And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God.
Saul brought to Samuel
God’s Providence is a wonderful scheme; a web of many threads, woven with marvellous skill. The meeting of two convicts in an Egyptian prison is a vital link in the chain of events that makes Joseph governor of Egypt; a young lady coming to bathe in the river preserves the life of Moses, and secures the escape of the Israelites; the thoughtful regard of a father for the comfort of his sons in the army brings David into contact with Goliath, and prepares the way for his elevation to the throne; the beauty of a Hebrew girl fascinating a Persian king saves the whole Hebrew race from massacre and extermination. So in the passage now before us. The straying of some asses from the pastures of a Hebrew farmer brings together the two men, of whom the one was the old ruler, and the other was to be the new ruler of Israel, But of all the actors in the drama, not one ever feels that his freedom is in any way interfered with. All of them are at perfect liberty to follow the course that commends itself to their own minds. Thus wonderfully do the two things go together--Divine ordination and human freedom. How it should be so, it baffles us to explain. But that it is so, must be obvious to every thoughtful mind. It seemed desirable that in the first king of Israel, two classes of qualities should be united, in some degree contradictory to one another. First, he must possess some of the qualities for which the people desire to have a king; while at the same time, from God’s point of view, it is desirable that under him the people should have some taste of the evils which Samuel had said would follow from their choice. It was his servant that knew about, Samuel, and that told Saul of his being in the city, in the land of Zuph (1 Samuel 9:6). This cannot but strike us as very strange. We should have thought that the name of Samuel would have been as familiar to all the people of Israel as that of Queen Victoria to the people of Great Britain. But Saul does not appear to have heard it, as in any way remarkable. Does not this indicate a family living entirely outside of all religious connections, entirely immersed in secular things, hearing nothing about godly people, and hardly ever even pronouncing their name? It is singular how utterly ignorant worldly men are of what passes in religious circles, if they happen to have no near relative or familiar acquaintance in the religious world to carry the news to them from time to time. And as Saul thus lived outside of all religious circles, so he seems to have been entirely wanting in that great quality which was needed for a king of Israel--loyalty to the Heavenly King. Here it was that the difference between him and Samuel was so great. Loyalty to God and to God’s nation was the very foundation of Samuel’s life. Anything like self-seeking was unknown to him. It, was this that gave such solidity to Samuel’s character, and made him so invaluable to his people. In every sphere of life it is a precious quality. But in these high qualities Saul seems to have been altogether wanting. It was not the superficial qualities of Saul that would be a blessing to the nation. It was not a man out of all spiritual sympathy with the living God that would raise the standing of Israel among the kingdoms around, and bring them the submission and respect of foreign kings. The intense and consistent godliness of Samuel was probably the quality that was not popular among the people. In the worldliness of his spirit, Saul was probably more to their liking. Yet it was this unworldly but godly Samuel that had delivered them from the bitter yoke of the Philistines, and it was this handsome but unspiritual Saul that was to bring them again into bondage to their ancient foes. This was the sad lesson to be learned from the reign of Saul. But let us now come to the circumstances that led to the meeting of Saul and Samuel. The asses of Kish had strayed. From this part of the narrative we may derive two great lessons, the one with reference to God, and the other with reference to man.
1. As it regards God, we cannot but see how silently, secretly, often slowly, yet surely, He accomplishes His purposes. There are certain rivers in nature that flow so gently, that when looking at the water only, the eye of the spectator is unable to discern any movement at all. Often the ways of God resemble such riverses Looking at what is going on in common life, it is so ordinary, so absolutely quiet, that you can see no trace whatever of any Divine plan. And yet, all the while, the most insignificant of them is contributing towards the accomplishment of the mighty plans of God. Men may be instruments in God’s hands without knowing it. When Cyrus was moving his armies towards Babylon he little knew that he was accomplishing the Divine purpose for the humbling of the oppressor and the deliverance of His oppressed people. And in all the events of common life, men seem to be so completely their own masters, there seems such a want of any influence from without, that God is liable to slip entirely out of sight. And yet, as we see from the chapter before us, God is really at work.
2. But again, there is a useful lesson in this chapter for directing the conduct of men. You see in what direction the mind of Saul’s servant moved for guidance in the day of difficulty. It, was toward the servant of God. And you see likewise how, when Saul and he had determined to consult the man of God, they were providentially guided to him. To us, the way is open to God Himself, without the intervention of any prophet. Let us in every time of trouble seek access to God. (W. G. Blaikie, D. D.)
