1 Samuel 9 - The Lost Shepherd
The world is led by empty suits. Stop mindlessly following them and instead turn to Christ.
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1 Samuel 9 (ESV)
1 There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish,
the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite,
a man of wealth.
2 And he had a son whose name was Saul,
a handsome young man.
There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he.
From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.
3 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.”
4 And
he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them.
And they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there.
Then they passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them.
5 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.”
6 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.”
7 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?”
8 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.”
9 (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he said, “Come, let us go to the seer,” for today’s “prophet” was formerly called a seer.)
10 And 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 young women coming out to draw water and said to them, “Is the seer here?”
12 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.
13 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.”
14 So they went up to the city. As they were entering the city, they saw Samuel coming out toward them on his way up to the high place.
15 Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed to Samuel:
16 “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.”
17 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.”
18 Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate and said, “Tell me where is the house of the seer?”
19 Samuel answered Saul, “I am the seer.
Go up before me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me,
and in the morning
I will let you go
and will tell you all that is on your mind.
20 As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago,
do not set your mind on them,
for they have been found.
And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s house?”
21 Saul answered,
“Am I not a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel?
And is not my clan the humblest of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin?
Why then have you spoken to me in this way?”
22 Then Samuel took Saul and his young man and brought them into the hall and gave them a place at the head of those who had been invited, who were about thirty persons.
23 And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Put it aside.’ ”
24 So the cook took up the leg and what was on it and set them before Saul.
And Samuel said,
“See, what was kept is set before you.
Eat, because it was kept for you until the hour appointed, that you might eat with the guests.”
So Saul ate with Samuel that day.
25 And when they came down from the high place into the city, a bed was spread for Saul on the roof, and he lay down to sleep.
26 Then at the break of dawn Samuel called to Saul on the roof,
“Up, that I may send you on your way.”
So Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went out into the street.
27 As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul,
“Tell the servant to pass on before us, and when he has passed on, stop here yourself for a while,
that I may make known to you the word of God.”
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1 Samuel 9 Summary
RECAP: Samuel had been capably leading God's people, but his sons were not following in their father's ways, so the Israelites demanded a king, so that they could be like the the other nations, with a king to lead us... and to fight our battles (1 Sam. 9:20). In making this request, the Israelites were subtly rejecting God as their king.
So God gave them what they wanted.
God's choice for His people's new king certainly looked the part, a handsome young man... taller than any of the people (v2). But it doesn't take long to see that there's not much to Saul beyond his good looks.
We meet him - this man who will shepherd God's people - hopelessly looking for a pair of donkeys he lost. After wandering all over the land looking for them, it's Saul's servant who suggests that they consult the man of God. Ironically it's the servant who is leading the good looking, but incompetent shepherd.
Worse yet, Saul has no idea who it is the servant is referring to, even though Samuel was probably one of the most famous people in Israel as their leader and representative of God on earth. Saul's pockets are empty, but thankfully the servant is prepared enough to have brought some money, so the servant and the doofus find their way to Samuel's city where the first thing Saul says to Samuel is tell me where I can find the seer (v18).
After treating Saul as the guest of honor, a position the future king feels woefully out of place in, Samuel sends the servant on ahead so that he can reveal the word of God to Saul (v27).
Even if you've never heard the story of King Saul, it's clear in the very first chapter that tells about him that the story isn't going to end well.
Dig Deeper
These chapters about King Saul are not in our Bibles just for comic relief or as an example of the ineptitude of political leaders.
Like every chapter in the Old Testament, the purpose of these accounts are to point you to Christ, your true King and Shepherd, who looks nothing like what the world expects Him to look like.
Isaiah prophecies of our King:
He had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isaiah 53:2–3
AAA Prayer:
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who sent us His Son to be our King and Shepherd
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Ask God to help you see beyond the things that seem good looking to most so that you can recognize & follow God's good and perfect will.
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
