1 Samuel 9

1 Samuel 9: Saul Brought Forth to Ramah

1 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 mighty man of power. 2 And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.

Israel wanted a king like the other nations, instead of Yahweh their God. Having sent every man to his own house, “Samuel waits and prays for YHWH to indicate the right man for the position.” (Peter Pett) And by the leading of a dumb animal of His creation—an ass, Yahweh leads Saul, the first king of Israel, to the man of God— Samuel. “And now the Lord gives them a king according to their choice… God’s choice for them would have been a different character, one who seeks Him and is in subjection to Him, as we shall find in the king after God’s heart, King David. But now He gives to the people what they had asked for.” (Arno Gaebelein)

“There was a man of Benjamin— Here beginneth the second part of this book: and here properly begin the Books of the Kings, saith A. Lapide.” (John Trapp) “And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul.” etc. “The pedigree of Saul is first set down, and afterwards the portrait of his person is penciled out.... [He was good looking and strong.] It is worthy the Reader’s observation in the very first outlines of Saul, that while his person is thus set off to the greatest advantage, not a word is said of the qualities of the mind. Dearest Jesus! in the days of thy flesh it is said of thee, that thy visage was marred more than any man, and thy form more than the sons of men. Lord teach me from hence not to judge by outward appearance. The King's daughter is all-glorious within. Isaiah 52:15; Psalms 45:13.” (Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary)

3 Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. And Kish said to his son Saul, “Please take one of the servants with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.” 4 So he passed through the mountains of Ephraim and through the land of Shalisha, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, and they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they did not find them. 5 When they had come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let us return, lest my father cease caring about the donkeys and become worried about us.” 6 And he said to him, “Look now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honorable man; all that he says surely comes to pass. So let us go there; perhaps he can show us the way that we should go.” 7 Then Saul said to his servant, “But look, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread in our vessels is all gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?” 8 And the servant answered Saul again and said, “Look, I have here at hand one-fourth of a shekel of silver. I will give that to the man of God, to tell us our way.” 9 (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he spoke thus: “Come, let us go to the seer”; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.)

“Now the asses of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost.— This was the rise of Saul’s royalty:… And here we have a famous instance of God’s most wise providence, bringing about great matters by small and weak means…” (Trapp) This “laid the foundation for Saul's seeking them; and his not finding them, again paved the way for bringing him near Samuel…. Hence the church makes a beautiful conclusion from God's love to His people, after giving a long account of His dealings with them: whoso is wise will ponder these things, and they shall understand the loving kindness of the Lord. Psalms 107:43.” (Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary)

“Saul, who became Israel's first king, originally had no desire for political power and little interest in the spiritual ministry of Samuel. As the son of a wealthy landowner, he was more concerned about the loss of his father's donkeys, and the worry he might cause his father by being away so long in search of them. (5)” (Bridgeway) “And he”— the servant of Saul, perhaps a righteous man— “said to him, ‘Look now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honorable man; all that he says surely comes to pass. So let us go there; perhaps he can show us the way that we should go.’” “The servant prevents Saul from returning home immediately, pointing out to him the city before him standing on an eminence, where they would find the man of God, who would perhaps tell them how they might attain the object of their search.” (Lange)

“There is in this city a man of God.” etc. (6) “In the land of Ziph’; in which was Ramah, called also Ramah, or Ramathaim-zephim, the place of Samuel’s birth and habitation, 1 Samuel 1:1 7:17.” (Poole) “Do not fail to observe further, that in the proposed enquiry they meant to make, there is not a word concerning God, or how to obtain his favor. Alas is it not so now? Are not the whole world sending forth the enquiry, ‘who will shew us any good?’ But how few the cry, ‘Lord lift up the light of thy countenance upon us!’ Psalms 4:6.” (Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary)

“Then Saul said to his servant, ‘But look, if we go, what shall we bring the man?’” etc. (7) “Prophets would receive no gifts as wages for their work; for what can purchase the highest favours of heaven? This was Balaam’s trade. Simony is ever attended with a curse. But it always was and still is the custom of the east to approach magistrates with presents. Hence Saul and his servant proposed this on the ground of custom, being ignorant of Samuel’s superior purity.” (Joseph Sutcliffe) “Formerly in Israel,” — before Moses— “when a man went to inquire of God, he spoke thus: ‘Come, let us go to the seer’; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer” (9)—”because he did discern and could discover things secret and unknown to others.” (Matthew Poole)

1 Samuel 9: Saul Meets Samuel

10 Then Saul said to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was. 11 As they went up the hill to the city, they met some young women going out to draw water, and said to them, “Is the seer here?” 12 And they answered them and said, “Yes, there he is, just ahead of you. Hurry now; for today he came to this city, because there is a sacrifice of the people today on the high place. 13 As soon as you come into the city, you will surely find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now therefore, go up, for about this time you will find him.” 14 So they went up to the city. As they were coming into the city, there was Samuel, coming out toward them on his way up to the high place. 15 Now the LORD had told Samuel in his ear the day before Saul came, saying, 16 “Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him commander over My people Israel, that he may save My people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have looked upon My people, because their cry has come to Me.”17 So when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said to him, “There he is, the man of whom I spoke to you. This one shall reign over My people.” 18 Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, “Please tell me, where is the seer’s house?” 19 Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and tomorrow I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart.

