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[0:00] There was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeor, the son of Bekroth, the son of Alphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power.

[0:13] And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel.

[0:24] From his shoulder up, he was taller than any of the people. Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. And Kish said to his son Saul, Please take one of the young servants with you and arise and go and look for the donkeys.

[0:41] So he passed through the mountains of Ephraim and through the land of Shalisha, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shalim, and they were not there.

[0:55] Then they passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they did not find them. When they had come to the land of Zoph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, Come, let us return, lest my father cease caring about the donkeys and become worried about us.

[1:13] And he said to him, Look now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honorable man. All that he says surely comes to pass.

[1:24] So let us go there. Perhaps he can show us the way that we should go. Then Saul said to his servant, But look, if we go, what shall we bring to this man?

[1:37] For the bread in our vessels is all gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have? And the servant answered Saul again and said, Look, I have here at hand one-fourth of a shekel of silver.

[1:52] I will give that to the man of God to tell us our way. Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he spoke thus, Come, let us go to the seer.

[2:06] For he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer. Then Saul said to his servant, Well, well said, come and let us go.

[2:16] So they went to the city where the man of God was. And as they went up the hill to the city, they met some young women going to draw water and said to them, Is the seer here?

[2:30] And they answered them and said, Yes, there he is, just ahead of you. Hurry now, for today he came to the city because there is a sacrifice of the people today on the high place.

[2:42] As soon as you come into the city, you will surely find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice.

[2:58] Afterward, those who are invited will eat. Now, therefore, go up, for about this time you will find him. So they went up to the city.

[3:09] As they were coming into the city, there was Samuel coming out towards them on his way up to the high place. Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear the day before Saul came, saying, Tomorrow, about this time, I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, And you shall anoint him commander over my people, Israel, that he may save my people from the hand of the Philistines.

[3:40] For I have looked upon my people because their cry has come to me. So when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him, And there he is, the man whom I spoke to you.

[3:56] This one shall reign over my people. Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate and said, Please tell me, where is the seer's house?

[4:08] Samuel answered Saul and said, I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today. And tomorrow I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart.

[4:24] But as for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not be anxious about them, For they have been found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel?

[4:36] Is it not on you and on all your father's house? And Saul answered and said, Am I not a Benjamite of the smallest of the tribes of Israel?

[4:47] Am I family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak like this to me? Now Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall and had them sit in the place of honor among those who were invited.

[5:06] There were about thirty persons. And Samuel said to the cook, Bring the portion which I gave you, of which I said to you, set it apart. So the cook took up the thigh with its upper part and set it before Saul.

[5:22] And Samuel said, Here it is, what was kept back. It was set apart for you. Eat, for until this time it has been kept for you, since I said I invited the people.

[5:35] So Saul ate with Samuel that day. When they had come down from the high place into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul on top of the house.

[5:48] They rose early, and it was about the dawning of the day that Samuel called to Saul on top of the house, saying, Get up, that I may send you on your way.

[5:59] And Saul arose, and both men went outside, he and Samuel. As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Tell the servant to go on ahead of us.

[6:13] And he went on, But you stand here a while, that I may announce to you the word of God. The word of God for the people.

[6:28] Thanks be to God. Thank you, Ken. Isaiah 40 says that the grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord stands forever.

[6:40] While the word of the Lord stands, you may be seated. Luke 1 says that no word from God shall be void of power. Would you pray with me? Lord, we thank you for your word.

[6:56] We thank you for how you have acted in human history in a powerful way to reveal who you are and how you've captured your actions in the scriptures.

[7:09] We thank you for this narrative. We pray, Lord, that you will use this to humble us before you. We pray that your word will be, as James says, a mirror that we can see our souls and our hearts and we pray, Lord, that by the power of your Holy Spirit, you will be our teacher.

[7:27] We pray that your Holy Spirit, Lord, will break up that soil that has laid fallow and grown hard. We pray, Lord, that it will pierce through and that it will plant the seed of truth, the gospel, the living hope we have in Jesus Christ into the souls of your people today.

[7:47] And for Christ's sake, it's that we ask this. Amen. Amen. Some things are hard to watch even if they are predictable. Growing up, we had a boxer dog and that's the type of dog that's really big, really big mouth and a lot of slobber.

[8:06] And this dog vomited on the porch. I remember seeing it right there with my little brother. My parents run off to get this stuff. They go, quick, we got to clean that up. My brother and I just sat there watching.

