1 Samuel 9: 1 – 27
Conformity
9 There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. 2 And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people. 3 Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. And Kish said to his son Saul, “Please take one of the servants with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.” 4 So he passed through the mountains of Ephraim and through the land of Shalisha, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, and they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they did not find them. 5 When they had come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let us return, lest my father cease caring about the donkeys and become worried about us.” 6 And he said to him, “Look now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honorable man; all that he says surely comes to pass. So let us go there; perhaps he can show us the way that we should go.” 7 Then Saul said to his servant, “But look, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread in our vessels is all gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?” 8 And the servant answered Saul again and said, “Look, I have here at hand one-fourth of a shekel of silver. I will give that to the man of God, to tell us our way.” 9 (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he spoke thus: “Come, let us go to the seer”; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.) 10 Then Saul said to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was. 11 As they went up the hill to the city, they met some young women going out to draw water, and said to them, “Is the seer here?” 12 And they answered them and said, “Yes, there he is, just ahead of you. Hurry now; for today he came to this city, because there is a sacrifice of the people today on the high place. 13 As soon as you come into the city, you will surely find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now therefore, go up, for about this time you will find him.” 14 So they went up to the city. As they were coming into the city, there was Samuel, coming out toward them on his way up to the high place. 15 Now the LORD had told Samuel in his ear the day before Saul came, saying, 16 “Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him commander over My people Israel, that he may save My people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have looked upon My people, because their cry has come to Me.” 17 So when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said to him, “There he is, the man of whom I spoke to you. This one shall reign over My people.” 18 Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, “Please tell me, where is the seer’s house?” 19 Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and tomorrow I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart. 20 But as for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not be anxious about them, for they have been found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on you and on all your father’s house?” 21 And Saul answered and said, “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak like this to me?” 22 Now Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall, and had them sit in the place of honor among those who were invited; there were about thirty persons. 23 And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion which I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Set it apart.’ ” 24 So the cook took up the thigh with its upper part and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Here it is, what was kept back. It was set apart for you. Eat; for until this time it has been kept for you, since I said I invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day. 25 When they had come down from the high place into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul on the top of the house. 26 They arose early; and it was about the dawning of the day that Samuel called to Saul on the top of the house, saying, “Get up, that I may send you on your way.” And Saul arose, and both of them went outside, he and Samuel. 27 As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us.” And he went on. “But you stand here awhile, that I may announce to you the word of God.”
A TV network which has gained popularity in my area is called ‘We TV’. They show old time television series. One which I enjoyed was called ‘The Twilight Zone.’ As the creator of this television series of the late 1950s and ‘60s, Rod Serling wrote several stories about the human experience of being pressured to conform to so-called societal norms. Two of the episodes from that series are particularly relevant today because they deal with the problems of being different in a world that professes tolerance yet stresses conformity.
We would like to believe that being different is good and wholesome, that we should and would somehow celebrate our differences. But we’re as narrow-minded and as intolerant today as the characters in those episodes of over 40 years ago. Not much has changed, and that is tragic.
In one “Twilight Zone” classic, “Number 12, ‘Looks Just Like You,’ a young girl in a futuristic world rails against being pressured by her family and friends to look and think just like everyone else. The powers-that-be in society have created a strange coming-of-age process called the “Transformation.” To facilitate the process, there are specific models of both the ideal male and female forms from which people can choose. You go through the transformation and you become the aforementioned ideal individual.
Though the young woman makes a valid point about liking who she is and the way she looks, at the end of the episode she gives in to the pressure and has the “Transformation.” She ends up looking, as well as thinking, like everyone else in her society.
In ‘Eye of the Beholder,’ which was written by Sterling himself, a woman willingly has plastic surgery procedure after procedure in order to conform to the ideal of beauty by which she is surrounded. Each surgery is a failure. Before her last surgery she is told that if she cannot be made to look like the rest of society, she will be banished to a ghetto where “people like her” are made to live.
What we find out at the end of the story when her bandages are removed is that she is a stunningly beautiful woman. Seeing this, we believe that the last surgery was a phenomenal success, but we’re wrong. The “normal ideal” she is trying to achieve is to look like the human pig-faced creatures around her. Her own beauty is considered repulsive. Rod Sterling wrote this as a great modern morality play on the value of individuality and the dangers of wanting to conform to one ideal of beauty.
The desire to have the perfect image is one way that we try to conform to what society says is normal. One would think that plastic surgery (which is still major surgery, make no mistake about that) has become as commonplace today as having your teeth cleaned. Diets galore and “nutritional” cleanses are available to help us fit the size that society says we should be. What we do to our bodies borders on torture, starvation and mutilation simply to fit in.
