Summary: The people desired a worldly leader, and Saul fit the bill perfectly. Coming from a wealthy family (v.1), Saul was described as tall, dark, and handsome (v.2). When Saul’s father, Kish, lost his donkeys, he sent Saul to find them (v.3). Their search led them to Samuel, who had been informed beforehand that Saul would be Israel’s first king (v.16). Samuel informed Saul that the donkeys had been found (v.20), but also conveyed that God had greater plans for him.
According to Youngblood, Saul is “one of the most complex figures in Scripture,”[] a sentiment that rings true. Like many leaders, Saul exhibited a mix of virtues and flaws. While generally regarded as a deficient king, there were moments of faithfulness, godliness, and integrity that we will explore to present a balanced view of Israel’s first king. It’s noteworthy that Paul touches on this matter, stating simply that God granted the people’s wish for a king: “Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years” (Acts 13:21).
(9:1) There was a Benjamite, a man of standing, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bekorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin.
“A man of standing.” This refers to military standing.[] While Benjamin was the smallest tribe in Israel, Saul came from good stock.
(9:2) Kish had a son named Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else.
Saul’s name literally means, “Asked of God.”[]
Saul has the external appearance of a leader. He is “handsome” (ṭôḇ), which is a term also used of David (1 Sam. 16:12) and Moses (Ex. 2:2). He is “taller than anyone else” in Israel. He is also a young man with a bright future. Here is a good leader, right? Young, tall, and goodlooking. Not necessarily. This is what the people wanted to see as a leader, but when God selected David, he challenged Samuel not to look at the external appearances (1 Sam. 16:7).
(9:3) Now the donkeys belonging to Saul’s father Kish were lost, and Kish said to his son Saul, “Take one of the servants with you and go and look for the donkeys.”
It’s funny that this divine meeting between Samuel and Saul was precipitated by Saul looking for some missing donkeys. God can use anything to bring people together.
Bergen[] thinks Saul’s failure as a shepherd foreshadows his future failure as a king. After all, the leaders of Israel are often referred to as “shepherds,” and Saul shows himself to literally be an “incompetent shepherd.” Perhaps. But the shepherd motif for Israelite leaders doesn’t come until much later—in the days of the prophets. So, the original audience wouldn’t have understood this allusion.
(9:4-5) So he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and through the area around Shalisha, but they did not find them. They went on into the district of Shaalim, but the donkeys were not there. Then he passed through the territory of Benjamin, but they did not find them. 5 When they reached the district of Zuph, Saul said to the servant who was with him, “Come, let’s go back, or my father will stop thinking about the donkeys and start worrying about us.”
The missing donkeys led Saul and the servant to where God wanted them to meet Samuel.
(9:6) But the servant replied, “Look, in this town there is a man of God; he is highly respected, and everything he says comes true. Let’s go there now. Perhaps he will tell us what way to take.”
The expression “man of God” is equivalent with a “prophet” or “seer” (v.9). The people could recognize prophets based on their short-term predictions: “everything he says comes true.”
(9:7) Saul said to his servant, “If we go, what can we give the man? The food in our sacks is gone. We have no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?”
It was customary to give a prophet some sort of gift. Saul doesn’t want to show up emptyhanded.
(9:8) The servant answered him again. “Look,” he said, “I have a quarter of a shekel of silver. I will give it to the man of God so that he will tell us what way to take.”
A fourth of a shekel wasn’t much money, but this was enough. A quarter shekel was a tenth of an ounce—or three grams (see NET note).
(9:9) (Formerly in Israel, if someone went to inquire of God, they would say, “Come, let us go to the seer,” because the prophet of today used to be called a seer.)
Again, the terms “man of God,” “seer” and “prophet” were all synonymous (1 Chr. 9:22; 26:28; 29:29).
(9:10-11) “Good,” Saul said to his servant. “Come, let’s go.” So they set out for the town where the man of God was. 11 As they were going up the hill to the town, they met some young women coming out to draw water, and they asked them, “Is the seer here?”
They probably went to Ramah, where Samuel lived. Ramah was on a hill, so this explains why they “were going up the hill to the town” to see him.
Bergen[] sees foreshadowing of Saul’s future failure as a king: (1) Saul is ignorant of Samuel—the most influential spiritual leader who was known to “all Israel” (1 Sam. 3:20; 4:1). (2) Saul doesn’t seek out God’s guidance when he runs into trouble with his lost flock. (3) Saul thinks that Samuel needs to be bought off in order to help him.
(9:12-13) “He is,” they answered. “He’s ahead of you. Hurry now; he has just come to our town today, for the people have a sacrifice at the high place. 13 As soon as you enter the town, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people will not begin eating until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward, those who are invited will eat. Go up now; you should find him about this time.”