[8:17] Well, sure enough, that dog comes back and you, it's predictable, but it's still gross and it's hard to watch. You know what's going to happen. The dog goes over and starts licking it. Israel's behavior is a lot like that, isn't it?

[8:32] The behavior of God's people, even though it's predictable, it's still hard to watch. 2 Peter 2, verse 22, quotes Proverbs 26.

[8:45] And it's this observation that as a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool returns to his folly or sin. And the reason we have narratives like this, that it's like watching a slow motion train wreck.

[9:01] We can all see where this is going, but it's painful and hard to watch. It's that point that we should learn from this. Pay attention to these details and learn from it.

[9:13] So beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, the message I hope that you and I can receive today from God is to see how patient he is as a teacher.

[9:24] Let's see together how the Lord teaches his people. Sinners though we are, with remaining corruptions, though he calls us saints in Christ. I have five observations for us today.

[9:36] Number one, when the Lord lets his children taste the sin they desire, he leaves no reason to complain of him. When the Lord lets his children taste that sin that they desired, God leaves no reason for you and me to complain of him.

[9:56] Look at verse one. There was a man whose name was Kish. That should remind you of how the last episode started. Remember, the last episode in this book was focused on a different person, which was Samuel.

[10:09] And it began by describing Samuel's dad. And now we have a shift. A new episode is beginning, the same opening words. He was a mighty man of power.

[10:22] It could be translated of wealth or of might. Verse two, this man had a choice and handsome son. The word choice, it's the same words used to describe choice silver or gold.

[10:38] It's something that's been tested and determined to be precious and good. The word handsome in the Hebrew is tov. And that means good or goodly.

[10:50] It's used in other places of the Bible to describe a beautiful woman, tov. So if you will, women who are married want to give your husband a compliment, tell him tov. It's good.

[11:01] In the name of this choice and handsome son, his name was Saul. There was not a more good or goodly or handsome person than he among all the children of Israel.

[11:15] From his shoulders upward, he was taller than any of the people. What that means is even his shoulders were taller than the tallest head. This is where I get distracted.

[11:28] Okay, what is the height of the average man? 5.9, according to the internet. And the distance between the shoulder and the head is like 12 inches. So if everyone else's head came to here, you add on 12 more inches, Saul would have likely been between 6 feet 9 inches.

[11:46] Well, who is famous that's that tall? It's LeBron James. Or 7 feet tall? Shaquille O'Neal or Karim. Saul was a tall man.

[11:59] And here he comes, walking, son of a mighty, wealthy father. The name Saul is also noteworthy. The name Saul means prayed for or asked for.

[12:10] A little hint, even in God's providence, of the name given to the tallest man in all of Israel. This is exactly who you prayed for and asked me for. Well, this tall, young man that was tall was good.

[12:23] He made a good impression anywhere he went by his physical appearance, by also his bearing. He carried himself like a nobleman. That's the lasting impression you get. Dale Ralph Davis commented, people would have voted Saul, Mr. Israel, had there been such a contest.

[12:41] And Saul's associated now with chasing these lost donkeys. It takes a lot of verses to describe his search all over for these lost donkeys. Well, you probably remember the prophecy, you know, of Solomon riding in on a donkey would be fulfilled by Jesus Christ coming into Jerusalem on a donkey.

[12:58] So donkeys were, it's what a king or someone princely or noble would ride into the nation on if it was a time of victory or peace. So you take your war horse, if you're going to go charge, you want to be up as high as possible, but if it's a time of peace, you get to ride a donkey.

[13:13] All of these things describe Saul as a very attractive choice for God's people. Remember, Israel's goal at this time was to be like all the other nations.

[13:25] That's what they wanted more than anything else. Scholars have noticed how there is only one Israelite in all of the Bible described and kind of identified by his height, and that's Saul.

[13:40] Everywhere else in the Bible, tall people are associated with the enemies that oppose God. Think of the giants in the land as they're going to go in the promised land. Think Goliath, obviously. So here's the only Israelite described by that very thing that defines the world and that's fear striking into the people of God.

[13:58] You're getting exactly what you wanted. Someone commented, this amplifies the impression that Saul was precisely the kind of king who would be chosen by all the other nations and Israel gets to have him as their king.

[14:13] See how God leaves his people with no excuse? It's like saying we really want to have the captain of our March Madness basketball team be one who's going to be NBA bound.