There is something very dangerous about total conformity. We don’t celebrate who we already are because, according to statistics, we want to be like everyone else!
Conformity doesn’t only concern our bodies and faces; it is also present in our life choices. Our society is not tolerant of the person who chooses a lifestyle that is not considered the norm.
Society, whoever and whatever it is, is forever scrutinizing us and unforgiving of differences. Individuality comes in many different forms, shapes, sizes, and choices. To be intolerant of one person’s differences is to be intolerant of anything with which we don’t agree or readily understand. That’s not only sad but extremely dangerous.
The worst societies thrived on communal conformity because it was a simple form of mind control. You were made to feel that there was something wrong with you if you didn’t think, look like, or act the same as others.
Conformity, real conformity, has a price. You lose something priceless and precious when you are forced to be like everyone else. The plain fact is this: We’re not like everyone else; we’re as individual as our fingerprints. Acceptance of being different and of the differences of others enhances life; intolerance diminishes it.
Being different is being happy with who and what we are and want to be. That’s our right and the right of all people. It is conformity that is sad.
In today’s scripture we learn this lesson vividly. The Israelites didn’t like being different then the nations surrounding them. It seemed that everything they did and believed was different. They ultimately thought that it would be great if they compromised their locality to Yahweh and try to fit in with the world. One area that the leadership pushed Samuel for was the appointment of a king just like the other nations had.
It would be a hard lesson for them. At the price of conformity the Israelites rejected the very God Who loved and cared for them. Let’s take a look at this fall from loving, obeying, and leaning on our Great God.
Samuel clearly recognized the dangers and therefore waited on Yahweh’s guidance, and it is the reconciling of these different problems that explains the slow process towards the appointment of the king, a process which in fact went as follows:
• 1). Samuel waits and prays for Yahweh to indicate the right man for the position. When our Holy Father God brings that man to him he must have been relieved to discover that the man was from the tribe of Benjamin. They were only a small tribe (which would serve to prevent tribal jealousy among the larger tribes) and were famed for their warlike ability. So he first interviews him, and then secretly anoints him with oil as the Lord God’s chosen appointee. The man’s name is Saul. This satisfies Samuel that he has found the right man (9.1-10.1).
• 2). He subsequently arranges for Saul to prophesy among the prophets indicating both to him and to others his suitability as a man of God, and that he is acceptable to Yahweh. This will serve to satisfy the righteous in Israel, and the prophets themselves, who seemingly had an important part to play in the running of affairs. They too are now satisfied that this is their man (10.5-13).
• 3). the next step is to have him accepted in the eyes of popular opinion. So Samuel arranges for the assembly of the tribes of Israel to be called together and in view of the fact that there was no precedent for choosing a king, choice is then made by sacred lot in the sight of all. As expected by Samuel the lot falls on Saul. This method of choice by sacred lot was an accepted one in Israel and was seen as revealing the mind of Yahweh.
• 4). Meanwhile an Ammonite invasion across the Jordan in Transjordan provides an opportunity for Saul to prove his suitability by gaining a victory over the invading Ammonites. This quells the dissension and makes him acceptable to all (11.1-13).
• 5). having been fully established as the right candidate Saul is then acclaimed as king at Gilgal before Yahweh (11.14-15).
• 6). Samuel resigns his judgeship and Yahweh expresses His anger at the people’s decision with a storm at harvest time (12.1-25).
By these means the acceptability of Saul as king was established, both among the prophets and throughout all the tribes. This would ensure that there would only be minimal dissension in the future, because Saul was now seen as ‘Yahweh’s anointed’. All recognized that Samuel had selected him, that Yahweh was pleased with him, that the lot had confirmed his acceptability to God, that he had proved himself a suitable war-leader (a most necessary qualification in those days), and that he had been finally and officially crowned and acclaimed.
In view of the attitude of the people towards our Merciful and Gracious God, His hand (7.13) had clearly been withdrawn. The only Great and Living God Yahweh was no longer ‘with them’. They had wanted a king and now they will get one. They would now have to depend on their king. It would be up to him to keep them safe.
It will be made clear to us that The Holy Father has not forsaken them altogether. Saul is to be appointed under the express guidance of Yahweh, and it is specifically with defense against a recent incursion by the Philistines in mind (9.16). It is because in spite of their attitude He has heard their cry. And the purpose of the detailed introduction is in order to indicate what a fine ‘young man’ God’s appointee is. Outwardly at least Saul is an ideal choice.
