Samuel Meets Sha’ul
First Samuel 9: 15-25
Samuel meets Sha’ul DIG: Why did Sha’ul balk at Samuel’s desire to anoint him king? What does this say about the way he viewed himself? In what ways did Samuel honor Sha’ul at the feast? How might Sha’ul have become a great king? What are some of the indications we see in this story as to why he ended up going astray? Ultimately, did Sha’ul choose to choose the path to ruin?
REFLECT: Which habit is strongest in your life: the habit of obedience or the habit of indulgence? What area of obedience could you strengthen this week? What gifts has God given you? How are you using those gifts to obey Him more fully? How are you demonstrating faith that God will use those gifts to achieve His purposes? Like King Sha’ul, you have choices, how will you use them?
The people would get their king, but it ended up being part of His judgment against the nation.
So it was that the people had demanded a king, and ADONAI had agreed to their demands (to see link click Bq – Give Us a King: ADONAI’s answer to Samuel). The young man YHVH would select for the job was named Sha’ul. He was young, strong and tall, standing head and shoulders above everyone else in Isra’el. From the world’s perspective, Sha’ul had the perfect background and ideal qualifications for a king. But the world’s perspective is not God’s perspective. Sha’ul may have appeared kingly on the outside, but as we will see, his heart was not turned toward the LORD, which was the primary qualification for Isra’el’s king. His life would ultimately demonstrate a failing common in politics even today: doing what is expedient while always looking out for one’s own self-interests.217
God’s revelation to Samuel (9:15-17): God’s purpose in Sha’ul’s donkey chase (see Bu – Sha’ul and the Lost Donkeys) becomes clear as soon as we get Samuel’s perspective. Now the day before Sha’ul arrived, ADONAI had given Samuel a revelation, literally uncovered the ear of, as if whispering in Samuel’s ear: Tomorrow at about this time I will send you an obscure Benjaminite, emphasizing God’s sovereignty in the matter. You are to anoint him with olive oil as the prince (Hebrew: nagid) over My people Isra’el (9:15-16a). It symbolized the coming of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh. The word “king” is deliberately avoided because YHVH is Isra’el’s King.218 It is interesting that the LORD didn’t identify Sha’ul as Isra’el’s king. In any case, we can be assured that God had not changed His approach based on the demand of the elders. Ha’Shem was still raising up a man of His own choosing to lead His people in troubled times. Even though Sha’ul would be made king by popular demand, he would still be raised up as God’s choice, as had been true of the judges.
He will deliver My people from the hand of the Philistines. This shows that the Philistines had regained their dominance over Isra’el after being defeated a few years earlier (see Be – The Ark in the Land of the Philistines). I have seen My people’s situation, and their cry of distress has reached me” (9:16b). In language strongly reminiscent of the Exodus, the LORD had looked upon the people of Isra’el (Exodus 2:23), whose cry had reached Him (Exodus 3:9). The new leader would have the potential of delivering Isra’el from the Philistines, although some troublemakers doubted that Sha’ul would be able to drive them out.219
When Samuel saw Sha’ul, ADONAI said to him, “This is the man I told you about, the one who is going to govern (Hebrew: ya’tzor) My people’ (9:17). The word ya’tzor is almost always used in a negative way, meaning imprisonment or hindrance. In other words, God determined to use Sha’ul’s career as a means of punishing the nation. As he governed Isra’el, his policies and behavior would hinder the welfare of the nation and act as a sort of a barrier separating Isra’el from God’s best for them.220 Ha’Shem gave them their king all right, but it ended up being part of His judgment against the nation. As they were sitting in Babylon (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gu – Seventy Years of Imperial Babylonian Rule), Zedekiah would be the last human king of Isra’el (see Jeremiah Fy – A Warning to Zedekiah). God’s ultimate answer to their foolish decision is recorded in Hosea 13:9-11, “It is your destruction, Isra’el, although your help is in Me. So now, where is your king, to save you in all your cities? Where are your judges, of whom you said: Give me a king and leaders’? I gave you a king in My anger; and in My fury I took him away.”221
Samuel meets Sha’ul (9:18-21): Sha’ul approached Samuel in the gateway and said: Please tell me where the seer’s house is. He didn’t know who Samuel was. So Samuel answered Sha’ul, “I’m the seer (9:18-19a). Samuel, the seer, “caught sight” of Sha’ul, and raised him up to govern because YHVH had seen the distress of His people. This is the man, God said to Samuel (9:17), in a scene that would be replayed with only modest variations a few years later, this time in 16:12 with David as the subject (anoint him, for he is the one). The string of parallels can be extended to Isaiah 42:1-4 (Here is My servant) and John 19:5 (Here is the man), John 19:14 (Here is your king), all of which refer to Yeshua as “the Messiah,” the “Anointed One,” who neither disappoints nor fails and whose Kingdom has no end.222
