1 Samuel 9:15

WHAT GOD HAD ALREADY TOLD SAMUEL

"Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed to Samuel: "Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the tribe of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have seen the afflictions of my people, because their cry has come to me. When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, "Here is the man of whom I spoke to you! He it is who shall rule over my people."

So there was nothing whatever "accidental" about Saul's arrival before Samuel. The providence of God foretold it and then brought it to pass.

"The Lord told Samuel" (1 Samuel 9:15). God, having created the universe and everything within it, might have communicated this information to Samuel in several different ways; but exactly how he did so is not revealed. As DeHoff said, "In view of the fact that men have almost unlimited means of communication, it is a little ridiculous for critics to argue about how God communicated with Samuel."[15]

"The Lord revealed to Samuel" (1 Samuel 9:15). "The Hebrew words from which this statement comes is literally, had uncovered his ear, a figure of speech said to be derived from the practice of one's pushing aside another's hair or the corner of his turban to whisper something in his ear."[16]

"And he shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines" (1 Samuel 9:16). H. P. Smith wrote that, "This sentence is a direct contradiction of 1 Samuel 7:11ff";[17] but such an error should be rejected. (See our comment on 1 Samuel 7:11ff, above.)

"Anoint him to be prince over my people Israel" (1 Samuel 9:16). The word `prince' as used here has the same meaning as `king.'