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.
Commentary
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.
Kish's Donkeys
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. 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."
Commentary
The donkeys that Kish owned were valuable. They may have wandered away as they looked for fresh grass. Saul’s father sent him to look for his lost donkeys. Saul didn’t want to go, but because he was obedient to his father, he went anyway. While he was looking for the donkeys, God intervened through the prophet Samuel who anointed Saul the first king of Israel right then and there. Saul and his servant had spent 3 days looking for the donkeys (verse 20). Saul never found the donkeys because it wasn’t about the donkeys. It was about getting Saul to the right place where he could be anointed the first king of Israel.
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."
Commentary
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 honor. 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.
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