[14:25] And God says, oh, not only can he dunk, not only is he going to the NBA, I'm going to give you one who anybody would pick as their first round draft pick. He's going to be an all-star. And Saul's chasing around these lost donkeys.

[14:38] There's three credentials that stand out. It supports his good prospects for leadership. God's given them someone that they can see is up to standard.

[14:49] Anyone would want them. First, it's this. In verse 5, Saul showed respect for his father. Second, in verse 6, Saul showed respect for the social conventions. If you're going to appear before a person of eminence like Samuel, you don't want to come empty-handed.

[15:04] You should bring a gift. That was customary. And number 3, in verse 21, Saul showed humility. And he says, am I not a Benjamite of the smallest of the tribes of Israel and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin?

[15:20] What we know is that was wealthy and mighty, but he's being very humble and modest. These credentials, you could say, support him as a good prospect. There's nothing there that would disqualify him.

[15:32] We also have in this passage the reception. How was this tall, handsome man that shows humility and respect for his father, how was he received? Well, see, the daughters of Israel, they represent the future of the nation and also the heart and the passion of a nation.

[15:49] And there's a pattern when the daughters of Zion or the daughters of Jerusalem or the daughters of Israel come out to meet a man. There's a pattern there in all of Scripture. Think about all the different times this has happened.

[16:00] Isaac met his wife at a well. So did Jacob. So did Moses. And now Saul, he's welcomed by the daughters of Israel. Look at verse 11. As he and his servant went up the hill to the city, they met some young women going out to draw water.

[16:15] But let's pay attention. If these are the daughters of Israel, how do they receive him? Turns out, they want to help him. They give him urgent instructions and detour. Go here. So he's being well received by the daughters of the nation.

[16:28] This is another good sign. See, Israel can't accuse God of trying to sabotage their plan of a monarchy. The future ruler was given a seat of honor, look at verse 22, by the man of God, that seat that was reserved in the presence of these 30 VIP guests.

[16:50] In verse 22, he's given a piece of meat that Samuel had intentionally set aside with the fat on it, meaning it would taste the best. Then he gets to eat with Samuel.

[17:01] The man of God whose word never falls to the ground. In verses 25 and 26, Samuel hosts him to say the top of the house. That's the place where it was cool. You normally have like a guest bedroom up there, a place where you can go and have meetings like, remember how Jesus met with Nicodemus up there in the cool of the night?

[17:18] So he gets to be there hosted by Samuel. In verse 27, the Lord gives Saul a direct word. Samuel pays a lot attention to him one-on-one and ministers the word of God to this future ruler.

[17:33] Saul and Israel have no reason to complain of God. When the Lord lets his children taste the sin they desire, he leaves no reason to complain.

[17:47] We saw last week how by wanting a king like all the other nations, they were rejecting God as their king and this is exactly what God gives them. Has the Lord ever taught you what really matters by giving you exactly what you thought was best for you and what you really wanted?

[18:06] I remember a time maybe 10 years ago there was an opportunity for a promotion and it was, you know, of course outside of church but I thought I really wanted this and the analogy my dad gave me, I have a wonderful Christian dad and he said, Jason, sometimes we want to chase a tiger and we think that's what we want and then when you catch it, what do you have?

[18:28] You've got a tiger by the tail and that's often how it is, isn't it? The Lord patiently lets us learn the lesson. What you think matters most is not what your loving father has for you.

[18:43] When we finally get it, we turn around and our loving father is there and he's a patient teacher. Here's our second observation. When sin-desiring men try to push the Lord away from his people, where does he go?

[19:00] When the sin-desiring men try to push the Lord away from his people, where does he go? What happened last chapter is that the elders of Israel came to Samuel, they heard all the stern warnings that God gave them through Samuel, this king is going to become a Pharaoh figure, but their hearts desire this, this is the man they want.

[19:21] Where does the Lord go when God says they have rejected me? I want you to see here in an indirect way that God stays near his people.

[19:33] God orchestrates and presides over and powerfully causes all things, even that which men intend for evil, like in this case, to work together for his good purposes for those who are his called ones.

[19:46] Romans 8, 28. I want to point out five coincidences, so to speak, five ways in which it just so happened, and all of this shows the providence of God, how he's near all along orchestrating everything according to his will.

[20:03] First, it just so happened that as Saul's father's donkeys got lost at that time, and that it took exactly three days, and in that time, Saul searches everywhere only to end up right where God wanted him to be.

