Israel wants a king. Samuel prayed and the Lord tells him He has a man in mind.

1 Samuel 9:1, “Now there was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, …a mighty man of valor.”

New American Standard Bible

The Bible describes Kish as a “mighty man of valor.” But he is not the man God has chosen. He chose his son, Saul. Saul is described as “choice, handsome, and tall,” v. 2. Later in the chapter we see another characteristic of Saul – he likes to eat.

In verse 5, Saul told his servant they should return because his father would be worried. Was he truly thinking of his father? Or his stomach?

1 Samuel 9:7, “…For the bread is gone from our sack…”

New American Standard Bible

The servant told him he had a little money, v. 8. If Saul was led by his stomach, he would have thought, “We can buy food.” He would have been happy to hear there was a sacrifice that day, (v. 12), because there was plenty of food, even for travelers.

When we are out of bread, we want to buy what we can get or have someone give us what we need. God wants to give us exceedingly more than we can ask or think, Ephesians 3:20.

1 Samuel 10:24, “Then the cook took up the leg with what was on it and set it before Saul.”

New American Standard Bible

The Bible does not say what animal was sacrificed. It could have been a leg of lamb or the leg of a bull! God continued to provide food for Saul and his servant.

1 Samuel 10:4, “And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from their hand.”

New American Standard Bible

As we encounter empty shelves at our local stores, we need to remember this. We are not dependent on the amount of money in our pocket. We are not dependent on the charity of others. We depend on God. He is an extravagant giver.

At the beginning of the pandemic, we ran out of carrots and potatoes. I had hoped to find a 5-pound bag of potatoes and a 1-pound bag of carrots. The shelves were empty. That afternoon my sister showed up with 10 pounds of white potatoes, 10 pounds of red potatoes, and 5 pounds of carrots. She wouldn’t take any money for them. You can read about it here.

Do you need food? Ask God!

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