1 Samuel 9:1-27

Israel’s First King

1 Samuel

Helen Pocock

Chapter 9

Saul looks for his father’s *donkeys

v1 Kish was an important man from the *tribe of Benjamin. Kish was the son of Abiel. Abiel was the son of Zeror. Zeror was the son of Becorath. Becorath was the son of Aphiah. Aphiah came from the *tribe of Benjamin. v2 Kish had a son whose name was Saul. He was a good and handsome young man. No other *Israelite was as good as Saul. He was much taller than all the other people.

We do not know how long the people had to wait for their king. God chose Saul to be king. Saul was much taller than other men. He would look good when he led an army to war. This is what the *Israelites wanted. So, this is what God gave them. These verses describe Saul and his family. ‘An important man’ means that Kish had a lot of wealth and power. We do not know how much Saul loved and obeyed God at this time.

v3 Kish owned a lot of *donkeys. One day the *donkeys wandered away. No one could find them. Kish said to Saul, ‘Go and look for the *donkeys. Take one of the servants with you when you go’. v4 So Saul and the servant went to the hills in the country of Ephraim. They also went to Shalisha and the area near that place. But they did not find the *donkeys there. Then they went to the district of Shaalim. The *donkeys were not there. The people from the *tribe of Benjamin owned a large area of land. So, Saul and the servant went and searched all through this land. They still did not find the *donkeys.

v5 They reached the area of Zuph. Saul said to his servant, ‘Let us go back home now. My father was worried about the *donkeys. But he will start to worry about us if we do not go back now’.

v6 The servant replied, ‘There is a man of God in this town. People respect him because everything that he says comes true. We should go there now. Perhaps he will tell us where to find the *donkeys’.

v7 Saul said to his servant, ‘If we go to visit this man we must give him a present. But we do not have a present. We do not even have any food. What can we give him?’

v8 The servant answered, ‘I have a small piece of silver. I will give it to the man of God. Then he will tell us which way we should go’. v9 (Sometimes a man from *Israel wanted to ask God something. This is what he said to other people. ‘Come with me. We shall go to the seer’. We now call this man a *prophet. But in the past, the *Israelites called him a ‘seer’.)

v10 Saul said to his servant, ‘That is good. Let us visit this man of God’. So, they went to the town where he was.

v11 They went up the hill to the town. Some young women came out of the town to get some water. Saul and his servant said, ‘Is the seer here?’

v12 They said, ‘Yes, he is here. He is just ahead of you. You must hurry. He came to the town today because the people have a *sacrifice. They will *sacrifice at the place of *worship. v13 When you go into the town you will find the seer. He is going to the place of *worship. The people will not start to eat until he comes. The seer has to bless the *sacrifice first. Then the guests will eat. You will be able to find the seer if you go now’.

The *donkeys that Kish owned were valuable. They may have wandered away as they looked for fresh grass. Saul and his servant spent 3 days looking for the *donkeys (verse 20). We do not know the exact places where Saul went. Many of those areas have different names now. Many Bible teachers think that ‘this town’ (verse 6) refers to Ramah. It was Samuel’s home town. He probably had been away to rule in other towns. Then he came home for the *sacrifice. Chapter 7:15-17 explains this. Saul’s servant knew about Samuel. But Saul did not know about Samuel. Saul wanted to go home. But his servant wanted to ask the man of God for help first. His servant trusted the man of God because his words came true (3:19).

‘Seer’ is a different name for a *prophet. It means ‘someone who can see’. ‘See’ means to understand. The *prophets understood what God said. And they spoke God’s word to the people. Sometimes God told them about the future. Sometimes he answered people’s questions. When people went to a *prophet, they gave him a gift. This is how the *prophets earned their wages. People had not invented coins yet. So, they paid with gold and silver or food. Sometimes they paid with objects that they made.

In those days, people built towns on hills. They fetched water from the valley below the town. The young women did this job.