Sha’ul knew nothing of God’s message, nor did he know who Samuel was. But Samuel knew Sha’ul, and he responded to the young man’s greeting with an invitation to come to the high place to partake in the sacrificial meal and spend the night. Go up ahead of me to the high place, because you are going to eat with me today. In the morning, I will let you go and I will tell you everything that is in your heart (9:19b). Samuel the seer authenticated his prophetic role by revealing Sha’ul’s innermost thoughts and relieved Samuel’s mind by informing him that his father’s donkeys had been found.223 As for your donkeys that got lost three days ago, don’t worry about them; they’ve been found. Now, who is it that all Isra’el desires? The desirable thing that all Isra’el wanted was the kingship, and Sha’ul was destined to receive it. Therefore, the answer was: Isn’t it you, and all your father’s household” (9:20)?224
Puzzled, Sha’ul replied: I’m only a man from Benjamin, the smallest tribe in Isra’el (see the commentary on Judges Cd – War Against the Tribe of Benjamin); and my family is the least important of all the families in the tribe of Benjamin! Why are you saying such a thing to me (9:21)? Like Gideon before him (Judges 6:15), he felt unworthy of the honor, whatever it was, and not a little scared (10:22) by the sudden new development in his life. It may also have been considered good manners to play down one’s social standing, especially in the presence of God’s prophet or messenger, but in Sha’ul’s case there seems to have been a modesty that was combined with a shy temperament.225
Sha’ul at the feast (9:22-24): Sha’ul was surprised to be seated at the place of honor, with choice cuts of meat set aside in advance for his coming. Sha’ul and his servant were ushered into the feast where they would eat, and had them sit in the place reserved for the most important of the invited guests, who numbered about thirty persons. Samuel instructed the cook, “Serve the portion of meat I gave you and told you to set it aside.” The cook took the right thigh, normally reserved for the priest (Exodus 29:27; Leviticus 7:32-34), and served it to Sha’ul, who thought of himself as the least, was treated as the greatest. This was a visual picture that Sha’ul was the one destined to be the first king of Isra’el.
Sha’ul must have also been confused that not only was he expected, but he was also treated as though he were a priest. Samuel said: Here, this is what has been kept for you! Eat, because it was kept especially for you for this occasion. I have invited guests, but they would have to wait to eat until Sha’ul started eating (9:22-24a). Sha’ul did not yet know that he was ADONAI’s choice for Isra’el’s first king, and so, as the LORD’s anointed, he was entitled to special privileges, including the portion of meat normally eaten by a priest. It was a “special time,” indeed, a time for celebration – unlike a future “set time” (13: 8 and 11), when Sha’ul’s impatience and disobedience would start his downfall (see Ck – God rejects Sha’ul).226
That same day, after coming down from the high place to the city, he spoke with Sha’ul on the roof of his house (9:24b-25). There, they had a long talk in which Samuel rehearsed for Sha’ul all the events that led up to this historic meeting. Sha’ul didn’t understand everything that was happening to him, but all would be explained to him the next day (see Bx – Samuel anoints Sha’ul).227
If we make a habit of obeying ADONAI, it will be easier to obey Him when we face stressful situations. Sha’ul was concerned with outward appearances and took great care to say and do “the right things.” He worried about having a suitable gift for the seer when he couldn’t find his father’s donkeys. He was concerned about the protocol of dealing with God’s prophet, but not so concerned about the obedience that came with it. Samuel, in contrast, had made it an overriding habit to obey the LORD’s voice. He had learned that lesson as a boy in the Tabernacle, and he had continued to practice it the rest of his life. Later, when YHVH commanded him to anoint David as king (see the commentary on the Life of David Ah – Samuel Anoints David), he obeyed in spite of the fact that he was risking his life in the process. Samuel obeyed God in difficult circumstances because it was his habit – a habit that he developed on a daily basis. We make something a habit by doing it frequently over an extended period of time. For example, physical exercise can become a habit if we do it each day for several months. Obedience to God’s Word can also become a habit simply by the routine of obeying it on a daily basis.228
Dear heavenly Father, praise You for being omniscient, knowing all, omnipresent, being everywhere, and omnipotent, all-powerful. Your magnificent qualities mean that when You guide me, You are always guiding me to what is best. You see the future so you know how to lead me in Your godly ways. Sometimes a path may appear to look like it might be easier than what You have said in Your Word, or something that You have warned me not to do from Your Spirit, but the world can be deceiving. Lord, help me to always follow You and say no to the world. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; love and faithfulness go before You (Psalms 89:14). I know I can trust You with total confidence; the more I obey You, the more I am blessed. To the One Who sits at Your right hand. Amen
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