuel do after the night of tears?

“And Samuel rose early, to meet Saul in the morning.” 

He went on, and did what God asked him to do.  It wasn’t that he shrugged it off and said, “Okay fine, I don’t care.”  We know he didn’t do that, because a bit later we find, “But Samuel grieved over Saul”, and even later, “The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you grieve over Saul?'”

This was a big deal, to Samuel, and probably a grief he never quite got over.  But he did not let his grief upend him.  He was faithful anyway.  He got up early the next morning.  Further, even as an old man, he didn’t tell God, “I’m never anointing another young man.”  A bit later we read, “Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers.  And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward.”  There is no sign of Samuel saying, “God, this is pointless.  We already did this once.”  In fact, later David came to live with Samuel, and I wonder if Samuel’s heart wasn’t encouraged, although the Bible doesn’t say that.

May I never give up hoping, loving, and praying, and being faithful no matter what happens.

***Please pray for me as I prepare to speak at a women’s retreat next Saturday, on a topic I wrote about in June, “Holding the Heart”.  I have been experiencing a number of doubts and attacks on this very subject, and were it not for my dear friends and family, might have tipped over the edge of insanity this week. Don’t ask them–they will probably tell you I DID tip over.  🙂  Thank you!***