Pack Your Baggage, HoneySample

There is baggage in the Bible?

Thus Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. Then he brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families, and the Matrite family was taken. And Saul the son of Kish was taken; but when they looked for him, he could not be found. Therefore they inquired further of the LORD, “Has the man come here yet?” So the LORD said, “Behold, he is hiding himself by the baggage” (1 Sam. 10:20-22). 

This is one of those moments when reading the Scriptures that you have to do a double take. Saul was hiding himself by the baggage!? This tall, dark, handsome man, who was described as a mighty man of valor, was hiding himself amidst the baggage?! 

We can be pretty sure that Saul’s hiding place was not in “emotional baggage” but was in physical baggage. The Hebrew word for “baggage” is keli  which is often translated as bags, gear, and goods. In other words, it was stuff. 

So, Saul was hiding in “the stuff.” But the reaction Saul had to the idea of becoming king was definitely driven by some emotional baggage. Here was a man who, by the world’s standards, had it all together; and yet he was paralyzed and in hiding. Why? 

The Scripture goes on to tell us the people ran to where Saul was hiding and dragged him out into the open. Saul was scared—a man who stood head and shoulders taller than anyone else, crouching down, attempting to hide himself from the crowd and from God Himself. He was dragged out of his place of safety into the safest place he could ever be had he stayed in the center of God’s will. 

God’s Word is amazing. Have you been where Saul was, hiding, trying to keep from going out on a limb and serving in the way God Himself has called you? 

Saul essentially used his baggage, his stuff, to hide himself from God’s call on his life. Could it be that right now, God is beginning to do a work of restoration in your life? Has He given you a call that you are avoiding at all costs? Are you simply hiding in your baggage?