SATURDAY February 2, 2019
Seat of Prominence
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; 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. 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.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.
1 Samuel 9:22-24
The prophet Samuel gave Saul a place of honor––a seat of prominence. The Lord had promoted Saul––he would become King of Israel. Yet Saul, at this time, still did not fully understand what was happening in his life.
Samuel seating Saul in a place of honor reminded me of a parable Jesus taught in the New Testament. Jesus had gone into the house of a ruler of the Pharisees to eat (Luke 14:1), but He noticed how the proud lawyers and Pharisees chose for themselves the best places to sit. He used this occasion to teach them a lesson of humility. The parable was about receiving an invitation to a wedding feast and taking the best seat:
“When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him;and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place.But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you” (Luke 14:8-10).
In any occasion, we should never place ourselves in a seat of prominence. We might be embarrassed at the outcome. Remember, promotion does not come from man––it comes from God.
“For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
~Luke 14:11~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit Somebodylovesyouradio.org!