UST 1SA Chapter 9

◄ 1SA 9 ► ║ ═ ©

9 Now there was a rich and influential man whose name was Kish. He belonged to the tribe of Benjamin. Kish was the son of Abiel, the grandson of Zeror, the great-grandson of Bekorath, and the great-great-grandson of Aphiah. Kish lived within the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 Kish had a son whose name was Saul. He was a handsome young man. In fact, he was one of the most attractive Israelite young men. He was also much taller than most other men. 3 Saul’s father Kish owned some female donkeys, and one day they wandered off. So Kish told Saul, “Take one of the servants with you and go and look for those donkeys.” 4 So Saul did that. He took a servant, and they walked through the hilly area where the descendants of Ephraim lived, and then they went through the regions of Shalishah and Shaalim, and then they went through all the region belonging to the tribe of Benjamin, but they could not find the donkeys. 5 Finally, they came to the region of Zuph. Then Saul said to the servant, “We should go back home. If we do not do that, my father will stop worrying about the donkeys and start worrying about us.” 6 But the servant told Saul, “I have another idea. Please listen to it. One of God’s prophets lives in this city. People respect him very much because everything he predicts comes true. Let us go and speak with him. Perhaps he can tell us where we should go to find the donkeys.” 7 Saul replied to the servant, “I agree that we should go and speak with him, but what can we give him as a gift? We have no more food in our sacks, and I do not know of something else we could give him. Do we have anything else with us?” 8 In response, the servant told Saul, “Actually, I do have a small piece of silver that I can give to the prophet. That way we can speak with him and he will tell us where we should go to find the donkeys.” 9-11 9-11Saul told his servant, “That is a good idea. Let us go and speak with him.” So they went to the city where the prophet lived. As they were going up the hill into the city, they met some young women who were coming out of the city to get some water from a well. They asked the women, “Is the seer currently in the city?” (They said that because at that time, when people in Israel wanted a message from God, they would say, “Let us go and speak with the seer.” They used the term “seer” to refer to the same kind of person whom people now call a “prophet.”) 12 The women replied, “Yes, he is in the city. In fact, he is just ahead of you. If you walk fast, you will catch up with him. He came back to the city this very day because the people will be gathering today on the hill to worship God, and he is going to bless the sacrifice of the animal that will provide the meat for this festival. 13 You should find him just inside the city. He will not have gone up the hill yet to take part in the festival, because first the people will prepare the feast, and then he will come and bless the sacrifice. The guests will only start eating after he does that. So if you hurry, you will find him there right now.” 14 So Saul and the servant went to the city. As they were on their way in, amazingly, Samuel was coming from the opposite direction and met them. He was on his way to the hill where the people were going to hold their festival. 15 On the previous day, Yahweh had told Samuel, 16 “I will arrange for a man to arrive here at this time tomorrow from the land where the descendants of Benjamin live. I want you to pour olive oil on his head to show that I have chosen him to be the leader of my Israelite people. I have listened to them as they have called out to me for help, and I have seen how they are suffering. This man will rescue my people from the control of the Philistines.” 17 When Samuel saw Saul, Yahweh said to him, “This is the man I told you about yesterday! He is the one who will rule my people!” 18 As Saul was going in the city gate and Samuel was coming out of it, Saul went over to Samuel without realizing who he was and asked him, “Would you please tell me where the house of the seer is?” 19 Samuel replied, “I am the seer. Now go ahead of me with your servant to the hill where the people are going to hold their festival. Both of you will be my guests today at the feast. Tomorrow morning I will tell you everything you want to know, and then I will send you home. 20 Also, do not worry anymore about those donkeys of yours that wandered away a couple of days ago. Someone has found them. But let us consider that the Israelites are looking for a king. You are the king they are looking for. You and your extended family will rule the Israelites. 21 Saul replied, “I am from the tribe of Benjamin, which is the smallest of all the Israelite tribes! Beyond that, my clan is the least important clan in that tribe! So I do not understand why you have spoken to me about becoming the king of Israel.” 22 But even though Saul had objected, Samuel brought Saul and his servant into the large room where the feast would be. About 30 people were guests at the feast, but Samuel had Saul and his servant sit in the seats where the most important guests would sit. 23 Then Samuel told the cook, “Serve my guest here the special piece of meat that I gave you and that I told you to set aside.” 24 So the cook brought the leg he had set aside, with its adjoining meat, and he served it to Saul. Samuel said to Saul, “We have just served you the special portion that we set aside for you. Please go ahead and start eating it. When I told the cook that I had invited people to this feast, I also told him to save this portion of the meat so that you could have it when you came.” So Saul ate the festive meal that day as Samuel’s guest. 25 After they finished eating, they returned to the city. Then Samuel took Saul up onto the flat roof of his house and talked with him there. 26 Saul slept that night in a sheltered bed on the roof. Early the next morning, as the sun was rising, Samuel called up to him, “Get up! It is time for me to send you back home.” Once Saul had gotten up, he and Samuel left the house together. 27 When they got to the edge of the city, Samuel told Saul to send his servant on ahead of them. After the servant left, Samuel said to Saul, “I want you to stay here for a few minutes so that I can give you a message I have received from God for you.”

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