[20:18] Number two, it just so happened that they came to the land of Zoph where Ramah was. Oh, remember Ramah, that's the mountaintops where Samuel lives. Number three, it just so happened that Saul's servant remembered about Samuel and the fact that he lived there, and he spoke on behalf of God.

[20:36] He was a seer, and he could perhaps guide them in the right direction. Number four, it just so happened that the young women told Saul where to go just in time so that as he would walk out there, he would be able to meet up with Samuel on the road right before he goes up the hill for the sacrifice feast.

[20:54] And number five, it just so happened that there was already this great feast plan with meat set apart and 30 elite guests invited. Of course, Saul is portrayed in this whole chapter as someone really bumbling through these events.

[21:10] A spiritually blind person will fail to acknowledge that in all of these details, it's the sovereign hand of God being so close, orchestrating everything for his great purpose.

[21:25] Look at verse 15 with me. See, all along, the Lord had told Samuel in his ear the day before that Saul came, saying, verse 16, tomorrow, about this time, I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin.

[21:43] This tiny little tribe, you're not going to see too many of those in a lifetime, and I'm going to send them right here to you this time tomorrow. See how close God was all along, orchestrating every detail?

[21:55] It was God who sent Saul to Samuel at that exact moment. I want us to take this story as one small example and see what this reveals to us about our great God.

[22:10] See, God, all along, was the first and primary cause. God makes all things happen just so.

[22:21] It wasn't that it just so happened, it was God who caused it to be that way. Providence, the providence of God is the expression or the application of the attribute of God, which is his sovereignty.

[22:33] God is sovereign. He reigns freely over all his creation, and he displays that in his providence. Of God's providence, we agree with the catechism question that nothing happens except through God and by his will.

[22:47] It's God who providentially controls even the smallest matters in your life and in mine according to his will. In God's perfect design and according to who God is in his essence, he uses other means to accomplish his will.

[23:07] See, this is a wonderful, wonderful doctrine, a wonderful truth from scripture that we could meditate on for an entire life and we won't plumb the full depths of it. Who is God in his essence?

[23:19] God is all powerful all the time. And God operates in human time and space. And what we recognize is that who God is is displayed by how he acts so that the operations of God in the world reflect back on us his essence and his attributes.

[23:42] He is absolutely sovereign. He is infinite completeness. There was an old word in Latin where these theologians after the Reformation are trying to describe who is God and acting in such a sovereign, providential way.

[24:00] and the Latin word was this, actus putus, pure actuality. That's who God is. The Lord God is close to his people causing all things to happen.

[24:16] So if God is the primary cause and these other events and choices and decisions that others make, what does it make those? Well those become secondary means or secondary causes.

[24:27] the word is volition. Creatures have volition. Creatures have the ability to choose and make decisions. So the Lord would use for example the free choice or the volition of the donkeys to run away.

[24:42] He would use the choice of his father to send Saul with this particular servant and the volition of that servant to put a shekel or some money in his pocket. The volition of those 30 guests to prepare a sacrifice feast and even the volition or the free choice of rebellious Israel to prefer an earthly monarchy as their idol over God as their king.

[25:07] You see how it becomes obvious from this passage exactly what Acts 15.18 says that all God's works are known to him from eternity.

[25:20] Let me run that by you one more time. Acts 15.18 all God's works are known to him from eternity. Is your view of God big enough for this God of the Bible?

[25:37] We should be stretched. Are your thoughts about God high enough for the only living God who is the creator and the sustainer of everyone and everything?

[25:50] The Lord has acted in human history and he's recorded for us and he patiently uses his word in every generation to elevate our thoughts of him that we see him more and more by faith in all his splendor and glory that we'll never get to the end of it.

[26:08] See how much higher the Lord is than worldly idols. With such a high God we have to confess back to him who he is using the words of his own Bible.

[26:19] In Job 36.22 behold God is exalted in his power and who is a teacher like him? Psalm 32.8 what we read earlier the Lord promises to his people I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go.

[26:37] I will counsel you with my loving eye upon you using all things for his glory and our good. Well the third observation is that the Lord shows how far those desires of sinful hearts fall short of his glorious reign.

[26:58] The Lord shows how far the desires of sinful hearts fall short of his glorious reign as our king. See in verse 20 would you look there? He says on whom is all the desire of Israel?