The seeking of missing animals was always an arduous task, but Saul is seen to have set about it willingly, and to have pursued the matter to the end. He reveals that he cares for his father’s asses. We can compare with this David’s concern for his sheep in the matter of the lion and bear (1 Samuel 17.34). Both candidates were thus seen to be dedicated caretakers of their animals, and as such, good candidates for kingship. Furthermore he is revealed as having consideration for his father’s feelings. He is clearly a man of integrity and honor.
From the subsequent history we are probably intended to gather that Yahweh’s original purpose had been to introduce kingship in David. But the disobedience of the Israelites had provided a key with His plan. This helps to explain why He provided them with Saul, a man who was outwardly a good choice, but was finally a disaster. Certainly outwardly they could have had no complaint. Humanly speaking at least the choice was a good one, and to begin with Saul unquestionably behaved in an exemplary fashion and was a great success. But as with the people the problem would finally lay with his disobedience. They had wanted a king like all the nations, and that was precisely what they got. He had all the qualities, both good and bad, that such a king would have. Thus both Saul and the people are to be allowed to suffer together as a consequence of their joint disobedience, while at the same time the people are learning a lesson about what having a bad king means, and David is being prepared for his future role as God’s chosen king. In Saul God is bringing together all the strands of justice and mercy.
9 There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power.
We learn that Saul’s father was of sound lineage and had been a great warrior. He was just the kind of man who would produce a worthy war-leader. There is in this a hint of what was to come.
2 And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.
This worthy man had a son whose name was Saul. He was a stout young man, well built, and towering above his contemporaries and among the children of Israel there was ‘none better’. At least in appearance and build it was clear that he would make an ideal king.
The quest for the donkeys, and its consequence in Saul and his servant meeting up with Samuel, seems to describe just an everyday incident, but it is in fact made quite clear that their movements were guided by God in commencing the process of Saul’s appointment as war-leader.
3 Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. And Kish said to his son Saul, “Please take one of the servants with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.”
Saul is depicted as being obedient to his father and as caring of his animals, so that when some she-asses were lost his father had no hesitation in sending him after them. He was clearly a man to be admired and respected. In the Ancient Near East asses were seen as very valuable animals, which along with the family having servants, serves to bring out that Saul’s father was a rich man.
4 So he passed through the mountains of Ephraim and through the land of Shalisha, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, and they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they did not find them.
The diligence of Saul comes out here. He did not give up at the first hurdle, but persevered in his quest. First he went through the hill-country of Ephraim, then through the region of Shalishah (2 Kings 4.42), then through the region of Shaalim, and then through the land of the tribe of Benjamin.
5 When they had come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let us return, lest my father cease caring about the donkeys and become worried about us.”
However, by the time that they arrived in the land of Zuph Saul recognized that his father might shortly begin to worry about them. So he suggested to the servant that it was time that they returned home. Another of his attributes is added to the list. He is revealed as a considerate, caring and thoughtful young man. Nothing appears to be missing in his make-up. He is seen as a son to be proud of.
6 And he said to him, “Look now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honorable man; all that he says surely comes to pass. So let us go there; perhaps he can show us the way that we should go.”
Meanwhile the servant had a God given inspiration. He was aware that in the city close by was a man of God who had an amazing reputation, a man held in honor by all.
The fact that Saul seemed to be unaware of Samuel’s reputation is not really surprising. Samuel was by now at the end of his long career and his main exploits had happened a long time before. He was no longer the latest news on everyone’s lips. There was therefore no reason why Saul should have any detailed knowledge about him.
7 Then Saul said to his servant, “But look, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread in our vessels is all gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?”
It was recognized that prophets were always open for people to visit them. It was seen as an essential part of their ministry to be ever open to the people of God who sought them out. Thus there was no problem about going to see him. Saul, however, foresaw a problem. They had nothing to take him as a gift. It was seen as a courteous thing to do, and Saul had been well brought up.
8 And the servant answered Saul again and said, “Look, I have here at hand one-fourth of a shekel of silver. I will give that to the man of God, to tell us our way.”
The servant had, however, thought of that. He pointed out that he had a fourth part of a shekel which he would give to the man of God in return for his help in guiding them.
9 (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he spoke thus: “Come, let us go to the seer”; for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer.)
We have here an interesting note that explains the meaning of ‘seer’, stressing the ‘ancient’ nature of the source being used. It simply indicated the equivalent of a ‘prophet’. By the time that Solomon came to the throne the word ‘seer’ had fallen out of use.
