The Seer and the Donkeys
- Shmoopers: meet Saul.
- Saul is a man from the tribe of Benjamin who likes looking for his lost donkeys. No, really, he does.
- When we first meet Saul, he and a young boy are out searching for the missing beasts.
- Distressed, the boy tells Saul of a seer that could help them. This seer just so happens to be Samuel. As Saul and the boy are traveling to meet the seer, they meet some women who informs them the seer will be at the town's evening sacrifice. How serendipitous for everyone.
- As a side note, the Bible describes Saul as head and shoulders taller than everyone else. This is curious for the Bible because, normally, we don't get much in the way of physical descriptions. But here's a hint: this will come into play later (1-13).
- God has already told Samuel about Saul, so when Samuel arrives at the evening sacrifice, he is ready to make his move. Sometimes we imagine God as the man who whispers names into the President's ear at parties (14-17).
- Samuel and Saul meet, and after some odd discussion, Samuel offers Saul and the boy a place to spend the night. The next morning, Samuel informs Saul that he would like to speak to him privately.
- This chapter ends on a cliffhanger. What will Samuel say? Tune in next week, same biblical time, same biblical book (18-27).