The *Philistines had destroyed the house of the *Lord at Shiloh. The *ark was at Abinadab’s house. The *Israelites did not have a central place where they *worshipped the *Lord. So Samuel had built an *altar to the *Lord at Ramah. The *altar was outside the town, but on a hill near to it. They called this the ‘high place’. In the *Old Testament we often read that people offered *sacrifices on the top of a hill. The false religions also had ‘high places’. But people went there to *worship *idols. The *sacrifice in verse 12 was probably the same as in 1:3-4. It was an *offering to say ‘thank-you’ to the *Lord. Samuel was the *Israelite leader. He was also a priest. People would not eat the meal until Samuel blessed the *sacrifice.

Saul meets Samuel

v14 Saul and the servant went up to the town. As they went into the town, Samuel came towards them. He was going to the place of *worship. v15 God had spoken to Samuel the previous day. God said, v16 ‘Tomorrow I will send a man to you. He comes from the land of Benjamin. He will arrive at about this time of day. *Anoint him as the leader over my people of *Israel. He will save my people from the *Philistines. I have seen the way that my people suffered. I heard them cry out for help’.

v17 Samuel saw Saul. God said to Samuel, ‘Here is the man I told you about. He will rule my people’.

v18 Samuel was near the entrance gate of the town. Saul approached him and said, ‘Please tell me where the seer’s house is’.

v19 Samuel said, ‘I am the seer. You must go ahead of me to the place of *worship. I want both of you to eat with me today. Tomorrow morning I will answer all your questions. Then you can go home. v20 Do not worry about the *donkeys that you lost three days ago. Someone has found them. Do you know what all the people of *Israel want? They want you and your father’s family’.

v21 Saul answered, ‘I belong to the *tribe of Benjamin. It is the smallest *tribe in the nation of *Israel. And my family group is the least important group in the *tribe of Benjamin. Why have you said all this to me?’

v22 Then Samuel took Saul and his servant into a hall. He made them sit in the most important place. Samuel had invited about 30 men to the meal. v23 Samuel spoke to the cook. He said, ‘Please bring me the piece of meat that I gave you. I told you to keep it separate’.

v24 So the cook took the leg of meat and put it down in front of Saul. Samuel said to Saul, ‘I kept this piece of meat for you. Eat it because this is a special occasion. When I first invited the guests, I kept this piece of meat for you’. So, Saul ate with Samuel that day.

v25 They left the place of *worship and went into the town. Samuel took Saul on to the roof of his house. They talked together on the roof. v26 They got up at dawn the next day. Saul was on the roof of the house. Samuel called up to him. He said, ‘Get up and get ready to leave. I will send you on your journey’. Saul got ready to leave. Saul and Samuel went out into the street. v27 They walked down to the edge of the town. Samuel said, ‘Tell your servant to go on ahead of us. But you must stay, as I have a message from God for you’.

God told Samuel about Saul. He told Samuel the day before Saul came to the town. God planned that they would meet. Saul and his servant arrived at the town at just the right time. They met Samuel.

God saw how the *Philistines kept attacking the *Israelites. He knew that the *Israelites were not happy. So he chose Saul as their leader. ‘Anoint’ means to put oil on a person. This shows that God has chosen them to do a special job. He makes them able to do that job. In the *Old Testament, they *anointed the house of the *Lord and the priests. This showed that they were holy (Exodus 30:22-33). They also *anointed the kings. God told Samuel that Saul would ‘lead’ and ‘rule’ God’s people. ‘Lead’ means to govern and be their leader. ‘Rule’ means to control the people. Saul would also save them from their enemies. God did not say that Saul was their king. God was still their king.

Saul went to Samuel to ask about the *donkeys. Samuel knew about the *donkeys before Saul asked him. Saul knew that the people had asked Samuel for a king. Samuel said to Saul, ‘They want you and your father’s family’ (verse 20). Samuel meant that Saul would be the king. Saul probably understood what Samuel said. But Saul was surprised. After this, Samuel dealt with Saul as a man who deserves honour. He made Saul sit in the most important place. Then he gave him the special piece of meat. The priest usually ate this meat (Leviticus 7:34). The ‘hall’ was probably a small building at the place of *worship.

