1 Samuel 9:15-17 In His Ear

 ”Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed this to Samuel: “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him ruler over my people Israel; he will deliver them from the hand of the Philistines. I have looked on my people, for their cry has reached me.” When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the Lord said to him, “This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern my people.”“ 1 Samuel‬ ‭9‬:‭15‬-‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

a. Now the LORD had told Samuel in his ear the day before: Saul had no relationship with the LORD, so God spoke to Saul through lost donkeys. But Samuel knew and loved the LORD, so God spoke to Samuel in his ear.

i. The LORD had told Samuel in his ear is literally, “had uncovered his ear.” The same phrase is used in Ruth 4:4. “The phrase is taken from the pushing aside of the headdress in order to whisper, and therefore means that Jehovah had secretly told Samuel” (Smith). It doesn’t mean Samuel heard an audible voice from God.

b. Tomorrow about this time: God gave the prophet Samuel specific guidance regarding future events. Samuel received this guidance wisely and looked for the fulfillment of the words to confirm God’s choice of a king. But Samuel also wisely refused to manipulate circumstances to “make” what God said come to pass. Samuel felt that if this was God’s word, He was able to make it happen.

c. I will send you: Even though Israel rejected the LORD as their king (1 Samuel 8:7), God was still in control. He didn’t step off His throne just because Israel asked Him to. He would indeed give them a king, but He sent a flawed king to a flawed Israel.

d. That he may save My people from the hand of the Philistines: Though there were many problems with the reign of Saul, no one should think it was a total disaster. Saul led Israel to many military victories and greater independence from the Philistines.

e. And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said to him: The day after God told Samuel about the coming of the new king, God specifically identified the man to Samuel. God’s speaking one day will be confirmed by His speaking another day.

(Guzik)

In His Ear

I’ve never had the Lord speak to me in my ear but He has through His word (Bible) and in my heart. When I was a volunteer chaplain at the Arizona State Veterans Home a group of us chaplains would perform visitations on Friday. I would prepare a one or two bible verse to share. There were times before walking out my door that the Lord would speak to my heart to change the scripture to something else. 

One occasion specifically comes to mind.

Isaiah 57:1 NLT Good people pass away; the godly often die before their time. But no one seems to care or wonder why. No one seems to understand that God is protecting them from the evil to come.

That particular day a veteran was in hospice and his wife and two adult daughters were there. I knocked on the door and introduced myself. The veteran asked me to come in. Before sharing the scripture the says to his daughters, now you pay special attention to what the chaplain has to say. I read the scripture and prayed for the veteran and his family and when I looked up one his daughters had left the room. The next morning he went to his heavenly home. I knew in my heart ❤️ that the Lord wanted his daughter to hear that verse.

If we take the time to listen, we may hear that small still voice of the Lord.

Blessings