1Samuel 9:1 ¶ Now 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 son, whose name was Saul,
a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children
of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was
higher than any of the people.
Here is introduced Saul, future first official king of Israel. He
was a handsome and very tall man. He may be referenced in a variant spelling of
his father’s name as Cush, in Psalm 7:1.
Psalm 7:1 ¶ «Shiggaion of
David, which he sang unto the LORD, concerning the words of Cush the
Benjamite.» O LORD my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them
that persecute me, and deliver me:
1Samuel 9:3 ¶ And the asses
of Kish Saul’s father were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of
the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses. 4 And he passed through mount Ephraim, and
passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found them not: then they
passed through the land of Shalim, and there they were not: and he
passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not.
5 And when they were come to the
land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come, and let
us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought
for us. 6 And he said unto him, Behold
now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is an honourable
man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither;
peradventure he can shew us our way that we should go. 7 Then said Saul to his servant, But, behold, if
we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there
is not a present to bring to the man of God: what have we? 8 And the servant answered Saul again, and
said, Behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that
will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way. 9 (Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to
enquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that
is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.) 10 Then said Saul to his servant, Well said;
come, let us go. So they went unto the city where the man of God was.
Kish’s father loses some valuable animals. Agricultural wealth was
the primary determinant of wealth in this ancient world.
Job 1:3 His substance also
was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of
oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man
was the greatest of all the men of the east.
Failing in his quest to find his father’s animals Saul will choose
to seek help, as we will learn, from Samuel, called a Seer and a Prophet.
1Samuel 9:11 ¶ And
as they went up the hill to the city, they found young maidens going out to
draw water, and said unto them, Is the seer here? 12 And they answered them, and said, He is;
behold, he is before you: make haste now, for he came to day to the
city; for there is a sacrifice of the people to day in the high place:
13 As soon as ye be come into the city,
ye shall straightway find him, before he go up to the high place to eat: for
the people will not eat until he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice; and
afterwards they eat that be bidden. Now therefore get you up; for about this
time ye shall find him. 14 And they went
up into the city: and when they were come into the city, behold, Samuel
came out against them, for to go up to the high place. 15 Now the LORD had told Samuel in his ear a day
before Saul came, saying, 16 To morrow
about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou
shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save
my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people,
because their cry is come unto me. 17
And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said unto him, Behold the man whom I
spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my people.
Saul is raised up for a specific purpose, to save Israel from the
Philistines. He has been chosen by God. He is, as David will say when Saul is
trying to kill him, the LORD’s anointed.
1Samuel 9:18 ¶ Then Saul
drew near to Samuel in the gate, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, where the
seer’s house is. 19 And Samuel
answered Saul, and said, I am the seer: go up before me unto the high place;
for ye shall eat with me to day, and to morrow I will let thee go, and will
tell thee all that is in thine heart. 20
And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind
on them; for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is
it not on thee, and on all thy father’s house? 21 And Saul answered and said, Am not I a
Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of
all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to
me? 22 And Samuel took Saul and his
servant, and brought them into the parlour, and made them sit in the chiefest
place among them that were bidden, which were about thirty persons.
23 And Samuel said unto the cook, Bring
the portion which I gave thee, of which I said unto thee, Set it by thee.
24 And the cook took up the shoulder, and
that which was upon it, and set it before Saul. And Samuel
said, Behold that which is left! set it before thee, and eat: for
unto this time hath it been kept for thee since I said, I have invited the
people. So Saul did eat with Samuel that day. 25 And when they were come down from the high
place into the city, Samuel communed with Saul upon the top of the
house. 26 And they arose early: and it
came to pass about the spring of the day, that Samuel called Saul to the top of
the house, saying, Up, that I may send thee away. And Saul arose, and they went
out both of them, he and Samuel, abroad. 27
And as they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said
to Saul, Bid the servant pass on before us, (and he passed on,) but stand thou
still a
while, that I may shew thee the word of God.
Saul lived within twenty miles of Samuel and didn’t recognize him.
This suggests that Saul had probably heard of him but never saw him in person. Samuel
will commune with Saul on the roof of the house which I have talked about in
previous commentaries.
Roofs were flat and used
for storage and other activities. A battlement would be a low wall at the edge
of a roof, on medieval castles containing openings to shoot from at various
intervals.
Joshua 2:6 But she had
brought them up to the roof of the house, and hid them with the stalks of flax,
which she had laid in order upon the roof…8
And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof;
Judges 16:27 Now the house
was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and
there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while
Samson made sport.
2Samuel 11:2 And it came to
pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the
roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and
the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
Nehemiah 8:16 So the people
went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the
roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God,
and in the street of the water gate, and in the street of the gate of Ephraim.
Here is one
website’s explanation of the usage of flat roofs in Egypt from whence the
Israelites came.
Egyptians developed
sun-dried mud bricks that could resist the flooding from the Nile and rain for
much longer than undried mud bricks. These new dried bricks also proved useful
for constructing flat roofs, which virtually all Egyptian homes had. In order
to bear the weight of people, the roof was supported by palm trunks. The roof
wasn’t just a convenient covering for the home. Instead, it was often used as a
secondary living area and the primary sleeping area. These early homes couldn’t
ventilate heat easily and would even retain uncomfortable amounts of heat
during the night. Rooftops were cooler, especially at night or when equipped
with reed canopies for shade, so people naturally preferred to spend time on
them. Rooms in the home were used for storage, cooking or other activities.[1]
This chapter finishes with Samuel having some private instructions
for Saul from God.
[1] IKO Industries, LTD. “The Roofs of
Ancient Cultures,” https://www.iko.com/na/blog/ancient-roofs/.
(accessed on 4.26.2021.)
No comments:
Post a Comment