Who Is Their Father?

1 Samuel 10:12-18 – A man who lived there answered, “And who is their father?” So it became a saying: “Is Saul also among the prophets?” After Saul stopped prophesying, he went to the high place. Now Saul’s uncle asked him and his servant, “Where have you been?” “Looking for the donkeys,” he said. “But when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.” Saul’s uncle said, “Tell me what Samuel said to you.” Saul replied, “He assured us that the donkeys had been found.” But he did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about the kingship. Samuel summoned the people of Israel to the Lord at Mizpah and said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’

2 Kings 2:12 – Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it in two.

1 Samuel 7:5 – Then Samuel said, “Assemble all Israel at Mizpah, and I will intercedewith the Lord for you.”

1 Samuel 9:21 – Saul answered, “But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?”

Application:

• ·         Some understand the question, “Who is their father?”, as an expression of contempt for prophets generally, others as implying the recognition that prophetic inspiration comes from God and therefore could be imparted to whomever God chose.
• ·         Mizpah was a town in the territory of Benjamin, located about seven and a half miles north of Jerusalem. It was here that the Israelites had previously gathered to undertake disciplinary action against Benjamin after the abuse and murder of the concubine of a traveling Levite in Gibeah of Benjamin.
• ·         God’s use of the powerless to promote His kingdom on earth is a common feature in the Biblical testimony and underscores the truth that His kingdom is not of this world.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV