GOD LEADS SAUL TO SAMUEL
A. Saul searches for his father's donkeys
1. (1 Sam 9:1-2) Kish, the father of Saul, and his son Saul
Now there was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjaminite, a mighty man of valor. He had a son whose name was Saul, a choice and handsome man, and there was not a more handsome person than he among the sons of Israel; from the shoulders and up he was taller than any of the people.
Another stream of events: Chapter 8 recorded the events of the Israelites rejecting Samuel's sons as being judges over them and demanding a king to reign over them. At the end of chapter 8, Samuel tell the elders of Israel to return back to their homes. Now, the story shifts. We are introduced to Saul, the future first king of Israel. We begin another adventure as we learn how Saul meets Samuel and is anointed king of Israel.
Genealogy: The genealogy of Saul given here is incomplete. As is the Jewish custom, this is only an abbreviated summary of his family ancestry. Other abbreviated versions of Saul's genealogy are given in the Book of First Chronicles, which includes some of the same names, omits some names and includes other names. The best genealogy which can be generated based on the information is as follows: Benjamin, Becher, Aphish (perhaps the same as Abiah), Bechorath, Zeror (or Zur), Abiel, Ner, Kish, Saul.
A mighty man of valor: The Hebrew here may either mean Kish was a man of valor as is the Hebrew used in 1 Samuel 16:18: "Then one of the young men said, 'Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, a mighty man of valor, a warrior, one prudent in speech, and a handsome man; and the LORD is with him.'" Or the Hebrew may imply Kish was a wealthy man, as used in Ruth 2:1: "Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz." The verse most likely implies Kish was a man of valor based upon Saul's remark about his family's low status in 1 Samuel 9:21: " Saul replied, '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 to me in this way?'" If you wish to have the Greek Septuagint influence your decision which meaning of the Hebrew to render for this verse, the Greek version translates this verse as "a powerful man".
Saul: The name Saul means "asked". It was one of the most distinguished names in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. (The Apostle Paul's Hebrew name was Saul.)
A choice and handsome man: Saul had a fine appearance. He probably "looked" like a king. Israel wanted a king to rule over them, and Saul was just the man for them. Notice how we are told all about Saul's family and his appearance, but there is no mention of his relationship with God? This represents Israel's current state as well. They were all about appearances, wanting to look like other nations while at the same time, turning their backs on God.
From the shoulders and up he was taller than any of the people: Some scholars believe Saul was almost a giant, measuring in at just under seven feet tall. I, on the other hand, think Saul was probably more about six feet tall. In general, Jews are not tall. From my experience, a Jew six feet tall is considered to be a giant. So Saul may not have been extremely tall, just tall for a Jew.
2. (1 Sam 9:3-10) Saul and his servant search for his father's donkeys
Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. So Kish said to his son Saul, "Take now with you one of the servants, and arise, go search for the donkeys." He passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they were not there. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they did not find them. When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, "Come, and let us return, or else my father will cease to be concerned about the donkeys and will become anxious for us." He said to him, "Behold now, there is a man of God in this city, and the man is held in honor; all that he says surely comes true. Now let us go there, perhaps he can tell us about our journey on which we have set out." Then Saul said to his servant, "But behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread is gone from our sack and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?" The servant answered Saul again and said, "Behold, I have in my hand a fourth of a shekel of silver; I will give it to the man of God and he will tell us our way." (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he used to say, "Come, and let us go to the seer"; for he who is called a prophet now was formerly called a seer.) Then Saul said to his servant, "Well said; come, let us go." So they went to the city where the man of God was.
The donkeys of Kish...were lost: Donkeys in ancient times were valuable animals. With the scarcity of horses, donkeys were a valuable commodity for farm work and travelling. Shepherds in pastoral regions often let their animals roam abroad during the grazing season. At the close of grazing season, search parties were dispensed to find the roaming animals. Saul's original mission was nothing extraordinary. (Interesting to note, Saul's mission which resulted in Samuel anointing him as king involves the search for donkeys. Jesus, the ultimate King of kings, rides into Jerusalem seated on a donkey.)
Saul's journey: The route which Saul traveled cannot be traced with any certainty. He would have started at his home in Gibeah, traveling in a northwest direction through Mount Ephraim and through the land of Shalishah. Then turning south, he traveled through the land of Shaalim in the territory of Dan. Then turning east, he searched the western part of the land of Benjamin until the reached the land of Zuph (in which lay Samuel's hometown of Ramah). It seems probable that the unnamed city of 1 Samuel 9:6 is Ramah for Saul's servant speaks of it as the prophet's regular residence (1 Sam 9:6). Moreover, it is easy to connect the land of Zuph, in which it was situated, with Ramah's full name Ramathaim-Zophim (see 1 Samuel 1:1).
They did not find them...they were not there...did not find them: It is interesting to read about Saul's long journey to find the lost donkeys. Although Saul and his servant tried and tried to find the donkeys, they never completed their mission. Instead, God was directing the donkeys. God was using this journey to lead Saul to Samuel. I wonder how frustrated Saul and his servant must have been after not finding the donkeys? Little did they know, God had other plans for their journey. How often are we on a seemingly unsuccessful mission? We search and search for something, only never to find. Or we desire to accomplish a task only to be lead astray on another mission. Are we able to keep our eyes open and appreciate God is directing our paths Or are we too consumed with the task at hand and are blind to God's handiwork?
Come, and let us return: This is such an loving insight into Saul's relationship with his father. Saul is searching for valuable donkeys; yet, he knows if he is gone from home too long, his father will be worried about him. What a beautiful relationship Saul must have had with his father.
