Saul was an impressive young man from a wealthy family. He was handsome and taller than anyone else. When you saw him, you might think he would make a good king. But first, he had to find one of his father’s lost donkeys.
Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul his son, “Take one of the young men with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys (1 Samuel 9:7).
Saul is one of the most complex characters in the Old Testament. Sometimes, as we will see in this story, he was humble and took direction from a servant. Other times, he ignored God and others out of arrogance and pride.
In this instance, humble Saul took advice from his servant.
When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let us go back, lest my father cease to care about the donkeys and become anxious about us.”
But he said to him, “Behold, there is a man of God in this city, and he is a man who is held in honor; all that he says comes true. So now let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us the way we should go” (1 Samuel 9:5-6).
Saul had to rely on his servant to provide a gift for the prophet.
Then Saul said to his servant, “But if we go, what can we bring the man? For the bread in our sacks is gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?”
The servant answered Saul again, “Here, I have with me a quarter of a shekel of silver, and I will give it to the man of God to tell us our way” (1 Samuel 9:7-8).
Saul’s humility is further emphasized by his willingness to take directions from women from the city.
They went to the city where the man of God was.
As they went up the hill to the city, they met young women coming out to draw water and said to them, “Is the seer here?”
They answered, “He is; behold, he is just ahead of you. Hurry. He has come just now to the city, because the people have a sacrifice today on the high place.
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 till he comes, since he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now go up, for you will meet him immediately” (1 Samuel 9:10-13).
The Seer Sees
Saul was good-looking, tall, and came from a wealthy family. Despite this, he was just a young man searching for a donkey, needing help from his servant, and taking directions from women fetching water.
He seemed an unlikely choice for the next king. However, the seer Samuel saw things differently.
Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed to Samuel: “Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel.
He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have seen my people, because their cry has come to me.”
When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke to you! He it is who shall restrain my people” (1 Samuel 9:15-17).
He didn’t judge by appearances; he followed God’s guidance. God told him that this young man would be the king the people wanted.
Reflections
I’ve often thought about a passage from Isaiah. In it, God calls His servant blind.
Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like the messenger I send? Who is blind like the one in covenant with me, blind like the servant of the LORD?” (Isaiah 42:19).
Honestly, I’ve been blind to God’s work in my life many times. Only looking back with 20/20 hindsight has shown me how God has been at work.
I imagine Saul felt the same way. He had no clue that while searching for a donkey, he would be anointed king by Samuel, the prophet and last judge of Israel.
We are going to explore Saul’s arrogance and how it led to his downfall. I can recall times in my life when pride got in the way of what God wanted for me, leaving me embarrassed.
As I’ve aged, I hope I’ve become a little humbler. I now see God’s greatness and my own weaknesses more clearly.
I understand that God is always working quietly, sometimes even secretly, to fulfill His plans in my life. Although I’ve never gone searching for a donkey like Saul, God has guided me in unexpected ways that turned out to be more amazing than I could have imagined.
How about you?
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 