1 Samuel 9:3

SAUL'S SEARCH FOR THE LOST DONKEYS

"Now the asses of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul his son, "Take one of the servants with you, and arise, go and look for the asses." And they passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then they passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them."

There are a great many "chances" or "accidents," as we might call them, in this narrative, but none of them could be anything other than the providential intervention of God in human affairs in order to achieve the divine purpose. The straying away of Kish's donkeys, Saul's futile search for them, and his "accidental" arrival at the city where Samuel was - who can believe that any of these occurrences was "by chance"?

"Shalishah ... and Shaalim" (1 Samuel 9:4). "These names are unknown";[6] and it is impossible to trace exactly the course of Saul's journey hunting for the lost animals.