Study Desk

He will take a tenth of your grain and of your grapes for his court officers and other officials.

He will take your servants and your best cattle and donkeys, and make them work for him.

Some donkeys belonging to Kish had wandered off, so he said to Saul, "Take one of the servants with you and go and look for the donkeys."

"Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man from the tribe of Benjamin; anoint him as ruler of my people Israel, and he will rescue them from the Philistines. I have seen the suffering of my people and have heard their cries for help."

As for the donkeys that were lost three days ago, don't worry about them; they have already been found. But who is it that the people of Israel want so much? It is you—you and your father's family."

So the cook brought the choice piece of the leg and placed it before Saul. Samuel said, "Look, here is the piece that was kept for you. Eat it. I saved it for you to eat at this time with the people I invited." So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

When they went down from the place of worship to the town, they fixed up a bed for Saul on the roof,

When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel's tomb at Zelzah in the territory of Benjamin. They will tell you that the donkeys you were looking for have been found, so that your father isn't worried any more about them but about you, and he keeps asking, ‘What shall I do about my son?'

Saul's uncle saw him and the servant, and he asked them, "Where have you been?" "Looking for the donkeys," Saul answered. "When we couldn't find them, we went to see Samuel."

Samuel called the people together for a religious gathering at Mizpah

Then Samuel had the families of the tribe of Benjamin come forward, and the family of Matri was picked out. Then the men of the family of Matri came forward, and Saul son of Kish was picked out. They looked for him, but when they could not find him,

But Saul said, "No one will be put to death today, for this is the day the Lord rescued Israel."

and now you have him to lead you. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are with you. I have been your leader from my youth until now.

When Jacob and his family went to Egypt and the Egyptians oppressed them, your ancestors cried to the Lord for help, and he sent Moses and Aaron, who brought them out of Egypt and settled them in this land.

Then they cried to the Lord for help and said, ‘We have sinned, because we turned away from you, Lord , and worshiped the idols of Baal and Astarte. Rescue us from our enemies, and we will worship you!'

"Now here is the king you chose; you asked for him, and now the Lord has given him to you.

It's the dry season, isn't it? But I will pray, and the Lord will send thunder and rain. When this happens, you will realize that you committed a great sin against the Lord when you asked him for a king."

and they said to Samuel, "Please, sir, pray to the Lord your God for us, so that we won't die. We now realize that, besides all our other sins, we have sinned by asking for a king."

Don't go after false gods; they cannot help you or save you, for they are not real.

The Lord has made a solemn promise, and he will not abandon you, for he has decided to make you his own people.