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THE SEARCH FOR THE LOST DONKEYS

I Samuel 9:1-13

Victor M. Eskew

 

1.       Outline the text:

 

i.                    SAUL DESCRIBED (I Sam. 9:1—2)

ii.                  SAUL DISPATCHED (I Sam. 9:3)

iii.                SAUL DISAPPOINTED (I Sam. 9:4-5)

iv.                SAUL DISCUSSES (I Sam. 9:6-10)

v.                  SAUL DIRECTECD (I Sam. 9:11-13)

 

2.       Of what tribe was Kish a member? (I Sam. 9:1)

 

Now there was a man of Benjamin…

 

A.     He was of the tribe of Benjamin.

 

B.      Benjamin was the son of Rachel (Gen. 35:24).

 

C.     This tribe was the smallest of all the tribes of Israel (I Sam. 9:21).

 

D.     The location of their land.

 

Image result for the division of the land of Israel

 

3.       What does “Kish” mean? (I Sam. 9:1)

 

…whose name was Kish…

 

A.     Kish:  a bow (Strong) or bent (BDB)

 

4.       What do we know about Kish’s descendants? (I Sam. 9:1)

 

…the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah…

 

A.     Aphiah was of the house of Becher the son of Benjamin (Gen. 46:21).

 

B.      Abiel is also Jehiel, the first settler of Gibeon (Gibeah) (I Chron. 9:35).  He married Maachah, a daughter or granddaughter of Caleb.

 

5.       Kish was “…a mighty man of “power” (I Sam. 9:1)

 

…a mighty man of power.

 

6.       Define:  power (I Sam. 9:1)

 

A.     Strong (2428):  force of men, means or other resources

 

B.      BDB:  strength, might, efficiency, wealth

 

7.       What son of Kish is revealed in I Samuel 9:2?

 

And he had a son, whose name was Saul…

 

A.     According to BDB, his name means “desired.”

 

B.      Keil and Delitzsch tell us that his name means “prayed for.”

 

8.       How is he described (I Sam. 9:2)

 

…a choice young man, and a goodly:  and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he:  from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.

 

A.     A choice young man

 

B.      And a goodly

 

C.     And there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he

 

D.     From his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people (See I Sam. 10:24)

 

And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people?  And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king.

 

9.       Define:  choice young man (I Sam. 9:2)

 

A.     Strong (970):  a youth

 

B.      BDB:  youth, young man

 

 

10.   Define:  goodly (I Sam. 9:2)

 

A.     Strong (2896):  in the widest sense a good man

 

B.      BDB:  good, pleasant, agreeable, excellent, appropriate, becoming

 

11.   What had Kish lost? (I Sam. 9:3).

 

And the asses of Kish Saul’s father were lost. 

 

A.     The asses or donkeys

 

B.      We see here the providence of God at work.  It is through natural means that God brings Saul into the presence of Samuel.

 

12.   Who was to go with Saul to seek the asses? (I Sam. 9:3)

 

…And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses.

 

A.     One of the servants of Kish

 

13.   What five places did they search in an attempt to find the lost animals? (I Sam. 9:4-5a)

 

And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found them not:  then they passed through the land of Shalim, and there they were not:  and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not.  And when they were come to the land of Zuph…

 

A.     Mount Ephraim                                        D.  the land of the Benjamites

 

B.      The land of Shalisha                                 E.  the land of Zuph

 

C.     The land of Shalim

 

Related image

 

This map was scanned from The MacMillan Bible Atlas; 3rd Edition; Aharoni, Avi-Yonah, Rainey, and Safrai; MacMillan; ©1993 by Carta; p. 70.

14.   Who was Saul concerned about when they could not find the asses? (I Sam. 9:5b)

 

…Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come, and let us return; lest my father leave caring for the asses, and take thought for us.

 

A.     He was concerned for his father.

 

B.      Here we are given more insight into the positive qualities of Saul.  He was both obedient to his father and had a deep concern for him as well.

 

15.   Who did the servant request that they try to find who could help them? (I Sam. 9:6)

 

And he said unto him, Behold, now, there is in this city a man of God…he can show us our way that we should go.

 

A.     He referred to the individual as “a man of God.”

 

B.      It was a “title of respect applied to prophets and beloved religious leaders.” (…Wikipedia.com, “Man of God”).

 

C.     The term appears 78 times in 72 verses of the Bible, in application to up to 13 individuals.

 

16.   What two descriptions are given of “the man of God”? (I Sam. 9:6)

 

…and he is an honorable man; all that he saith cometh surely to pass…

 

A.      Honorable                       B.  All that he saith cometh to pass

 

17.   Define:  honorable (I Sam. 9:6)

 

A.     Strong (3513):  heavy, in the sense of abounding in honor

 

B.      BDB:  honorable, one to be honored

 

C.     Dictionary.com:  honor:  honest, fair, a person of integrity, thus deserving respect

 

18.   What was Saul concerned about if they chose to go to the man of God? ( Sam. 9:7)

 

Then said Saul to his servant, But behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man?  For the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God:  what have we?

 

A.     He as concerned that they did not have a gift to bring the man of God.

 

B.      It was not required that a person pay a prophet.  However, it was a custom for one to bring a gift to an individual who was thought to be a superior.

 

19.   What did the servant have to give to the man of God? (I Sam. 9:8)

 

And the servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver:  that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way.