Saul had no prior knowledge of Samuel, but wanted to see him, asking his whereabouts of the women. Saul asks: “Is the seer here?” “The difference between seer and prophet is an interesting one. A prophet is one who speaks for God being moved by God; he is the mouthpiece of the LORD. The term seer suggests the knowledge the prophet had. The people were more concerned about the seer than the prophet. Thus Saul shows the state of his heart. He does not seek God, nor the prophet as the man and mouthpiece of God; only the seer.” (Arno Gaebelein) He only wanted to find His father’s donkeys.

And they answered them and said, “Yes, there he is, just ahead of you. Hurry now; for today he came to this city, because there is a sacrifice of the people today on the high place. As soon as you come into the city, you will surely find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now therefore, go up, for about this time you will find him.” (12-13) There was an invitation only reception, other than daily sacrifices or the annual feasts,— a “feast for specially invited guests... and this necessarily involved the sacrificing of freewill and thanksgiving sacrifices from which the meat would come. It would appear that other priests would sacrifice the sacrifices but that Samuel would bless the sacrificial meal, at which point all would be able to eat. So if that was why they had come seeking the seer they would find him there and needed to hurry so as to be there in time for the sacrifices and blessing.” (Peter Pett)

Saul said, “Please tell me, where is the seer’s house?” Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer.” etc. (18-19a) “He appears to have been content with the plain house in which he was born: his person was undistinguished with robes, chains of gold, or retinue. When Saul met the venerable plain old man, he asked for the seer’s house, little expecting the answer, 'I am the seer.'… Hence we learn, that holy men, whose minds are filled with the love of God and his truth, are not delighted with the exterior decorations of dress and equipage: they shun alike the distinctions of meanness and pride.” (Joseph Sutcliffe)

1 Samuel 9:The Best that Unregenerate Israel Has to Offer

19 Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and tomorrow I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart.

20 But as for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not be anxious about them, for they have been found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on you and on all your father’s house?” 21 And Saul answered and said, “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak like this to me?”

“I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today and tomorrow I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart,” that is “the secret thoughts of thy heart, or such actions as none know but God and thy own heart.” (Matthew Poole)

Perhaps vanity drew this good looking, strong, young man to desire greatness. Samuel "would on the morrow show this young Benjamite that he was indeed a seer; he would tell him all his secret thoughts and aspirations; as for those asses for whose fate he was so anxious, let him dismiss these from his thoughts altogether. They were already found. Far graver thoughts than the everyday weal and woe of a farm on Mount Ephraim had to be discussed on the morrow. ‘And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on you and on all your father’s house?’ On whom is ‘all the desire of Israel?’…or, as the Vulg. renders it,….’the best in Israel?’ (Luther). The words do not signify the desire of Israel—all that it desires—but all that it possesses of what is precious or worth desiring. The obscure dark words of the seer on this, the occasion of his first meeting with Saul, were intended to draw him away from thinking about the asses and the little matters which hitherto had filled his life, and to lift him up to higher thoughts and aspirations.” (C. J. Ellicott)

When Samuel acquaints Saul that he is the best in Israel, he speaks of his own littleness. “It reminds us of that other Saul of the tribe of Benjamin, the Apostle Paul, whose name means ‘little.’” (Arno Gaebelein) But he is no Paul who counted all of his trophies as garbage compared to the knowledge of Christ for indeed, Saul proclaimed: “The tribe of Benjamin, originally the smallest of all the tribes Numbers 1:36, if Ephraim and Manasseh are reckoned as one tribe, had been nearly annihilated by the civil war recorded in Judges 20. It had of course not recovered from that terrible calamity in the time of Saul, and was doubtless literally much the smallest tribe at that time. Nothing could be more improbable, humanly speaking, than that this weak tribe should give a ruler to the mighty tribes of Joseph and Judah.” (Albert Barnes)

“And my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak like this to me?” This is not true humidity but fact— they were “the smallest in number, had the least share of authority in the tribe, and of land and cattle, wealth and substance.” (John Gill)

1 Samuel 9: So Saul Ate With Samuel That Day

22 Now Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall, and had them sit in the place of honor among those who were invited; there were about thirty persons. 23 And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion which I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Set it apart.’” 24 So the cook took up the thigh with its upper part and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Here it is, what was kept back. It was set apart for you. Eat; for until this time it has been kept for you, since I said I invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

