1 Samuel 9:18

SAUL MEETS SAMUEL WHO WELCOMES HIM

"Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate, and said, "Tell me where is the house of the seer"? Samuel answered Saul, "I am the seer; go up before me to the high place, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind. As for your asses that were lost three days ago, do not set your mind on them, for they have been found. And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and all your father's house"? Saul answered, "Am I not a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel? And is not my family the humblest of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way"?"

"Go up before me to the high place" (1 Samuel 9:19). This was Samuel's way of showing respect and honor to Saul.

"All that is on your mind" (1 Samuel 9:19). This indicates that Saul might have been contemplating the deplorable state of the people of Israel and pondering the possibility of his being able to do something about it. Certainly, he had something on his mind except finding the lost donkeys.

"And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel" (1 Samuel 9:20). Porter commented that Saul's immediate disclaimer of any worthiness and his stressing the small size of the tribe of Benjamin and the relative insignificance of his father's house have the meaning that, "Saul evidently understood this as a promise of the kingship."[18] It will be recalled that Gideon also made similar remarks to the Angel of Jehovah (Judges 6:15).