10 Then Saul said to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.
Saul reveals his gratitude and confirms his agreement with his servant’s suggestion. So they both go together to the city where the man of God was.
11 As they went up the hill to the city, they met some young women going out to draw water, and said to them, “Is the seer here?”
On the way up to the city they come across a young unmarried woman who was going to draw water, accompanied by others, and they asked ‘them’ whether the seer was in town. The spring or well would be on the lower ground below the city. Cities were always built near a water source.
12 And they answered them and said, “Yes, there he is, just ahead of you. Hurry now; for today he came to this city, because there is a sacrifice of the people today on the high place.
It is clear that in view of the lack of a Tabernacle and of a High Priest Samuel had made provision for the offering of offerings and sacrifices through himself, and possibly through other priests, at well known high places, of which one was to be found in Ramah, another in Mizpah, and another in Gilgal. It should, however, be noted that a high place was not necessarily on a hill top. High places could be erected in cities. It is because later they became syncretistic and associated with specifically Canaanite worship, that they were later so condemned.
13 As soon as you come into the city, you will surely find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now therefore, go up, for about this time you will find him.”
A feast for specially invited guests was being held in the city, and this necessarily involved the sacrificing of freewill and thanksgiving sacrifices from which the meat would come. It would appear that other priests would sacrifice the sacrifices but that Samuel would bless the sacrificial meal, at which point all would be able to eat. So if that was why they had come seeking the seer they would find him there and needed to hurry so as to be there in time for the sacrifices and blessing.
14 So they went up to the city. As they were coming into the city, there was Samuel, coming out toward them on his way up to the high place.
They continued up to the city, and on entering the gateway (verse 18) met up with Samuel, whom they did not recognize, coming towards them on the way to the high place, which was seemingly on a hill outside the city.
15 Now the LORD had told Samuel in his ear the day before Saul came, saying, 16 “Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him commander over My people Israel, that he may save My people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have looked upon My people, because their cry has come to Me.”
We now learn that on the previous day Yahweh had revealed the fact of Saul’s coming to Samuel, informing him that a man from the tribe of Benjamin would arrive whom he was immediately to anoint as military commander over His people Israel, in view of the recent Philistine invasion. It was he now who would save the people out of the hands of the Philistines, and was being provided immediately because Yahweh had heard His people’s cry. We note that here he is to be anointed as war-leader and not king. It would yet be some time before he would be established as king. Our Holy God was proving by this that if only they had trusted in Him He could have provided them with a suitable war-leader when necessary, one who would prove himself against Nahash, king of Ammon (11.1-13). But in spite of this they would still insist on a king (12.12).
17 So when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said to him, “There he is, the man of whom I spoke to you. This one shall reign over My people.”
When Samuel saw Saul Yahweh said to him, “look, here is the man of whom I spoke to you. He will be able to have authority over My people.” (There is at this stage no mention of him as king. The possible lesson to be learned here by the people was that once they had seen Saul in action the people would withdraw their request for a king. Just like the lesson had been that they would do so when they had heard what having a king would be like in 8.11-20. God was giving them every opportunity to change their minds before it was too late).
Let us stop and think about this for a moment. Our Holy and Loving Holy Spirit warns us constantly when we attempt to do something contrary to His Will. In His Counsel, and Teaching we need to heed His advice.
18 Then Saul drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, “Please tell me, where is the seer’s house?”
Meanwhile Saul, unconscious of all this, approaches the unknown man in the gateway and asks him where the seer’s house is.
19 Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer. Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and tomorrow I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart.
To his pleasant surprise the unknown man reveals himself as Samuel, and he declares that he is the seer and that they must precede him to the high place, where they will eat with him that very day. Then in the morning he will let Saul go, once he has revealed to him what is in his (Saul’s) heart. It is not unlikely that such a powerful young man, son of a well known warrior, would have been dreaming about what he could do against the Philistines if only he got the chance. And it is that which Samuel wishes to speak to him about.
20 But as for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, do not be anxious about them, for they have been found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on you and on all your father’s house?”
Samuel then relieves his mind about his father’s asses, informing him that they have been found, thereby revealing to him Samuel’s own supernatural knowledge. And then he informs him that ‘all that is desirable in Israel’ is for Saul and for his father’s house. In other words because of the position that he will shortly hold he will no longer in the future have to worry about a few donkeys, because everything that is desirable in Israel will be his. He will be able to have his choice of anything. 21 And Saul answered and said, “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak like this to me?”