 

A.     A fourth part of a shekel of silver

20.   How much was “the fourth part of a shekel of silver” worth? (I Sam. 9:8)

 

A.     The shekel was about ½ oz of silver.

 

B.      The servant only had ¼ part of a shekel.  Thus, he only had about 1/8th oz. of silver.

 

C.     1/8th of an oz. of silver today would be $1.92.  It was probably much less in Bible times.

 

D.     “…and here the fourth part of a shekel of silver, about nine pence of our money, was deemed sufficient: therefore the present was intended more as a token of respect than as an emolument” (Clarke, e-sword).

 

E.      In all of this, we see the hand of God in play.

1.       Why did Saul choose this particular servant to go with him?

2.       Why couldn’t they find the donkeys?

3.       How did the servant know about the man of God?

4.       Why did the servant still have ¼ of a part of a shekel of silver with him?

 

21.   What was the ancient name for a prophet? (I Sam. 9:9)

 

(Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer:  for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.)

 

A.     Seer

 

B.      Definition:

1.       Strong (7200):  to see

2.       BDB:  to cause to see, show

 

C.     This is a parenthetical remark by the author that explains the word as it will be used in the next few verses.

 

22.   T- F      They went to the city of the man of God (I Sam. 9:10)

 

Then said Saul to his servant, Well said; come, let us go.  So they went unto the city where the man of God was.

 

A.     True

 

B.      This is not the city of Ramah, Samuel’s home.  Saul had come specifically to this particular city in order to offer sacrifice for the people.

 

23.   To whom did Saul and the servant speak as they went up the hill into the city of the prophet? (I Sam. 9:11).

 

And as they went up the hill to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water, and said unto them, Is the seer here?

 

A.     Young maidens

 

B.      The young women were not kept in the house.  They often went to draw water for their animals (Gen. 29:6), and, they worked in the fields (Ruth 2:2-3, 8).

24.   What were these women doing? (I Sam. 9:11)

 

A.     They were going out to draw water

 

B.      They could have been drawing water for personal use, home use, or to be given to their animals.

 

25.   Why was Samuel in the city? (I Sam. 9:12)

 

And they answered them, and said, He is:  behold, he is before you:  make haste now, for he came today to the city; for there is a sacrifice of the people today in the high place.

 

A.     He had come to make a sacrifice.

 

B.      We are not told all of the details of this sacrifice. 

 

26.   Where was the sacrifice supposed to take place? (I Sam. 9:12)

 

A.     The high place

 

B.      Altars were usually built upon higher elevation. 

1.       These were often high places located outside of the city itself. 

2.       The high place was called the acropolis:  acro (high) and polis (city).  Thus, an acropolis was the high part of the city.

 

27.   The people would not eat until Samuel had done what to the sacrifice? (I Sam. 9:13)

 

And as soon as ye be come into the city, ye shall straightway find him, before he go up to the high place to eat:  for the people will not eat until he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice; and afterwards they eat that be bidden.  Now therefore get you up; for about this time ye shall find him.

 

A.     The people would not eat until Samuel blessed the sacrifice.

 

B.      There were certain rites that only a priest could perform in order to bless the sacrifice and the meal that was about to be eaten.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SAUL AND HIS SERVANT FIND SAMUEL

I Samuel 9:14-27

Homework

Victor M. Eskew

 

1.       Outline the text:

 

vi.                I Samuel 9:14-17

vii.              I Samuel 9:18-21

viii.            I Samuel 9:22-24

ix.                I Samuel 9:25-27

 

2.       Who met Saul and the servant as they entered the city? (I Sam. 9:14)

 

 

3.       T – F    The Lord had told Samuel about Saul the day before they met. (I Sam. 9:15).

 

 

4.       “…and thou shalt _______________ him to be ____________ over my people Israel” (I Sam. 9:16).

 

5.       Define:  anoint (I Sam. 9:16)

 

 

6.       Define:  captain (I Sam. 9:16)

 

 

7.       Who would Saul deliver the Israelites from? (I Sam. 9:16)

 

 

8.       T – F    Saul was going to reign over God’s people (I Sam. 9:17)

 

 

9.       Define:  reign (I Sam. 9:17)

 

 

 

10.   T – F    Saul knew Samuel the moment he met him (I Sam. 9:18)

 

 

11.   Where did Samuel tell Saul to go (I Sam. 9:19)

 

 

 

12.   What is the meaning of the phrase:  “…and will tell thee all that is in thine heart”? (I Sam. 9:19)

 

 

13.   T – F Samuel did not tell Saul anything about the asses that were lost (I Sam. 9:20).

 

 

14.   What is the meaning of the words:  “all the desire of Israel”? (I Sam. 9:20)

 

 

15.   What two excuses did Saul give as to why he should not be selected as king? (I Sam. 9:21)

 

A.

 

B.

 

16.   Where did Samuel bring his two guests? (I Sam. 9:22)

 

 

17.   Where did he sit them? (I Sam. 9:22)

 

 

18.   How many guests were present? (I Sam. 9:23)

 

 

19.   T – F    Samuel had set aside a particular portion of food. (I Sam. 9:24).

 

 

20.   To whom was this special portion given? (I Sam. 9:25)

 

 

21.   After eating at the high place, where did Samuel take Saul to commune with him? (I Sam. 9:25)

 

 

22.   T – F    Samuel intended to send Saul home the next day (I Sam. 9:26)

 

 

23.   What is “the spring of the day”? (I Sam. 9:26)

 

 

24.   T – F    Samuel told Saul to send the servant on before him.  (I Sam. 9:27)

 

 

25.   Why did Samuel want to be alone with Saul? (I Sam. 9:28)