Study Desk

He had a son whose name was Saul, a young and handsome man, and there was not a more handsome man than he among the sons of Israel; from his shoulders and up he was taller than any of the people.

But he said to him, "Behold now, there is a man of God in this city, and the man is held in honor; everything that he says definitely comes true. Now let's go there, perhaps he can tell us about our journey on which we have set out."

The servant answered Saul again and said, "Look, I have in my hand a fourth of a shekel of silver; I will give it to the man of God and he will tell us our way."

(Previously in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he used to say, "Come, and let's go to the seer"; for he who is called a prophet now was previously called a seer.)

They answered them and said, "He is; see, he is ahead of you. Hurry now, for he has come into the city today, because the people have a sacrifice on the high place today.

Now a day before Saul's coming, the LORD had revealed this to Samuel, saying,

"About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him as ruler over My people Israel; and he will save My people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have considered My people, because their outcry has come to Me."

Saul replied, "Am I not a Benjaminite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?"

Then Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall, and gave them a place at the head of those who were invited, who were about thirty men.

"Then you will go on farther from there, and you will come as far as the oak of Tabor, and there three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you: one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a jug of wine.

"Afterward you will come to the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is; and it shall be as soon as you have come there to the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and a lyre in front of them, and they will be prophesying.

"Then the Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be changed into a different man.

When they came there to the hill, behold, a group of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, so that he prophesied among them.

And a man from there responded and said, "And who is their father?" Therefore it became a saying: "Is Saul also among the prophets?"

"But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your catastrophes and your distresses; yet you have said, 'No, but put a king over us!' Now then, present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your groups of thousands."

But certain useless men said, "How can this one save us?" And they despised him and did not bring him a gift. But he kept silent about it.

Now Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, "Make a covenant with us and we will serve you."

But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, "I will make it with you on this condition, that I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you, and thereby I will inflict a disgrace on all Israel."

He then took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, "Whoever does not come out after Saul and after Samuel, the same shall be done to his oxen." Then the dread of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out as one person.

But Saul said, "Not a single person shall be put to death this day, for today the LORD has brought about victory in Israel."