Saul and his servant were brought into a room, perhaps likened unto the holy place of the tabernacle were the priests fellowship. “The toil-worn but noble-looking traveler found himself suddenly seated among… distinguished guest.” (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown) “Not only was Saul thus highly honoured… as the future king, but his servant also. If, as tradition tells us, this servant was Doeg the Edomite, he, too, on this occasion had a foretaste of his future position, an earnest of the rank and power which he would receive when one of Saul’s great officers of state.” (C. J. Ellicott)

Samuel was likely the officiating priest for this peace offering. The "cook" was a servant of the prophet, an ordinary Levite who helped him with the preparation of the sacrificial meal. Samuel had “charge of the preparation, not only of the cooking, but also of the butchering.” (Daniel Whedon) Samuel likely slew the offering and his aid helped him prepare it under his supervision, and according to Torah- and as it is written, reserved the shoulder and its appurtenances for him. But he asked that they be held until the honored guests had taken their places.

"‘Bring the portion which I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Set it apart.’” All “was symbolical in this preparation for the great change in the constitution of Israel, which, under God’s providence, was fraught with such important consequences.” (C. J. Ellicott) This part was Samuel's to eat as he saw fit. “So he took up the thigh with its upper part and set it before Saul.“ "The shoulder and its appurtenances - would give the sense accurately. The right shoulder was the priest‘s portion in the Levitical sacrifices, Leviticus 7:32. Probably it was Samuel‘s own portion in this case, and he gave... [shared with] Saul [and his servant] as a mark of the highest honor.” (Albert Barnes) They partook of the shoulder and its appurtenances together with Samuel, “as a secret symbol or sign of that burden which was to be laid upon Saul, and of that strength which was necessary for the bearing of it; the shoulder being both the seat of burdens, and the subject of strength.” (Matthew Poole) Prophet and king were meant to share the burdens of Israel together in the strength of Yahweh.

1 Samuel 9: Ramah of the Watchers Talk 25 When they had come down from the high place into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul on the top of the house. And when they were come down from the high place of God, wherein was sacrifice, into the city, they went into the high places of “Ramah of the Watchers” on the rooftops. They went into Samuel’s house and the prophet and future king fellowshipped together speaking of things pertaining to righteousness. “Samuel revealed the secret, and described the special duties of a monarch in a nation so related to the Divine King as Israel.” (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown) They “continued their conversation on the typically flat roof of the house, probably for privacy as well as comfort ( 1 Samuel 9:25; cf. Acts 10:9).” (Dr. Thomas B. Constable) “What they communed about is not said, but may be guessed at, that it was about Saul's being made king; of the certainty of it, by divine designation; of the manner of executing that office wisely and justly.” (John Gill) “Samuel could not but communicate to Saul the treasured thoughts of his lifetime regarding the way to govern Israel. He must have recalled to him God's purpose regarding His people, beginning with the call of Abraham, dwelling on the deliverance from Egypt, and touching on the history of the several judges, and the lessons to be derived from each.” (Expositor's Bible) “The solemn words of the old man that evening on the house-top in ‘Ramah of the Watchers’ referred, no doubt, to the sad religious and political decline of the people of God, from which he (Samuel) had laboured, not unsuccessfully, to rescue them, 'to the opposition of the heathen nations, the causes of the impotency of Israel to oppose their enemies, the necessity of a religious change in the people, and of a leader thoroughly obedient to the Lord.’—Otto von Gerlach, quoted in Lange. It has been suggested that this conversation was the connecting link between that on the height (1 Samuel 9:19-20) and the communication which Samuel made to Saul the following morning.” (C.J. Ellicott)

1 Samuel 9: Early Morning Departure

26 They arose early; and it was about the dawning of the day that Samuel called to Saul on the top of the house, saying, “Get up, that I may send you on your way.” And Saul arose, and both of them went outside, he and Samuel. 27 As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us.” And he went on. “But you stand here awhile, that I may announce to you the word of God.” Early the next morning, “Samuel called Saul to the top of the house a second time, to impart something more to him. ‘That I may send thee away’; prepare thyself for thy departure and journey. ‘And Saul arose, and both of them went abroad’; Samuel accompanying Saul part of his way.” (Matthew Poole) “As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, ‘Tell the servant to go on ahead of us.’ And he went on.”- as if to say that this is not a package deal.- “But you stand here awhile, that I may announce to you the word of God.” (27) — “a message delivered to me from God, which now I shall impart to thee.” (Matthew Poole) Saul’s servant Is sent ahead and Samuel announced the word of God to Saul alone, “the object of which is narrated in the next chapter.” (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown) which He “confirms him by prediction of three signs.” (Matthew Poole)