I wanted to write a blog post that was reflective of a bed time story that I just told my oldest daughter, Haley, who is 11, and who was having a hard time getting to sleep. The story is loosely based on a Bible story, one of the most famous from the entire Old Testament.
One day, there was this prophet named Samuel. He was one of the wisest prophets in the land. Everyone went to Samuel for advice, on small matters and large. On a particular day, when the sun was beating down upon the desert of Judah, a couple of people meandered past Samuel's house. They seemed like they were looking for something.
"What can I help you with?" Samuel asked inquisitively. "We are looking for something!" "Looking for what? It seems like you are looking for a cool cup of water," said Samuel. "Actually," said the strangers, "we are looking for a donkey!" "A donkey," said Samuel, "what in God's name would you want a donkey for?" The strangers scratched their heads in the broad day sun, and said, "This is a special donkey!"
Samuel invited them in. It was already reaching heights of three degrees on the thermometer (though, of course, there were no thermometers in those days), and the strangers came inside. After hearing their story, Samuel said, "Well, ok, I will pray for your donkey. I will pray that Yahweh returns your donkey, and that he comes home safe." And so, that's what Samuel did, the greatest prophet in the land prayed for these strangers' donkey. Samuel prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed, "Yahweh, return their donkey in due course, Amen!"
But no donkey came.
A search party was sent out for the donkey, as the logical next step. The best searchers in the land looked for that donkey. They looked up one crag of rocks and down the next. They looked up every glen and down every valley of shadows. But no donkey was found.
And so, the cause seemed to be lost.
On the edge of the horizon, though, the search party thought they saw something that was living. It seemed to be moving in the sand. Was it a small goat? Was it a sheep? No! It was a little boy!!! The search party scrambled up a dune of sand, and scooped the little boy up in their arms. An older search member scrubbed the sand out of the little boy's eyes. They would take the little boy back to Samuel and say that, sadly, a donkey had not been found, but that a little boy had been snatched from the jaws of death, and brought back to the camp.
They did not know what to call the little boy, since he had nothing on him, except his leather shirt, and his outer tunic. "What about Saul?" asked one of the members of the search party. Saul (or Sha-Ual, in Hebrew), is a strong name. "That's what we will call him," said Samuel. "But this is no ordinary little boy, this is a special young man." And then, Samuel, looking into the evening sun made a very significant prophecy. Remember that in Hebrew, the name Samuel is SHMA - EL, which means - "Hear God". Samuel said, "This little boy will grow up to rule a nation. He will be a great general. He will be an even greater commander of troops." And so the little boy grew up. From little boy, to bigger boy, to teenager.
Then, one day, an amazing thing happened. As the little boy, Saul, was about to leave and go off to military training, a visage appeared on the horizon. "What is it?" asked a local? Is it a bear or a marauding party of nomads? Soon enough, it appeared on the horizon. It was a donkey. It was the same donkey that had been searched for years before. The old steed (now steed) came, walked, head down into the camp. Samuel's prayers had been answered, many years later. The long lost donkey had come home.
What, may you ask, happened to the little boy, Saul? Well, he grew up to be the first king of Israel, the first monarch of the land of Judah, the first general to lead a nation. And you can read about his story in the Bible.
But what is the moral of this story? Well, it is this... Sometimes when you pray for a donkey, you get a king. And sometimes when you pray for kings, you will get a donkey.
As I was telling my daughter, Haley this story tonight, she said, "Well daddy! Then I'm going to pray for kings!!"
All For Now,
GB