[27:14] As Saul is presented to them and providentially brought before these 30 invited guests representing leadership for the whole nation and will soon be anointed and presented as the king the Lord is pointing out that the desire of Israel is not on God their desire their longing is on this man.

[27:36] the irony here is brought out in how Saul is truly incompetent and not suited to lead God's people.

[27:48] Let's unpack this desire of Israel in four ways here. First the desire of all Israel was upon a man from the wicked tribe of Benjamin.

[28:00] In Genesis Benjamin is described along with all his descendants as a wolf that will devour. In the book of Judges Benjamin is abused I'm sorry a Levite brings his concubine and the people of Benjamin abuse the concubine bringing a civil war and all the other tribes come and slaughter the men of Benjamin for their wickedness leaving only 600 men surviving.

[28:30] Second the desire of all Israel was upon a man known for having lost his donkeys see God often has prepared in his scripture up to this point spiritual rulers by making them first practice caring for livestock that's how God trains the leaders of his people God's leaders are introduced consistently as good shepherds going all the way back to Abel the first martyr he tended sheep remember that Abraham his flock thrived Isaac was a hands-on shepherd who went out and dug well after well for his sheep Jacob's sheep multiplied unexplainably remember Moses went and protected the sheep of his future wife from the bullies and then the Lord had him be prepared to become the one he would use to deliver them out of Egypt by spending 40 years as a shepherd tending sheep what is Saul doing in this list here Saul is not a shepherd the fact that his dad was wealthy and had these female donkeys which are even more expensive it's most likely points to him being a farmer because donkeys are beasts of burden and they would pull a plow so it would be the work of a farmer

[29:42] Saul's incompetence as a shepherd is highlighted by his inability to watch over the herd of donkeys even though these beasts of burden are much louder bigger and easier to find than the lost little lambs would have been and third the desire of all Israel was upon a man who was spiritually blind when he finally gets to meet Samuel the servant tells him there is a seer here there is a man of God and Saul doesn't know anything about this this should be concerning in chapter 3 verse 20 we're told all of Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord chapter 4 verse 1 says that the word of Samuel came to all Israel so how how could Saul have never have heard of this man of God to make matters even worse when he finally meets him in chapter 9 verse 18 he asks Samuel the prophet himself tell me where is the house of the seer only to find out that's exactly who you're talking to see this foreshadows

[30:49] Saul's spiritual blindness he's going to accuse his godly son he's going to accuse David falsely and he's going to show this man has no fear of the true king of Israel well fourth the desire of all Israel was upon a man who consistently fails to lead while Saul is set up as this good looking new commander of Israel who is it that's really guiding him all along the way and telling him what they should do next and pointing it out it's his servant the unnamed servant Saul neglects to be a leader to seek out the will of God and instead he's always going to be turning throughout his career to unwise counsel and he'll neglect going himself to get the guidance that he needs from God one commentator pointed this out how the Saul's of the world you probably work with some they're ones who have little competence for the actual job at hand but only the carefully cultivated impression of superiority

[31:52] Saul is the kind of man who often comes to prominence and power in this world isn't that true this commentator said sadly even in many churches so the Lord in this ironic setup shows how far the desires sinful hearts fall short of his glorious reign well the fourth question and observation is this though sin flirting hearts reject the Lord of glory for an idol how does God view his own people still though their sin flirting hearts have rejected the Lord for this idol this monarchy how does God view his own people still would you look at me with verse 15 the Lord told Samuel tomorrow I'll send you a man from Benjamin you shall anoint him commander notice how God doesn't say king you'll anoint him commander or princely ruler over my people

[32:56] Israel that he may save my people from the hand of the Philistines for I have looked upon my people because their cry has come up to me God's people rejected him but God has not rejected his people these are my people God says and the elect within Israel the remnant they are crying out to God still he still hears their prayers says they cried out to me and I heard them even if they're suffering at the sin of the elders of the nation and the leaders someone brought up the question I thought the Philistines had been pushed back and we go back two chapters it's true there was peace in the land even the Amorites were at peace because the Lord ruled and displayed his power but remember what happened since then is the failed succession of Samuel's sons they were corrupt unjust and when the people of God are not submitting to God as their king the enemies encroach and who is left to protect them when they've rejected the only one who is powerful to do this to the extent that

