1 Samuel 9:3 - Meaning and Application

Here we see, first, a great man rising from humble beginnings. Saul had not yet held any office of honor or trust before he was chosen king of Israel. Most people rise little by little, but Saul moved at once from standing among his neighbors to sitting on the throne, just as Hannah had said, God raises the poor from the dust and sets them among princes (1 Samuel 2:8). It seems that even though Saul was married and had grown children, he still lived in his father’s house and remained under his father’s authority. Promotion does not come by chance or human guesswork, but God is the one who judges and lifts up.

We also see a great event coming from very small things. The story begins in a plain, almost ordinary way, with Saul sent out to look for his father’s lost donkeys. Kish, Saul’s father, probably had no easy public way to report such animals as missing, though Israel did have a good law requiring people to return a stray ox or donkey. Like many good laws, that one was likely often ignored. Still, this part of the story teaches useful lessons: people who own property must expect some loss, it is wise to keep track of what is missing, no one should think it beneath him to know the condition of his livestock, and children should be ready to help their parents.

Saul willingly went to look for his father’s donkeys (1 Samuel 9:3, 4). This may have been partly because life was simpler in those days, but his obedience to his father was still worthy of praise. Do you see a man who is diligent in his work and respectful to those above him, willing to humble himself and take pains? He stands in good position for advancement. Kish’s servant would have been faithful only as a servant, but Saul was acting as a son in his own family’s interests, and so he was sent with him. Saul and the servant traveled far, likely on foot, but they found nothing. He missed what he was seeking, yet he had no reason to complain, because he met the kingdom he had never dreamed of.

When Saul could not find the donkeys, he decided to return to his father (1 Samuel 9:5). He thought of his father’s tender concern for him. If they stayed out much longer, his aged father might begin to fear, as Jacob feared for Joseph, that some wild animal or other harm had come to them. Saul would stop worrying about the donkeys, as much as he had been worried about them, and start caring about the feelings of his family. Children should be careful not to cause grief or fear to their parents, but should be gentle with their tenderness.

Then the servant suggested something wise, and he seems to have had more religion than Saul. Since they were near Ramah, he said they should ask Samuel for advice in this important matter. They were close to the city where Samuel lived, and that made the idea come to mind (1 Samuel 9:6). There was, he said, a man of God in that city. We should make use of our opportunities to meet wise and good people wherever we are. Yet many people will consult a man of God if he is right in front of them, but they will not go out of their way to seek wisdom.

The servant spoke respectfully of Samuel, even though he knew him only by reputation. He called him a man of God and an honorable man. Men of God are honorable men, and they should be seen that way. Real honor comes from knowing the things of God and serving God’s kingdom. Samuel’s honor as a man of God was that everything he said came true. That had already been seen when he was young, because God let none of his words fail (1 Samuel 3:19), and it was still true.

They agreed to ask Samuel about the road they should take, because, as they said, perhaps he could show them. Yet this was the only use they planned to make of the man of God, to ask whether they should go home or keep looking for the donkeys, and which way they should go next. That was a small matter to bring a prophet into. If they had said, “Let us give up the donkeys as lost, and since we are near the man of God, let us learn the knowledge of God, ask him how to live rightly, and seek the law from his mouth,” that would have been fitting for Israelites. But to use prophecy, the glory of Israel, for such a small errand showed how limited their purpose was. Most people would rather be told their fortune than told their duty, or learn how to get rich rather than how to be saved. If men of God were mainly used to find lost donkeys, they would be consulted far more often than they are now, when it is their work to help people recover lost souls. That shows how backwards much human concern is.

Saul also thought about what gift they should bring the man of God, what fee they should give him for his advice (1 Samuel 9:7). They could not offer him loaves and cakes like Jeroboam’s wife brought to Ahijah (1 Kings 14:3), because their food was gone. But the servant remembered that he still had a fourth of a shekel in his pocket, worth about seven and a half pence, and suggested giving that to the man of God for his guidance (1 Samuel 9:8). Saul agreed at once, saying, “Let us go” (1 Samuel 9:10). Some think Saul judged Samuel by himself, or by his sons, as if a man had to be paid to help an honest Israelite, like the false prophets who foretold for money (Micah 3:11). In that case, he would have come to Samuel more like a fortune-teller than a prophet, and so thought a fourth of a shekel enough. But it seems more likely that this was the common custom of the time, and also fair in itself, that those who receive spiritual help should give some temporal support to those who serve them.

Samuel did not need their money, and he would not have refused them advice if they had brought nothing. It is likely that when he received such gifts, he gave them to the poor. Still, they brought it as a sign of respect and as proof that they valued his office. He did not reject it, because they were able to give it, and though it was small, it was like the widow’s mite.

Saul had not thought of going to the man of God until his servant suggested it. It seems he also raised the lack of a gift as an excuse against going. He would not admit that he had money with him, but when the servant kindly offered to pay the cost, Saul agreed at once and said, “Come, let us go.” Many people want religion to be cheap, and they like it best when someone else bears the cost.

The writer also notes the name people used for prophets at that time. They called them seers, or men who can see, as in (1 Samuel 9:9). The word prophet was already in use too, but seer was the more common name. This reminds us that anyone who speaks for God must first see for themselves. Those who tell others about the things of God must have some true understanding of them first.