1 Samuel Chapter 9

Day 9 – 1 Samuel 9

Providence in a Pair of Straying Donkeys

“Now the donkeys belonging to Kish … were lost.”
—1 Samuel 9:3, New International Version

Yesterday we heard Israel’s loud demand for a king (1 Samuel 8). Today God answers with a whisper: two missing animals.


1. The Stage and Its Players (9:1-2)

Kish of Benjamin is introduced with a genealogy that stresses status (wealth) and stature (Saul is “handsome” and “a head taller”). In a culture that valued visible signs of success, this description feels promising—yet it already hints at the tension between outward appearance and inward character that will dominate the Saul narrative (cf. 16:7).

A Hebrew detail: the family name בֶּן־אֲבִיעֵל (ben-Aviel, v. 1) literally means “son of a strong father.” The chronicler piles up words for power, almost winking at us: Watch how God will use strength—and expose its limits.


2. Lost Donkeys, Found Destiny (9:3-14)

Donkeys were vital property—think delivery truck, tractor, and bank account folded into one. Kish sends Saul to retrieve them, and the chase takes them through the rugged highlands of Benjamin. Repetition (“they passed through… but did not find them”) creates almost comic suspense and stresses human frustration.

A servant suggests consulting “the man of God.” The text preserves an older term:
רוֹאֶה (ro’eh) = “seer,” literally “one who sees” (v. 9). A later gloss notes that Israel now says naviʾ (“prophet”). The aside reminds us that revelation grows, vocabulary shifts, but God’s guidance abides.

Western readers sometimes glide past the silver coin (v. 8). A quarter-shekel weighed roughly 2.8 grams—about a week’s wages for a laborer. Ancient Near-Eastern texts describe similar honoraria for diviners. Even in gift-giving God is quietly aligning events.

Cross-references
• Proverbs 16:9 – “In their hearts humans plan… but the Lord establishes their steps.”
• Luke 15:4-6 – Another search, another joyful find.


3. Wells, Women, and a Welcome (9:11-14)

At the hill-country spring young women are drawing water—a timeless scene (Genesis 24; John 4). Travelers learned news at wells; the women direct Saul upward to the “high place” before the sacrifice begins. Archaeology confirms that such raised altars dotted Israel prior to the temple (cf. Kuntillet ’Ajrud, Tel Dan). Meals there mixed worship and fellowship.


4. A Seer’s Table (9:15-24)

Unbeknownst to Saul, God had spoken to Samuel “the day before” (v. 15). The Hebrew plays with time: מָחָר כָּעֵת (“tomorrow about this time”). While Saul hunts donkeys, God hunts Saul.

Samuel seats the young Benjamite in the place of honor and sets before him “the leg and what was on it” (likely the right thigh). Leviticus 7:32 assigns this portion to priests, so Samuel’s act is prophetic theater: I, the priest-judge, hand a royal share to you. Calvin notes that grace often “outpaces consciousness”; Saul eats the symbol of his calling before he knows he is called.

Hymn suggestion: God Moves in a Mysterious Way (William Cowper, 1773).


5. A Quiet Antechamber to Kingship (9:25-27)

After the feast Samuel leads Saul to the roof for the night breeze—flat roofs served as guest rooms. At dawn he pulls the young man aside for a private word. The chapter ends mid-sentence: “so that I may give you a message from God.” Narrative suspense invites us to pause and feel the weight of holy interruption.


6. Theological Threads

  1. Providence Woven Through the Ordinary
    Augustine marveled that God “rides on the tiniest events.” A servant’s suggestion, a coin in a pouch, even lost livestock become instruments of covenant history.

  2. Appearance vs. Reality
    Saul’s height impresses, yet his later insecurity will undo him. The episode foreshadows the divine critique, “People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (16:7).

  3. Divine Accommodation
    God grants Israel’s request for a king (ch. 8) but chooses the king in a way that underlines His sovereignty. As Chrysostom observed, God sometimes says “yes” to teach us to crave a better “yes” later—in this case, to prepare for David and finally for Christ, the true Shepherd-King (John 10).

  4. Seeking and Finding
    Saul seeks donkeys; Samuel seeks Saul; God seeks a kingdom purpose. Jesus’ parables of lost sheep, coins, and sons echo the pattern.


7. Living the Text

• Where have “lost donkeys” in your life masked a larger divine appointment?
• How do you measure leadership—by stature, résumé, or hidden obedience?
• Will you trust that God can steer your mundane errands into sacred encounters?


8. Further Reading

Historical/Archaeological:
• Israel Finkelstein & Amihai Mazar, The Quest for the Historical Israel – Highland settlements of Iron Age I-II.
• Excavation reports from Tell el-Ful (traditional Gibeah of Saul).

Commentaries:
• Dale Ralph Davis, 1 Samuel – warm pastoral insights on providence.
• Walter Brueggemann, First and Second Samuel – narrative theology and social criticism.


Prayer

Sovereign Shepherd,
You guide galaxies and you guide donkeys.
Turn our routine journeys into meetings with Your purpose.
Save us from judging by height or glamour;
form in us the quiet heart that listens when You call.
May every lost thing we chase become a doorway
into deeper trust in Jesus, our true King.
Amen.

Narrated version of this devotional on 1 Samuel Chapter 9