Saul is understandably confused. ‘Why are you saying these things to me?’ he asks. ‘I come from the smallest tribe in Israel, and my family is the least of all the tribes in Benjamin.’
Please note a unique parallel to the fact that he was the tallest man in Israel. So this is to be seen as typical modesty. In those days it was polite to deprecate yourself and your background. No one was expected to believe it. It is; of course, true that Benjamin was probably the smallest tribe in Israel after the battering that they had received in Judges 20-21, but they were fierce and experienced warriors. Saul’s words, however, are not intended to be taken literally. What he was modestly saying was that he was not really deserving of what Samuel is suggesting. He felt completely at a loss to understand what Samuel was getting at.
To the astonishment of Saul and his servant they now found themselves as guests of honor at the sacrificial meal, were seated in the chief place, and received the honored portion.
22 Now Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall, and had them sit in the place of honor among those who were invited; there were about thirty persons.
Then Samuel led Saul and his servant into the guest-chamber at the Sanctuary, and gave them the highest place among all the guests. There were about thirty distinguished persons there (they would almost certainly have been distinguished in order to be invited into the special guest-chamber, and especially so as Samuel had invited them there to meet God’s appointee), and no doubt they were dressed in their finest. Saul and his servant must have felt a little uncomfortable.
23 And Samuel said to the cook, “Bring the portion which I gave you, of which I said to you, ‘Set it apart.’ ”
Then Samuel sent to the cook for the special portion which he had specifically set aside for Yahweh’s expected appointee. Saul was receiving royal treatment.
24 So the cook took up the thigh with its upper part and set it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Here it is, what was kept back. It was set apart for you. Eat; for until this time it has been kept for you, since I said I invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.
The thigh was the special portion reserved for the sacrificing priests and their guests (Leviticus 7.32). Thus to receive a portion of the thigh was a special honor. And this was set before Saul with the words, ‘Look, this has been reserved for you. Set it before you and eat.’ Then Samuel added, ‘It has been kept for you until the appointed time’. This was deliberately in order to bring out that this was Saul’s moment of destiny as determined by Yahweh God. It was not only for Saul’s sake but for the sake of the guests. Samuel knew that it was most important that the right impression be made among these important guests, for their support would be vital for Saul’s acceptance. We can, however, imagine how the young man’s head must have been spinning because a few hours before he had been on the trail of his father’s asses. Now here he was being feted as the guest of honor and prospective war-leader in the presence of some of the most important people in Israel.
25 When they had come down from the high place into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul on the top of the house.
The meal over they returned from the high place to Samuel’s house, and once they were there Samuel took Saul onto the flat roof to talk with him. We must assume that there he revealed all that Yahweh had said to him, and possibly a great deal more. No doubt he used his long experience to try and put Saul at ease about what was to be expected of him. It was a lot for the young man to take in.
26 They arose early; and it was about the dawning of the day that Samuel called to Saul on the top of the house, saying, “Get up, that I may send you on your way.” And Saul arose, and both of them went outside, he and Samuel.
Rising early was common practice among busy men, and thus as the day dawned all would rise from their beds and prepare for the day. Samuel called up to Saul to prepare to leave for home, Then they both left the house together because Samuel still had something that he wanted to do which required privacy.
On being anointed by Samuel and leaving him Saul is given three signs which will reveal the truth of what Samuel has done, the first that he will learn that the donkeys have been found, the second that he and his servant will be provided with bread by pilgrims, and the third that he will meet a company of prophets, and that when he does so the Spirit of Yahweh will come on him. Yet with all this that will occur when he arrives home he keeps his anointing secret.
At the same time Samuel gives him clear instructions as to how in the future he is to know the mind of God. It will be by going to Gilgal and by waiting there seven days before Adoni Yahweh God, until Samuel comes to him and offers up burnt offerings and sacrifices, at which point he will receive the guidance of Yahweh and learn what he has to do (10.8). The purpose of this was clearly in order that Saul might constantly remember that his future success must wholly depend on God and He Alone.
27 As they were going down to the outskirts of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us.” And he went on. “But you stand here awhile, that I may announce to you the word of God.”
When they reached the extremity of the city Samuel asked Saul to bid his servant to go on ahead. The servant would have been aware that something unusual was going on from the fact that they had been honored guests at the feast) although he clearly did not know exactly what. But he must have recognized that some special honor was being conferred on Saul. However, the point was that Samuel wanted to have a private word with Saul so that he could communicate to him what God had determined.