Behold now, there is a man of God in this city: Seeing they were in Ramah, the home residence of Samuel the prophet, Saul's servant suggests going to inquire of Samuel. It seems strange that Saul did not know anything about Samuel. But, perhaps, the days of Samuel's triumphal prayer to God, which defeated the Philistines, and his long history of judging Israel was now being forgotten. Samuel was growing old. Saul's family might not have kept up the oral tradition of passing down the past to their children. With Saul tending the donkeys and busy with the work of the farm, he may not have had little knowledge of people beyond his neighborhood.
What shall we bring the man?: It might seem strange that a man of God would need a gift in order to proclaim God's Word. But, what is more probably being referred to here is the custom of offering a gift as a respectful homage to a superior than as a fee for service charge. In fact, in 2 Kings chapter five, we read about Elisha refusing a lavish gift for his prophet services. When Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram, visits Israel to ask to be cleansed of his leprosy, the prophet Elisha tells Naaman to dip himself seven times in Jordan River and he will be cleansed. After following Elisha instructions and being cleansed from leprosy, Naaman offers Elisha a large sum of money and ten sets of clothing; Elisha refuses the gift. "When he [Naaman] returned to the man of God with all his company, and came and stood before him [Elisha], he said, 'Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel; so please take a present from your servant now.' But he said, 'As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will take nothing.' And he urged him to take it, but he refused" (2 Kings 5:15-16).
There are many accounts in which gifts are given to honor a person. When Jacob sends his sons back to Egypt with Benjamin to obtain more food during the time of famine, he sends an abundance of gifts: "Then their father Israel said to them, "If it must be so, then do this: take some of the best products of the land in your bags, and carry them down to the man as a present, a little balm and a little honey, aromatic gum and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds" (Genesis 43:11). The Queen of Sheba sends an elaborate amount of goods to Solomon when she visits him at Jerusalem: "She gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and a very great amount of spices and precious stones. Never again did such abundance of spices come in as that which the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon" (1 Kings 10:10).
Moreover, gifts are almost always mentioned whenever a person inquired of a prophet. In 1 Kings 14:3 we read: "Jeroboam said to his wife, 'Arise now, and disguise yourself so that they will not know that you are the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh; behold, Abijah the prophet is there, who spoke concerning me that I would be king over this people. Take ten loaves with you, some cakes and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy.'"
Fourth part of a shekel of silver: Little is known about the shekel during this time in history. We do not know the size of the coin or the worth of the coin. The only thing we can surmise from the narrative is a shekel could be broken into four parts. It is likely that a shekel was a single coin. When a person needed to purchase something, the coin could be broken into four parts.
Formerly in Israel...:And now for a little Hebrew. This parenthetical statement appears to have been added by a scribe as a point of clarification in the text. The word "seer" is the Hebrew word "ra'ah". It is an ancient title which denotes a man inspired by God. "Ra'ah" was the word used most often to describe Samuel. During Samuel's lifetime, the word "nabi" began to be the commonly used word to describe a prophet. There are a few places in the Bible in which Samuel is referred to as "nabi. As time passed, "ra'ah" became an obsolete word and no longer was exclusively used for a man of God. The scribe who added this point of clarification did so to point out that when Samuel lived, "ra'ah" was the word always used for a prophet of the LORD.
So they went to the city where the man of God was: The name of the city where Samuel and Saul first meet is strangely not given. It seems implied the city was Ramah, for we know from 1 Samuel 7:17, Samuel had a house in Ramah. Saul's servant seemed to know that Samuel dwelt in this city, and in 1 Samuel 9:18, Saul asks Samuel where his house is. Like other mysteries in the Bible, it is unknown why the name of the city is not specifically mentioned in the text. However, using the narrative as a guide, we can guess the city in which Saul and his servant are about to enter is the city of Ramah.
3. (1 Sam 9:11-14) Saul and his servant inquire where to find the seer
As they went up the slope to the city, they found young women going out to draw water and said to them, "Is the seer here?" They answered them and said, "He is; see, he is ahead of you. Hurry now, for he has some into the city today, for the people have a sacrifice on the high place today. As soon as you enter the city you will 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 you will find him at once." So they went up to the city. As they came into the city, behold, Samuel was coming out toward them to go up to the high place.
As they went up: Ramah was situated on a hill. The city wells were usually located outside the city gates on low ground or in a valley. Women going out to draw water from the well was a common task in the ancient mid-east. Isaac's servant meet Rebekah at a well as she came to draw water (Genesis 24:15). Jacob meets Rachel at the well as she came to water her father's sheep (Genesis 29). Moses also meets his future wife at a well in Midian. "Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and they came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father's flocks" (Exodus 2:16).
For the people have a sacrifice: The exact celebration for the sacrifice is not mentioned. Since it was not an area-wide event, we can probably rule out the special occasion was a main feast day such as Passover, Shavuot or Tabernacles. Instead, it could have been a lesser feast such as a new moon celebration or possibly come other special thanksgiving offering.
In the high place: Here was the altar which Samue built in 1 Samuel 7:17 ("Then his return was to Ramah, for his house was there, and there he judged Israel; and he built there an altar to the LORD.") A natural instinct is to build a place of worship on top of hills. Such high places were frequently used as places to worship God. These high places were not against the Torah as long as there was no formal place of worship. With Shiloh being destroyed by the Philistines and the Ark of the Covenant being housed in a private residence at Kiriath-jearim, the altar built at Ramah was a place for public worship to God. Since there was no formal place to worship God, this altar was not against Deuteronomy 12:11-14: "Then it shall come about that the place in which the LORD your God will choose for His name to dwell, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution of your hand, and all your choice votive offerings which you will vow to the LORD. And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance with you. Be careful that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every cultic place you see, but in the place which the LORD chooses in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you."
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