1 Samuel 9:1-27
1 Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite,a a mighty man of power.
2 And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.
3 And the asses of Kish Saul's father were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses.
4 And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found them not: then they passed through the land of Shalim, and there they were not: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not.
5 And when they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come, and let us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us.
6 And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honourable man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he can shew us our way that we should go.
7 Then said Saul to his servant, But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spentb in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God: what have we?
8 And the servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I havec here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way.
9 (Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to enquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.)
10 Then said Saul to his servant, Well said;d come, let us go. So they went unto the city where the man of God was.
11 And as they went up the hille to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water, and said unto them, Is the seer here?
12 And they answered them, and said, He is; behold, he is before you: make haste now, for he came to day to the city; for there is a sacrificef of the people to day in the high place:
13 As soon as ye be come into the city, ye shall straightway find him, before he go up to the high place to eat: for the people will not eat until he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice; and afterwards they eat that be bidden. Now therefore get you up; for about this timeg ye shall find him.
14 And they went up into the city: and when they were come into the city, behold, Samuel came out against them, for to go up to the high place.
15 Now the LORD had toldh Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came, saying,
16 To morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me.
17 And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my people.
18 Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer's house is.
19 And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the seer: go up before me unto the high place; for ye shall eat with me to day, and to morrow I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that is in thine heart.
20 And as for thine asses that were lost threei days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father's house?
21 And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou soj to me?
22 And Samuel took Saul and his servant, and brought them into the parlour, and made them sit in the chiefest place among them that were bidden, which were about thirty persons.
23 And Samuel said unto the cook, Bring the portion which I gave thee, of which I said unto thee, Set it by thee.
24 And the cook took up the shoulder, and that which was upon it, and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, Behold that which is left! set it before thee, and eat: for unto this time hath it been kept for thee since I said, I have invited the people. So Saul did eat with Samuel that day.
25 And when they were come down from the high place into the city, Samuel communed with Saul upon the top of the house.
26 And they arose early: and it came to pass about the spring of the day, that Samuel called Saul to the top of the house, saying, Up, that I may send thee away. And Saul arose, and they went out both of them, he and Samuel, abroad.
27 And as they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the servant pass on before us, (and he passed on,) but stand thou still a while,k that I may shew thee the word of God.
The word of God now transfers out attention to a man of Benjamin whose genealogy is given us for four generations, and he a mighty man of power. From men's point of view everything was favorable as regards the background of Saul, the son of Kish. More than this, he himself was a physically striking young man, outstanding above everyone else, head and shoulders taller than the average person. The honor of being from Benjamin too, "the son of my right hand," was a matter in which man in the flesh could boast (Philippians 3:4). So far as mere man is concerned, Saul was the idea example. God therefore would give him to Israel as king. Though he was really the people's choice, yet God did not allow them to choose him, but He Himself would inaugurate Saul as king, so that he would remain just as long as God intended. When Israel would cry out in resentment against their desired king, they would have no authority whatever to depose him, no more than to appoint him. they must learn in a full way the vanity of man in the flesh.
Saul is introduced to us in an interesting and significant way. His father's donkeys were lost, and his father appointed him and a servant to look for them. Later, in contrast, David was keeping the sheep when he was called to be king. Of course sheep are typical of believers, while man generally, in unbelief, is likened in his very birth to a wild donkey's colt (Job 11:12), the symbol of stubborn rebellion. David is a type of Christ, who has a faithful, tender heart toward His sheep; whereas Saul is typical of all mere human government, which never succeeds, just as Saul never did find his father's donkeys. One writer has said that all human government concentrates on subduing the wild beast in man, which is a hopeless pursuit. Indeed, the governors themselves have the same rebellious nature, however well trained and cultured they may appear to be.
They passed through four areas of the country, the number four being that of testing and generally of failure, as the fourth book of the Bible (Numbers) manifestly teaches. "They found them not." How precious is the contrast in Luke 15:4, where the Shepherd whose one sheep was lost is seen "going after that which was lost" UNTIL HE FIND IT."