The *Israelites built houses with flat roofs. They often slept on the roof in the summer. Sometimes they built a small room on the roof. Their guests slept in this room. The stairs up to the roof were on the outside of the house. Saul stayed at Samuel’s house that night. Samuel did not explain anything to Saul until the morning (verse 19). Then he spoke to Saul in private.

donkey ~ an animal like a small horse. Donkeys can carry heavy loads on their backs. People ride on them.
tribe ~ a family from one man. The first Israelites were the 12 sons of Jacob. The family of each son became a tribe.

Israelites ~ the people of Israel; the people who speak the Hebrew language.
Israel ~ the group of people that God chose. Israel is the name of all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israel is also the name of the land that God gave to the people of Israel.
Hebrew ~ the language of the Israelite people. A Hebrew is an Israelite person.
Israelites ~ the people of Israel; the people who speak the Hebrew language.

Israel ~ the group of people that God chose. Israel is the name of all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israel is also the name of the land that God gave to the people of Israel.
Hebrew ~ the language of the Israelite people. A Hebrew is an Israelite person.
Israel ~ the group of people that God chose. Israel is the name of all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israel is also the name of the land that God gave to the people of Israel.
prophet ~ a person who speaks for God. He can sometimes say what will happen in the future.
sacrifice ~ to give something to God, usually an animal, grain or wine; to ask God to forgive sins as the priest killed an animal. This sacrifice was a special animal. The priests killed and burned it on the altar.

sin ~ when people do things against God or other people; when people do not obey the commands of God; the things that people do that are wrong or evil.
altar ~ a table, where the priests burned animals and gave other gifts as a sacrifice to God or false gods.
worship ~ to thank God and to give him honour, usually with other people. Often, people pray and sing as they worship God. To bend down to God or to a false god to show him honour.
Philistines ~ the Israelites’ main enemies at that time. They lived on the west side of the country of Israel.

Israelites ~ the people of Israel; the people who speak the Hebrew language.
Israel ~ the group of people that God chose. Israel is the name of all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israel is also the name of the land that God gave to the people of Israel.
Hebrew ~ the language of the Israelite people. A Hebrew is an Israelite person.
Lord ~ the name of God in the Bible. The special name of God that he announced only to the Israelites (Genesis 3:13-15). It links God with his covenant (promise) to them.

Israelites ~ the people of Israel; the people who speak the Hebrew language.
Israel ~ the group of people that God chose. Israel is the name of all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israel is also the name of the land that God gave to the people of Israel.
Hebrew ~ the language of the Israelite people. A Hebrew is an Israelite person.
altar ~ a table, where the priests burned animals and gave other gifts as a sacrifice to God or false gods.

sacrifice ~ to give something to God, usually an animal, grain or wine; to ask God to forgive sins as the priest killed an animal. This sacrifice was a special animal. The priests killed and burned it on the altar.
sin ~ when people do things against God or other people; when people do not obey the commands of God; the things that people do that are wrong or evil.
idol ~ an object that people worship instead of the real God. People make idols from wood, stone or metal. An idol was usually an image of a person, animal or object. Idols are false gods.

worship ~ to thank God and to give him honour, usually with other people. Often, people pray and sing as they worship God. To bend down to God or to a false god to show him honour.
offering ~ a gift for God (or false gods) from the priest and people; an Israelite’s gift to God.

gods ~ gods with a small ‘g’ are all the false gods.
Israelites ~ the people of Israel; the people who speak the Hebrew language.
Israel ~ the group of people that God chose. Israel is the name of all the people from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Israel is also the name of the land that God gave to the people of Israel.
Hebrew ~ the language of the Israelite people. A Hebrew is an Israelite person.
anoint ~ to mark a person with oil to show that God has chosen him for a special job.
anoint ~ to mark a person with oil to show that God has chosen him for a special job.