Saul “hurries” to see Samuel. Later, he “hurries” to eat without Samuel. This statement later comes back to haunt Saul in chapter 13, when he doesn’t wait for Samuel to perform the sacrifice (1 Sam. 13:10).
(9:14-16) They went up to the town, and as they were entering it, there was Samuel, coming toward them on his way up to the high place. 15 Now the day before Saul came, the LORD had revealed this to Samuel: 16 “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him ruler over my people Israel; he will deliver them from the hand of the Philistines. I have looked on my people, for their cry has reached me.”
Clearly, this was a divine appointment. God sent Saul to Samuel at the same time that Samuel was coming to Saul.
God was using this fallen man (Saul) to accomplish his purposes in protecting Israel. God uses fallen people like us to accomplish his plan. God doesn’t need to do this, but he chooses to do so.
God calls Saul a “ruler,” rather than a “king.” This is a subtle omission “because Yahweh was Israel’s king.”[]
(9:17) When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the LORD said to him, “This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern my people.”
“He will govern my people.” The term “govern” (ʿṣr) normally means to “restrain” or “hold back” or even “imprison.”[] This context is the only one where it can be legitimately translated “govern” or “rule.” Thus, Bergen comments on the irony of this term when he writes, “By employing the verb here, the writer was suggesting that the Lord had determined to use Saul’s career as a means of punishing the nation.”[]
(9:18) Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and asked, “Would you please tell me where the seer’s house is?”
God sends Saul directly to Samuel. This shows divine intervention and leading, because Saul doesn’t even know what Samuel looked like. This is reminiscent of Luke Skywalker meeting Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back (1980).
At the same time, this doesn’t seem like mere ignorance on Saul’s behalf. It is a conspicuous ignorance that Saul doesn’t know Samuel. Bergen comments, “Saul, the paragon of spiritual blindness, knew nothing of the most famous man in Israel even after he encountered him.”[]
(9:19-20) “I am the seer,” Samuel replied. “Go up ahead of me to the high place, for today you are to eat with me, and in the morning I will send you on your way and will tell you all that is in your heart. 20 As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them; they have been found. And to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and your whole family line?”
Saul left that day looking for donkeys, but Samuel presents him with something far more important. Samuel had supernatural knowledge of (1) Saul’s thoughts and (2) the location of Saul’s donkeys.
(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?”
It’s common for people to focus on their inadequacies when God calls them into service (cf. 1 Sam. 10:22).
(9:22-24) Then Samuel brought Saul and his servant into the hall and seated them at the head of those who were invited—about thirty in number. 23 Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the piece of meat I gave you, the one I told you to lay aside.” 24 So the cook took up the thigh with what was on it and set it in front of Saul. Samuel said, “Here is what has been kept for you. Eat, because it was set aside for you for this occasion from the time I said, ‘I have invited guests.’” And Saul dined with Samuel that day.
Samuel prepares a meal for Saul, and they eat together in the presence of thirty witnesses. Saul must’ve been mystified as to why he was being treated with such honor. He still didn’t know that he was going to be the first king of Israel.
(9:25-27) After they came down from the high place to the town, Samuel talked with Saul on the roof of his house. 26 They rose about daybreak, and Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Get ready, and I will send you on your way.” When Saul got ready, he and Samuel went outside together. 27 As they were going down to the edge of the town, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us”—and the servant did so—”but you stay here for a while, so that I may give you a message from God.”
Samuel meets with Saul privately to tell him that he has a message for him from God. As it turns out, he will make Saul the first king of Israel.
Why did God choose Saul of all people? Saul’s tribe (Benjamin) was small—from one of the youngest sons of Jacob. It was also a tribe that was recently massacred (Judg. 20). So, it fits with God’s backwards wisdom to transform the smallest into the greatest. It also fits with God who works with the meager offerings that we bring him (9:7).
Why wouldn’t God pick a good king? Saul wasn’t bad at the beginning, but he freely chose to be evil. At the time, Saul might have been the best option. Moreover, God picked the king that the people wanted—tall, dark, and handsome (1 Sam. 9:2; 10:23). Saul looks good, but he lacks the necessary character to lead the nation. They wanted this, and this is why God warned them (1 Sam. 8:12-20). Later, God chooses his first-round draft pick: David. In other words, God lets the people get what they want, and then, he shows them the king who is actually good, humble, and pliable to God’s leading (1 Sam. 16:7).
Ronald F. Youngblood, “1, 2 Samuel,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), 618.
Ronald F. Youngblood, “1, 2 Samuel,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), 618.
Ronald F. Youngblood, “1, 2 Samuel,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992), 618.
Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, vol. 7, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 121.
Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, vol. 7, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 122.
Joyce G. Baldwin, 1 and 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 8, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 95-96.
Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, vol. 7, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 123.
Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, vol. 7, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 123.
Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, vol. 7, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 124.
James is an elder at Dwell Community Church, where he teaches classes in theology, apologetics, and weekly Bible studies.
