The tribe of Benjamin from which Saul came from were very strong on leadership and very influential among the twelve tribes.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The genealogy of Saul is here given as far as Aphiah, ‘Abiah,’ 1 Chronicles 7:8, who was of the house of Becher the son of Benjamin, Genesis 46:21. ‘Kish’, 1 Chronicles 9:35-39, was the son of ‘Ner’ the son of ‘Jehiel,’ or, ‘Abiel’ here and 1 Samuel 14:51, the first settler, ‘father,’ 1 Chronicles 9:35, at Gibeon, or Gibeah of Saul, and who married ‘Maachah,’ a daughter or granddaughter of Caleb. If so, it is obvious that the names of several generations are omitted between Kish and Abiel, and among them that from which the family of Matri 1 Samuel 10:21 was called.’
Saul is described as being ‘a man of standing’, 1 Samuel 9:1, which means he was prestigious among the tribe. The main problem with Saul, as we shall see later is that he was more concerned about pleasing men and getting approval from men, rather than God. Saul wasn’t a teenager, but a ‘handsome young man’, 1 Samuel 9:2, which basically means he was in the prime of his life, and good looking. He appears to have made an impression on others around him. Sauls father Kish and so he tells Saul to take a servant and go with find it, 1 Samuel 9:3.
He went through the hill country of Ephraim and through the area around Shalisha, but they did not find them, 1 Samuel 9:4. He went into the district of Shaalim, but the donkeys were not there and then he passed through the territory of Benjamin, but they did not find them, 1 Samuel 9:4. When they reached the district of Zuph, Saul decides to go back, or his father will stop thinking about the donkeys and start worrying about them, 1 Samuel 9:5.
The servant tells Saul there is a man of God in this town, 1 Samuel 9:6. The ‘man of God’ was Samuel who is described as being highly respected and everything he says comes true, 1 Samuel 9:6. It was Samuel that Saul hoped would tell him where his father’s missing sheep were, 1 Samuel 9:6. As was the custom of the day, anyone seeking advice from a man of God had to bring a gift in return for any answers, 1 Samuel 9:7 / Ezekiel 13:19 / Hosea 3:2 / Galatians 6:6.
We must note that Israel didn’t have coins of any currency at this point in time, that didn’t happen until the Romans came along. Buying and selling were done using weights of gold or silver and in some cases, it would be livestock which was used for their currency. The silver mentioned here, 1 Samuel 9:8, weighed around 2.5 grams, or one-tenth of an ounce, of pure silver.
A seer, 1 Samuel 9:9, was basically someone who made prophetic announcements, while a prophet spoke the Word of God to the people. Sometimes they spoke about what was happening there and then and other times they spoke about future events.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘A seer and a prophet were the same in most cases; only with this difference, the seer was always a prophet, but the prophet was not always a seer. A seer seems to imply one who frequently met with, and saw, some symbolical representation of God. The term prophet was used a long time before this; Abraham is called a prophet, Genesis 20:7, and the term frequently occurs in the law. Besides, the word seer does not occur before this time; but often occurs afterwards down through the prophets, for more than three hundred years, Amos 7:12 / Micah 3:7.’
Saul agrees that this is a good idea and so they set off to meet Samuel, 1 Samuel 9:10.
As Saul and his servant were going up the hill, they met some young women who were going to get water, to supply their household needs, 1 Samuel 9:11. This was customary in Bible times, Genesis 24:15 / John 4:7. Saul also asked the young women if the seer is here, 1 Samuel 9:11, to which they reply yes, he’s ahead of them but they need to be quick because he has just come to their town today, for the people have a sacrifice at the high place, 1 Samuel 9:12. The ‘high place’, 1 Samuel 9:12, was the place where the worship of idols usually occurred.
Clarke, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Though Samuel lived chiefly in Ramah, yet he had a dwelling in the country, at a place called Naioth, where it is probable there was a school of the prophets, 1 Samuel 19:18-24.’
Notice that the people won’t eat until the ‘seer’ had blessed the sacrifice first, 1 Samuel 9:13, to bless the sacrifice is another way of saying giving thanks for the sacrifice, Luke 9:16 / John 6:11. It was the ‘high place’ of worship where the people would eat, Exodus 29:13 / Exodus 29:22 / Leviticus 3:4 / Leviticus 3:10 / Leviticus 3:15.
It was the Israelite’s custom to eat together when they worshipped together, this custom is seen in the New Testament too, 1 Corinthians 11:13-34 / 2 Peter 2:13 / Jude 12. 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, 1 Samuel 9:14.
God revealed to Samuel the man he was to anoint and make ‘ruler’, 1 Samuel 9:15-16. The word, ‘ruler’ is sometimes translated as ‘captain’ or ‘prince’ which has the same meaning as the word ‘king’. Samuel is to Anoint him ruler over my people Israel and he will deliver them from the hand of the Philistines, 1 Samuel 9:16. God says He has looked on His people, for their cry has reached Him, 1 Samuel 9:16.
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, 1 Samuel 9:17. The word ‘govern’ is sometimes translated as ‘reign’, which again assumes that Saul would be anointed as a king. When Saul approaches Samuel he asked, would you please tell me where the seer’s house is? 1 Samuel 9:18. Samuel tells him that he is seer and tells him to 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, 1 Samuel 9:19.
Notice that Samuel tells him that the dinkeys he’s been searching for have been found, 1 Samuel 9:20. He also says to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and your whole family line? 1 Samuel 9:20. The desire of Israel was to have a physical king rule over them, as the nations around them did, 1 Samuel 8:6-9, and it appears that Saul didn’t have a clue what Samuel was speaking about. Saul really shows his lack of confidence by telling Samuel that he was from the least of the tribes of Israel and Benjamin was fairly insignificant compared to the other tribes, 1 Samuel 9:21.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘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.’
At this point, we can see Saul’s humility, but as we shall see later, this humility wasn’t going to last very long. We must note that Saul now fully understands what Samuel is saying to him concerning him becoming king of Israel, Judges 6:15.
Saul was given the place of honour at the dinner table, 1 Samuel 9:22, and the ‘piece of meat’, 1 Samuel 9:23, that Samuel gave him was the shoulder of the animal. This is significant because this part of the animal was reserved for the priests. So the cook took up the thigh with what was on it and set it in front of Saul and Samuel Saul this is what has been kept for him, 1 Samuel 9:24.
He tells Saul to eat, because it was set aside for you for this occasion from the time I said, ‘I have invited guests,’ 1 Samuel 9:24. And Saul dined with Samuel that day, 1 Samuel 9:24. Samuel was truly exalting Saul because Saul was chosen by God to be the first king of Israel and lead His people.
Samuel and Saul spoke on the roof of Samuel’s house, 1 Samuel 9:25, which was common in the day. They rose about daybreak, which implies Saul stayed the night and slept on the roof. Samuel called to Saul and tells him to get ready, and he will send him on his way, 1 Samuel 9:26. When Saul got ready, he and Samuel went outside together, 1 Samuel 9:26.
As they were going, 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, 1 Samuel 9:27. I’m pretty sure Samuel would have spoken to him about his spiritual concerns for Israel as a nation, and it appears that Samuel wanted to establish a long-lasting relationship with Saul right from the start. The anointing of Saul would take place on the next day, as we shall see in the next chapter.