[34:07] Israel is a type of God's heavenly kingdom on earth just as the church is the enemies on this earth will always be with us and the Lord warns of wolves and those will come in seeking to devour as well as the enemies inside of us you know Satan the remaining corruptions of our own hearts these things are always at battle in this life on this earth until that great day when the kingdom of heaven is on the earth and the glory of God covers the entire earth and every enemy and foe has been vanquished but in the meantime we need the Lord driving away the enemies and the minute God's people take their eyes off of him they ask for more trouble in verse 17 when Samuel saw Saul the Lord said to him there he is the man of whom I spoke to you this one shall reign literally the word is this one shall restrain my people so how does the

[35:09] Lord view his people he's giving them this idol he's letting them taste the sin that they have desired and put their heart on knowing as a loving father what you are getting is going to restrain you you think this is going to make you advance as a kingdom this is going to withhold my blessings upon you this idol that you want so badly this is holding you back this is not advancing my kingdom in my way notice how the donkeys were eventually found Samuel says don't worry about the donkeys three days later they've been found and that was without any leadership provided by the man put in charge of them so if this is an analogy the herdsman represents the king what does this say about this herd of rebellious donkeys that ran away from Mr.

[36:05] Kish Saul's dad do you see the beautiful irony here that's implied people who reject God as their king what does that make them loud stubborn lost that's right donkeys we'll stick with that psalm 78 says the Lord led his people out like sheep and he guided them in the wilderness like a flock psalm 80 says that God calls himself the shepherd of Israel in psalm 95 God's elect are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand and by turning to an idol we're like those donkeys wandering away from the good shepherd from the Lord who provides all that we need we forfeited the safety and contentment we enjoyed in the green pastures of our wealthy generous mighty owner and what does that father do he sends his own son on a mission to save them to save me and you but where the son of Kish fell short in every way the son of God our Lord

[37:21] Jesus Christ he fulfilled his father's mission perfectly completely and forever John 17 4 Jesus says I have accomplished the work you gave me to do those sin flirting hearts reject the Lord of glory for an idol do you see how God views his people still well the final observation for today is this that the Lord just as he orchestrated the events in this narrative he has orchestrated all of redemptive history to teach his people through God the son think how how sweeping this statement is decide if you agree that this is true the Lord God has orchestrated all of redemptive history to teach his people through God the son I want to point out five ways in which this is true I'm sure there are many more number one in his providence to become the king of kings

[38:24] God the son entered human history our Lord Jesus Christ could have come from a powerful nation like Egypt or Persia or Babylon but instead fulfilling Isaiah 41 18 which calls Israel weak and small this is the nation that the God the son chose to come in through second in his providence to become the first born from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ was born into a family he had to be like everyone else right and he could have chosen to be born a beautiful Rachel's line or the wealthy queen of Sheba or whoever he wanted but instead he chose the stock of ugly Leah and poor Mary third in his providence to redeem his bride God the son took on a body our Lord Jesus Christ could have been tall and impressive in his form he could have been stately and attractive in appearance but instead fulfilling

[39:29] Isaiah 53 2 our Lord Jesus Christ did not have an impressive form or majesty that we should look at him no appearance that we should desire him fourth in his providence to pour out every blessing upon his people from his own eternal unchanging endless bounty God created a people from nothing and when we reject him the Lord had every just right to withhold anything good from us but instead he kept his covenant and he proved this Romans 8 32 he did not spare his own son but gave him up for all of us will he not also graciously give us everything else fifth in his providence to rule over all he has made as the Lord of lords Jesus Christ accomplished his mission see he could have kept all of his spiritual goodness to himself but instead he pours out his

[40:38] Holy Spirit on his church to make you and me alive in him to shine his glory upon you and me you think of that word goodness our notion of goodness it comes from the fact that God is good and God showed his goodness in Jesus Christ his son what's more than that is he wants the true beauty the true glory the true attractiveness the goodliness of Jesus Christ to be on his people on you and me and he does that by putting his moral law inside of his people by writing the new covenant in our minds and our hearts he makes you and me willing and able to grow in his likeness into the goodliness of Jesus more and more and he makes us into his holy international nation by the power of his Holy Spirit and his people see this is how our gracious sovereign faithful Lord has orchestrated all of human history is to teach sinners that he calls saints you and me through

[41:47]  God the Son there's an old song and one of the lines is the fitting response for us we want to learn from this example of Israel once earthly joy I craved sought peace and rest now thee alone I seek give what is best this all my prayer shall be more love oh Christ to thee more love to thee more love to thee would you spend some time and respond and pray and ask the Lord to give us more love for him above anything else this world has to offer let's pray do what