1 Samuel 9:18
“Then Saul approached Samuel in the gateway, and said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.””
What does 1 Samuel 9:18 mean?
Saul is a young man who's just been chosen as Israel's first king, though he doesn't know it yet. He's been searching for his father's lost donkeys and has come to the prophet Samuel's city, hoping Samuel can tell him where to look. In this moment, Saul is still an ordinary person with an ordinary problem, respectfully asking for help from someone he believes has spiritual insight. There's something touching about how the verse captures Saul's politeness and humility at this threshold moment, right before his life changes completely. He has no idea that the person he's about to meet will anoint him as king, or that this encounter will set him on a path that will define a nation. Sometimes we brush past the most important moments in our lives without recognizing them as significant, just as Saul was simply looking for lost donkeys.