Study Desk

Some of them will be officers in charge of a thousand soldiers, and others will be in charge of fifty. Still others will have to farm the king's land and harvest his crops, or make weapons and parts for his chariots.

and you will finally cry out for the Lord to save you from the king you wanted. But the Lord won't answer your prayers.

Kish owned some donkeys, but they had run off. So he told Saul, "Take one of the servants and go look for the donkeys."

"I have a small piece of silver," the servant answered. "We can give him that, and then he will tell us where to look for the donkeys."

As they were going up the hill to the town, they met some young women coming out to get water, and the two men said to them, "We're looking for the man who can see visions. Is he in town?"

"I've seen how my people are suffering, and I've heard their call for help. About this time tomorrow I'll send you a man from the tribe of Benjamin, who will rescue my people from the Philistines. I want you to pour olive oil on his head to show that he will be their leader."

Samuel took Saul and his servant into the dining room at the place of worship. About thirty people were there for the dinner, but Samuel gave Saul and his servant the places of honor.

Then Samuel told the cook, "I gave you the best piece of meat and told you to set it aside. Bring it here now." The cook brought the meat over and set it down in front of Saul. "This is for you," Samuel told him. "Go ahead and eat it. I had this piece saved especially for you, and I invited these guests to eat with you." After Saul and Samuel had finished eating,

they went down from the place of worship and back into town. A bed was set up for Saul on the flat roof of Samuel's house,

and had almost reached the edge of town when Samuel stopped and said, "Have your servant go on. Stay here with me for a few minutes, and I'll tell you what God has told me." After the servant had gone,

When you leave me today, you'll meet two men near Rachel's tomb at Zelzah in the territory of Benjamin. They'll tell you, "The donkeys you've been looking for have been found. Your father has forgotten about them, and now he's worrying about you! He's wondering how he can find you."

Then you should go to Gilgal. I'll come a little later, so wait for me. It may even take a week for me to get there, but when I come, I'll offer sacrifices and offerings to the Lord . I'll also tell you what to do next.

Some people who had known Saul for a long time saw that he was speaking and behaving like a prophet. They said to each other, "What's happened? How can Saul be a prophet?"

Later, Saul's uncle asked him, "Where have you been?" Saul answered, "Looking for the donkeys. We couldn't find them, so we went to talk with Samuel."

God has rescued you from your troubles and hard times. But you have rejected your God and have asked for a king. Now each tribe and clan must come near the place of worship so the Lord can choose a king.

Next, Samuel brought each clan of Benjamin there, and the Lord chose the Matri clan. Finally, Saul the son of Kish was chosen. But when they looked for him, he was nowhere to be found.

The town leaders said, "Give us seven days so we can send messengers everywhere in Israel to ask for help. If no one comes here to save us, we will surrender to you."

Everyone went to the place of worship at Gilgal, where they agreed that Saul would be their king. Saul and the people sacrificed animals to ask for the Lord 's blessing, and they had a big celebration.

After Jacob went to Egypt, your ancestors cried out to the Lord for help, and he sent Moses and Aaron. They led your ancestors out of Egypt and had them settle in this land.

Again your ancestors cried out to the Lord for help. They said, "We have sinned! We stopped worshiping you, our Lord , and started worshiping Baal and Astarte. But now, if you rescue us from our enemies, we will worship you."