SERIES I --- THE NATION UNITES --- LESSON 09

SAUL ANOINTED KING

THAT STRANGE SEARCH FOR DONKEYS

From 1 Samuel 9:1-25

During the time of Samuel, Kish was a rich and powerful man of the tribe of Benjamin. He was the son of Abiel, grandson of Zeror, great-grandson of Becorath and great-great grandson of Aphiah. His son Saul was tall and handsome, head and shoulders above any other man in Israel. One day Kish’s donkeys wandered away, so he asked Saul to look for them. ‘Take a servant with you and see if you can find them,’ Kish told his son. Saul and the servant looked through the hill country of Ephraim and the land of Shalisha, but they couldn’t find the donkeys. They went through the land of Shaalim, but the donkeys were not there. They were nowhere to be found in the land of Benjamin or the land of Zuph. ‘Father is probably more concerned about us than the donkeys by now,’ Saul said to the servant. ‘Let’s go home!’ ‘But there is a man of YHVH in this village who is greatly honoured,’ the servant told Saul. ‘Whatever he says is true. We should ask him about the donkeys.’ ‘What can we give him?’ Saul asked. ‘Our sacks have no more bread in them and we have nothing else with us to give.’ ‘Well, I have a quarter of a shekel of silver,’ said the servant. ‘Why don’t you give that to him? Perhaps he will tell us what we want to know so we can be on our way.’ ‘Good,’ said Saul. ‘Let’s go to see him.’ They went into the village where the man of YHVH lived. At that time prophets were called seers, so they asked people about the seer in town. As they were climbing the steep road that led into the village, Saul and the servant met some girls going to the well to draw water. ‘Is the seer in this town?’ they asked. ‘Yes, but you’d better hurry,’ the girls answered. ‘He has come back home today to eat with some people before the sacrifice on the high place. You will find him just inside the city gates. But he will soon leave for the meal, for the people will not begin until he comes to bless the sacrifice.’ Saul and the servant hurried up the hill, just in time to meet Samuel as he was leaving for the sacrificial meal. Saul and the servant didn’t know that Adonai had already talked to Samuel about them the day before they arrived. ‘Tomorrow about this same time I will send a man from the land of Benjamin,’ Adonai had said. ‘You will anoint him to become the ruler of My people Israel. He is the man who will save them from the Philistines, for I have heard the cry of My people and have seen how they are afflicted.’ When Saul arrived at the village, Adonai spoke to Samuel again. ‘This is the man I told you about yesterday,’ He said. ‘He is the one who will rule My people.’ When Saul arrived at the gate, he came up to Samuel, not knowing who he was. ‘Where can I find the seer?’ Saul asked. ‘I am the seer,’ Samuel answered. ‘Today you will be my guest and eat with me. Now go on up the hill ahead of me, tomorrow morning you may leave for home, but don’t worry about your donkeys that were lost three days ago, for they have already been found. Anyway, who has the best in all Israel? Isn’t it you and your father’s household?’ ‘How can that be?’ Saul asked. ‘I’m from the smallest tribe in Israel, the tribe of Benjamin and my family is one of the least important in that tribe. Why did you say that to me?’ When Samuel brought Saul and his servant into the hall where the meal was to be served to thirty other guests, he placed Saul in the most honoured place at the head of the table. Then Samuel ordered the cook to give Saul the best piece of meat. ‘Bring the meat I told you to set aside,’ Samuel said. The cook brought the leg and another choice cut of meat and gave them to Saul. ‘Before I invited these other guests, I had set this aside for you,’ Samuel told Saul. ‘Please eat it, for it has been kept so that you might eat it here today with these other guests.’ That day, Saul ate with Samuel, then returned with him to the city. After they had talked for a while on the flat open space on Samuel’s roof a bed was made for Saul and there, he slept that night.

COMMENTARY

RITUAL MEALS

A search for a herd of donkeys led to Israel’s first king! His name was Saul. He was an impressive young man who was tall and strong and showed an attractive humility. Saul was YHVH’s choice to lead His inheritance, Israel. Like people of many countries, the Israelites celebrated special occasions with feasts and banquets. A birthday, a sheep shearing festival or the arrival of a stranger was reason to bring out the best food and wine. Special meals also held an important place in Israelite worship. These meals were not eaten simply to end the day’s hunger. They were ritual meals -- meals eaten as part of a religious ritual or ceremony. Some of the most important ritual meals were those celebrated every year, such as Passover or the Feast of Booths. These annual feasts were times of rejoicing over good fortune in the present and of marking YHVH’s help in the past. The foods and sacrifices were carefully chosen to remind the people of their history. For a set period after Passover, for example, the only bread eaten by the Israelites was unleavened; today this is called {matzos.} It was; and is; to remind Jews of the manna YHVH sent during their years in the wilderness. Ritual meals were also celebrated with private sacrifices. The worshiper brought special breads made with oil and fine flour to eat with the meat of the sacrifice. Often close friends would be invited to pray and share the meal. Since this was a time set apart to gather in YHVH’s presence, people were careful to prepare themselves properly. Laws of purification instructed worshipers to wash their clothes, hands and feet before a sacrificial meal. Sometimes a leader or priest would offer a sacrifice in behalf of the whole community. Important men of the town would attend the ritual meal, wearing long white banquet robes. As they arrived, servants washed their hands and feet in a final act of ritual cleanliness.