Saul among the prophets
The threads of our daily life often appear to be either loose and unrelated or hopelessly entangled. At times we seem to have nothing to do with each other. We go on our separate ways, It is only now and then that we find lines touching each other. A man climbs a hill that he may in solitude revel in the delights of the landscape, and, lo, a little child meets him there, and the supposed accident is the turning point in his life. A traveller turns aside that he may drink of the well by the way, and, behold, the stranger who was there before him, and who would have gone in one moment more, becomes the chief joy of his life, the ruler of his fortunes, the sovereign of his destiny. Thus our life is a mystery; we are strangers, yet friends. We live for many years apart, and by-and-by there comes a moment which unites us in holy confidence, giving all mysteries a meaning, and showing all difficulties to be but steps up to heaven. I have been led into this strain of animating, yet tranquillising, reflection by the circumstances in connection with which the text is found. The asses were lost, what then? Who cares? Yet out of this simple circumstance there may arise events which shall startle the most indifferent reader. The asses being lost, Kish commanded his son Saul to take with him a servant, and go in pursuit. The filial spirit never sees anything contemptible in the paternal desire. Men should rule their lives not by the insignificance of the service, but by the sublimity of the one Ruler in whose hands are the laws and destinies of life. Saul might have looked at the object alone; instead of that he looked at his father, in that look we find the secret of his obedience and alacrity. When the disciples went to seek the ass for Jesus Christ, they thought not of the meanness of the duty, but of the dignity of the Master. In this verse there is nothing but the hollow sound of repeated disappointment. It emphatically describes the negative side of life. There are men today who are repeating this experience with most painful faithfulness. Go whither they may they find not the object of their pursuit. They climb the hill of difficulty, and, behold, their errand is lost. Many of us may be said to be within the limits of this dreary verse today. Life is to us hollow, empty, and mocking. The lifting up of our hand doth but bring us weariness, and the putting forth of our strength only adds to the vexation of our spirit Is there not a meaning in all this? Is it possible that God can be taking any man along so painful and barren a road to an end which shall bring elevation and gladness? The road to honour is often long and hard. Men have to endure the discipline of disappointment before they can bear the reward of success. The great advantage of having a man of God in every city! The man of God makes his influence felt for good, and becomes honoured and trusted in matters which are not strictly religious. Two travellers have lost their way, and, behold, they inquire of a man of God! A very beautiful image is this of the position of Samuel. What is the vocation of the man of God? It is to tell other men their way! All men are morally lost; the man of God points out the way of recovery: all men are in intellectual confusion by reason of their moral depravity; the man of God shows the way to the light! As ministers of the Gospel we are appointed to tell men the way. This, too, is the appointment of heads of houses, conductors of educational institutions, and those who mould and lead the sentiment of the times. Saul was a gentleman, every whit! Eastern customs aside altogether, there was a vein of gentlemanliness in the nature of Saul. He was about to ask a favour, but a preliminary question arose in his mind. Absurd indeed is the idea of giving anything to the man of God for his services! George Whitefield, when he had but a cow-heel for dinner, would have the frugal meal set out with as much care as if it had been a banquet. There are two ways of doing everything. It was but little that Saul had to give, yet he gave it of his own free will, and with all the grace of a natural king. We are not to pay mere prices for knowledge and direction in life; we are to give gifts of the heart,--such donations as are inspired by our love, though they may be limited by our poverty. It should be noted that this little arrangement was made before the lost travellers went into the presence of Samuel. It came of the spontaneous motion of their own hearts. The question was not, What dost thou charge? What shall we give thee? But a plan was laid beforehand, and Samuel was not subjected to the indignity of a commercial inquiry. Christian churches might learn a great lesson from this example. Modern gentlemen may learn something from the ancient aristocracy. A wonderful kingdom is the kingdom of God! Though Samuel had before him the future king of Israel, and he himself was about to be deposed from his own supremacy, yet he communicated to Saul intelligence of the lost asses! Doth anything escape the care of God? Doth not God care for oxen? Doth a sparrow fall to the ground without our Father’s notice? If we give the great concerns of our life into the hands of God, nothing that belongs to us shall be accounted unworthy of His notice. A man should inquire what background he has when a voice like Samuel’s sounds in his ear. Saul was informed that on him was set all the desire of Israel: under such an announcement it was natural and proper that he should look to his antecedents, that, so to speak, he should gather himself up, and take correct measure of his manhood. A word of caution must be spoken here. Inquiry into our antecedents and resources should never be made with a fear of evading duty and difficulty. A very subtle temptation assails us from this side. Spurious modesty may reduce to the uttermost poverty and insufficiency, in order that by so doing it may lure us from paths of difficulty and hard service. When humility is saved from degenerating into fear, it becomes a source of strength. Moses complained that he was a man of slow speech; he desired that God would send His word by some other messenger, because of his incapacity and unworthiness. Jeremiah urged in response to the call of God, that he was but a little child. Saul declared that he was of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and sought to escape the duty of the hour through a sense of personal inadequacy to fulfil its demands. There is a medium between spurious self-depreciation and presumptuous boastfulness. That medium is reliance upon the sufficiency of God. Whom God calls He also qualifies. Observe, not increased intelligence, not additional personal stature, not any outward sign and proof that he was elected to be king of Israel; God gave him another heart. The question of life is often a question of feeling. What you want is another heart. Your life requires to be sob on fire with the love of God. “With the heart man believeth unto righteousness.” “Son, give me thine heart!” Thou wilt be saved because thou hast cast thy whole heart at the feet of the Saviour of the world, who came to teach men the love of God. The cry arose amongst the people, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” We may, by increasing our devotion, by multiplying our beneficent labours, by courageous service in the kingdom of God, excite a surprise which shall indicate that we are no longer amongst those who live only for this world, “whose god is their belly, and who glory in their shame.” (J. Parker, D. D.)