The Berean Pursuit
Now there was a Benjamite, a powerful man, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. And he had a son named Saul, choice and handsome, without equal among the Israelites-a head taller than any of the people.
One day the donkeys of Saul's father Kish wandered off, and Kish said to his son Saul, "Take one of the servants and go look for the donkeys."
So Saul passed through the hill country of Ephraim and then through the land of Shalishah, but did not find the donkeys. He and the servant went through the region of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then they went through the land of Benjamin, and still they did not find them.
When they reached the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant, "Come, let us go back, or my father will stop worrying about the donkeys and start worrying about us."
"Look," said the servant, "in this city there is a man of God who is highly respected; everything he says surely comes to pass. Let us go there now. Perhaps he will tell us which way to go."
"If we do go," Saul replied, "what can we give the man? For the bread in our packs is gone, and there is no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?"
The servant answered him again. "Look," he said, "I have here in my hand a quarter shekel of silver. I will give it to the man of God, and he will tell us our way."
(Formerly in Israel, a man on his way to inquire of God would say, "Come, let us go to the seer." For the prophet of today was formerly called the seer.)
"Good," said Saul to his servant. "Come, let us go." So they set out for the city where the man of God was. And as they were climbing the hill to the city, they met some young women coming out to draw water and asked, "Is the seer here?"
"Yes, he is ahead of you," they answered. "Hurry now, for today he has come to the city because the people have a sacrifice on the high place. As soon as you enter the city, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; after that, the guests will eat. Go up at once; you will find him."
So Saul and his servant went up toward the city, and as they were entering it, there was Samuel coming toward them on his way up to the high place.
Now on the day before Saul's arrival, the LORD had revealed to Samuel, "At this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you are to anoint him leader over My people Israel; he will save them from the hand of the Philistines. For I have looked upon 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; he shall rule over My people."
Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and asked, "Would you please tell me where the seer's house is?"
"I am the seer," Samuel replied. "Go up before me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today. And when I send you off in the morning, I will tell you all that is in your heart. As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them, for they have been found. And upon whom is all the desire of Israel, if not upon you and all your father's house?"
Saul replied, "Am I not a Benjamite from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of Benjamin? So why would you say such a thing to me?"
Then Samuel took Saul and his servant, brought them into the hall, and seated them in the place of honor among those who were invited-about thirty in all. And Samuel said to the cook, "Bring the portion I gave you and told you to set aside."
So the cook picked up the leg and what was attached to it and set it before Saul. Then Samuel said, "Here is what was kept back. It was set apart for you. Eat, for it has been kept for you for this occasion, from the time I said, 'I have invited the people.'" So Saul dined with Samuel that day.
And after they had come down from the high place into the city, Samuel spoke with Saul on the roof of his house.
They got up early in the morning, and just before dawn Samuel called to Saul on the roof, "Get ready, and I will send you on your way!" So Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went outside together.
As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, "Tell the servant to go on ahead of us, but you stay for a while, and I will reveal to you the word of God." So the servant went on.
Then Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul's head, kissed him, and said, "Has not the LORD anointed you ruler over His inheritance? When you leave me today, you will find two men at Rachel's tomb in Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, 'The donkeys you seek have been found, and now your father has stopped worrying about the donkeys and started worrying about you, asking, "What should I do about my son?"'
Then you will go on from there until you come to the Oak of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you will accept from their hands.
After that you will come to Gibeah of God, where the Philistines have an outpost. As you approach the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place, preceded by harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres, and they will be prophesying.
Then the Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be transformed into a different person.
When these signs have come, do as the occasion demands, for God is with you. And you shall go before me to Gilgal, and surely I will come to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Wait seven days until I come to you and show you what you are to do."
As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul's heart, and all the signs came to pass that day. When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a group of prophets met him. Then the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied along with them.
All those who had formerly known Saul and saw him prophesying with the prophets asked one another, "What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?"
Then a man who lived there replied, "And who is their father?" So the saying became a proverb: "Is Saul also among the prophets?"
And when Saul had finished prophesying, he went up to the high place.
Now Saul's uncle asked him and his servant, "Where did you go?"
"To look for the donkeys," Saul replied. "When we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel."
"Tell me," Saul's uncle asked, "what did Samuel say to you?"
And Saul replied, "He assured us that the donkeys had been found." But Saul did not tell his uncle what Samuel had said about the kingship.
After this, Samuel summoned the people to the LORD at Mizpah and said to the Israelites, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the hands of the Egyptians and of all the kingdoms that oppressed you.'
But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and afflictions, and you have said to Him, 'No, set a king over us.' Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and clans."
Thus Samuel had all the tribes of Israel come forward, and the tribe of Benjamin was selected. Then he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward by its clans, and the clan of Matri was selected. Finally, Saul son of Kish was selected. But when they looked for him, they could not find him. So again they inquired of the LORD, "Has the man come here yet?"
And the LORD replied, "Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage."
So they ran and brought Saul, and when he stood among the people, he was a head taller than any of the others. Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see the one the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people."
And all the people shouted, "Long live the king!"
Then Samuel explained to the people the rights of kingship. He wrote them on a scroll and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, each to his own home.
Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, and the men of valor whose hearts God had touched went with him.
But some worthless men said, "How can this man save us?" So they despised him and brought him no gifts; but Saul remained silent about it.
And Saul was there, giving approval to Stephen's death.
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. God-fearing men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.
Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ to them. The crowds gave their undivided attention to Philip's message and to the signs they saw him perform. With loud shrieks, unclean spirits came out of many who were possessed, and many of the paralyzed and lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city.
Prior to that time, a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and astounded the people of Samaria. He claimed to be someone great, and all the people, from the least to the greatest, heeded his words and said, "This man is the divine power called the Great Power." They paid close attention to him because he had astounded them for a long time with his sorcery.
But when they believed Philip as he preached the gospel of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Even Simon himself believed and was baptized. He followed Philip closely and was astounded by the great signs and miracles he observed.
When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. On their arrival, they prayed for them to receive the Holy Spirit. For the Holy Spirit had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
When Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money. "Give me this power as well," he said, "so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."
But Peter replied, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in our ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of your wickedness, and pray to the Lord. Perhaps He will forgive you for the intent of your heart. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and captive to iniquity."
Then Simon answered, "Pray to the Lord for me, so that nothing you have said may happen to me."
And after Peter and John had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many of the Samaritan villages.
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Get up and go south to the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official in charge of the entire treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his return was sitting in his chariot reading Isaiah the prophet.
The Spirit said to Philip, "Go over to that chariot and stay by it."
So Philip ran up and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked.
"How can I," he said, "unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture:
"He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before the shearer is silent,
so He did not open His mouth.
In His humiliation He was deprived of justice.
Who can recount His descendants?
For His life was removed from the earth."
"Tell me," said the eunuch, "who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?"
Then Philip began with this very Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
As they traveled along the road and came to some water, the eunuch said, "Look, here is water! What is there to prevent me from being baptized?" And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.
When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing. But Philip appeared at Azotus and traveled through that region, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he came to Caesarea.