We are often slow on the uptake and don’t always connect the dots quickly. I Samuel 9 tells us a story with thoughts like these. Saul is a “goodly” young man. “Goodly” simply means he was handsome. He was also taller than any of the other boys. When the girls saw him, they indeed did see “tall, dark and handsome.” But he wasn’t the brightest. He probably wasn’t Forest Gump, but he certainly wasn’t Einstein. He was like…most of us. Saul is a young man, and his father tells him to go find some donkeys that are missing. The beginning of Saul had so much promise. He immediately obeys his father, unlike the last few sons the book of Samuel talked about. Eli’s sons were awful and even Samuel’s boys weren’t men of character. You can read about them in the early chapters. But Saul loved his father and set about to find his dad’s donkeys. He is diligent. Traveling through Ephraim, through Shalisha, through Shalim and then through the land of Benjamin (9:4). Finally, he and the servant make it to the land of Zuph. Zuph? There may be a little subtilty by the writer at this point. Take time to look at 1:1 and it talks about man from Ramathaim-zophim of mount Ephraim. He is the great, great, great grandson. Who is this man? It is the prophet, Samuel. From the time of his grandfather, a few times removed, this area has been known as the land of Zuph and a man of God lives here. It was known by the servant but not to Saul. I can give him a pass on not knowing. All of us are ignorant about some things.

The next step begins in verse 11. Young maidens are drawing water for animals and the two men approach them. They asked the girls about the seer. “He is, but you better hurry there is a sacrifice for the people today in the high place.” As the two men head toward the small town, no doubt the girl’s eyes were wide, and minds were wondering “who was that tall, handsome man?” Saul doesn’t know the preacher. He walked up and asked, “Which way to the seer’s house? I am the seer.” The look on Saul’s face would have been priceless. Adding to the amazement he drops another tidbit. “The donkeys that were lost three days ago, don’t worry about, they have been found.” “The desire of Israel, is it not on thee” (9:19-20)? This boy hasn’t been this confused in a while. He recounts his humble position as being from Benjamin, the smallest of the tribes. “Why are you talking to me like this? I am a nobody.” He is humble at this juncture of his life. That is a good thing.

Samuel leads these young men into a parlor and sits them in the honored seats. Thirty people are in the room, and they are being honored. Do you think they are wondering what is happening to us right now? Samuel tells the cook to bring the shoulder, which he told him to set aside yesterday. Saul may be thinking, “I just met this seer, and he knew I was coming and prepared for it?” After the meal, down from the high place, they came and went to Samuel’s house top where they talked. The next day as they are leaving, Saul is talked to privately by Samuel. The chapter closes with some very special words. “But stand thou still a while, that I may shew thee the word of God” (9:27b). Chapter 10 begins with Saul’s anointing and the love that Samuel has for this young man who is about to become the first king of Israel.

What are some take aways for us when we don’t know what God is doing in our lives?

  • He started looking for donkeys and ended up being a king.
  • His food in the bag was gone but ended up with eating the roasted leg of lamb.
  • A man he didn’t know and had never met changed his life forever.
  • God’s plans are always bigger and better than ours.
  • Everything that happened was happening according to the Word of God.

Those five quick things are plenty of fodder to chew on for today.