Finally, coming to a fifth area, Saul proposes to his servant that they return home defeated, for he expects his father now to be concerned about them rather than the donkeys. The servant knows of Samuel, a man of God with an honorable reputation, a true prophet of God, and that he was at least at this time in a nearby city. Whether this was Ramah we are not told. He suggests that he might tell them what to do as regards finding the donkeys. Saul, however, thought it essential that they have a present to give to the man of God. Men's natural thoughts are always directed in this way, as though God looked for something from man first before He would answer his need. It is the legal principle that fails to realize that God is a God of pure grace. Sad to say, Saul did not learn better than this all his life. The servant had a fourth part of a shekel of silver, and Saul agrees that this will be appropriate, though later we never read of his giving it to Samuel. It was quite the opposite: Samuel had made provision FOR SAUL.
We are told in verse 9 that the designation "Prophet" referred to the same person as did "Seer,"the former having replaced the latter. The seer of course is one who sees or discerns, while prophet refers to one who communicates what he discerned as from God.
Coming to the city they enquire for the seer and are told by young girls that he had come that day to the city because of a feast of the people in the high place, and was on his way there. Going quickly in that direction they would find him. The many details in this history all fit perfectly in God's directing everything to bring about His own ends. As they came inside the city Samuel met them. We are told that Samuel was expecting Saul because God had told him the day before that He would send him a man out of Benjamin about the same time the following day, and Samuel was instructed to anoint him as captain over Israel. God would - use Saul to save Israel from the Philistines because of His own compassion toward His people. Certainly He could have used other means for Israel's salvation, but in grace He made this concession to His people because of their urging, not because this was His directive will.
At the moment Samuel saw Saul the Lord told him this was the man of whom He had spoken to him, and he would reign over Israel. Samuel did not however take the initiative, but waited for Saul to come to him, asking where the seer's house was. Samuel tells him, "I am the seer," but waits for no other question from Saul.
Samuel, rather than asking Saul why he wanted to see the seer, instructs Saul to go up before him to the high place, where he would eat with Samuel that day. The following day he would let him go after telling him all that was in his heart. Then he tells him that the donkeys that were lost had already been found (a lesson for Saul that God could do what Saul could not).
But more than this, he gave him the arresting news that the desire of Israel was on Saul and on all his father's house. This was certainly unexpected by Saul, who rightly protests that he is only a Benjamite, of the smallest tribe in Israel. Why did Samuel speak in this way to him'? Samuel later refers to this when Saul stood in need of serious reproof, telling him, "When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel?" (ch.15:17). When Saul was elevated to the prominence and authority of king, it was not long before he forgot his own littleness: he thought himself great enough to ignore God's express commands, and of course suffered the consequences. On the other hand, faith always maintains a humble place, no matter how greatly one may be honored.
About thirty guests were present when Samuel took Saul and his servant to dinner, giving them the most honored place at the table. Then Samuel ordered the portion he had reserved for Saul to be brought. The shoulder then given to Saul is typical of the responsibility he must shoulder in becoming king. Of Christ we read, "the government shall be upon his shoulder" (Isaiah 9:6). Saul surely ought to have taken to heart the truth that in taking responsibility to reign, he must bow his shoulder to the authority of God, but he later forgot this. That day, however, he ate with Samuel, indicating that God, on His part, was willing to show fellowship to Saul in his appointment to the throne, though Saul would later show himself unwilling to have honest fellowship with God.
After the meal Samuel communed alone with Saul on the housetop, typically a place of watching. Perhaps he was giving instruction that Saul deeply needed at the time. The next morning, rather than retaining Saul to install him immediately as king, he sent him away again. In those things already seen, Saul was intended to discern that he first had to do with God before he could be placed on the throne, the eating of the sacrifice is a most significant matter, as we have seen. But God still has lessons to teach him before his coronation. Whether he learned them is another matter, but if he had had an exercised heart, he might have discerned far more than he did. Samuel accompanied him to the border of the city and asked that he might privately speak with Saul, "that I may show thee the word of God."