18 Then Saul approached Samuel in the gate and said , "Please tell me where the seer's house is." 19 Samuel answered Saul and said , "I am the seer . Go up before me to the high place , for you shall eat with me today ; and in the morning I will let you go , and will tell you all that is on your mind . 20 " As for your donkeys which 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 for all your father's household ?" 21 Saul replied , " Am I not a Benjamite , of the smallest of the tribes of Israel , and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin ? Why then do you speak to me in this way ?" 22 Then Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall and gave them a place at the head of those who were invited , who were about thirty men . 23 Samuel said to the cook , "Bring the portion that I gave you, concerning which I said to you, 'Set it aside .' " 24 Then the cook took up the leg with what was on it and set it before Saul . And Samuel said , "Here is what has been reserved ! Set it before you and eat , because it has been kept for you until the appointed time , since I said I have invited the people ." So Saul ate with Samuel that day . 25 When they came down from the high place into the city , Samuel spoke with Saul on the roof . 26 And they arose early ; and at daybreak Samuel called to Saul on the roof , saying , "Get up, that I may send you away ." So Saul arose , and both he and Samuel went out into the street . 27 As they were going down to the edge of the city , Samuel said to Saul , "Say to the servant that he might go ahead of us and pass on, but you remain standing now , that I may proclaim the word of God to you."
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Samuel 9:18-27
Commentary on 1 Samuel 9:18-27
(Read 1 Samuel 9:18-27)
Samuel, that good prophet, was so far from envying Saul, or bearing him any ill-will, that he was the first and most forward to do him honour. Both that evening and early the next morning, Samuel communed with Saul upon the flat roof of the house. We may suppose Samuel now convinced Saul that he was the person God had fixed upon for the government, and of his own willingness to resign. How different are the purposes of the Lord for us, from our intentions for ourselves! Perhaps Saul was the only one who ever went out to seek asses, and literally found a kingdom; but many have set out and moved their dwellings to seek riches and pleasures, who have been guided to places where they found salvation for their souls. Thus they have met with those who addressed them as if aware of the secrets of their lives and hearts, and have been led seriously to regard the word of the Lord. If this has been our case, though our worldly plans have not prospered, let us not care for that; the Lord has given us, or has prepared us for, what is far better.