Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin. He was tall
and handsome and stood head and shoulders
above everyone else. One day, his father asked
him to go find their lost donkeys, so he took
some servants and went looking for them. After
a long search, they were about to give up and
go home. Then one of the servants pointed to a
nearby town and said, “There’s a man of God in
that town. Let’s go ask him if he can tell us where
the donkeys are.”
They went into the town and saw a man
coming toward them. They didn’t know it was
Samuel. The night before, God had told him that
Saul would come the next day. The Lord said,
“He’ll be the king who will rule over Israel.”
Saul said to Samuel, “Do you know where the
prophet lives?”
“I’m the prophet. Come with me to a sacrifice.
Afterwards we’ll have a meal together and I’ll tell
you many things. Oh, concerning those donkeys
you’re looking for; they’ve been found. You have
more important things to worry about. The future
of Israel is in your hands.”
Saul was shocked. He said, “The future of
Israel can’t be in my hands. I’m from the smallest
tribe in Israel. And even in that tribe, our family is
not important.”
Samuel took Saul to a banquet with thirty
important people and gave him the place of
honor. The chef brought a special meal to Saul
and said, “This meal has been set aside, waiting
for this day. Now I’m serving it to you.”
Saul and his servants went to Samuel’s house
to spend the night. He was given a place on the
flat roof, where it was cool. In the morning the
prophet said to Saul, “Send your servants home.
I want you to stay a little longer. I’ll tell you about
a message I have from God.”
After Saul’s servants left, Samuel took
some oil and anointed Saul. He said, “God has
anointed you prince over his people.”
The prophet then told Saul what would
happen to him over the next few days, the places
he would go and the people he would meet. He
said, “When all of these things happen, the Spirit
of God will come on you. You’ll be transformed
and become a completely new person. At that
point, you’ll know what to do because God will
be with you.”
Everything happened just as Samuel had said.
So a day was appointed when Samuel was to
present the new king to all the tribes of Israel.
When the exact moment arrived, Samuel looked
around, but couldn’t find Saul. He asked God,
“Where is he?”
The Lord said, “Look over there. He’s hiding
among the baggage.”
Samuel sent some men to bring Saul before
the people. Then Samuel turned to the others
and shouted, “Here is the man who will be your
king and fight your battles and rule over you.”
The people shouted, “Long live the king!”
From that day on, the Lord was with Saul and
enabled him to perform all the duties of a king.