1 Samuel 10:17–23

Then Samuel called the people together to the LORD at Mizpah, and said to the children of Israel, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all kingdoms and from those who oppressed you.’ But you have today rejected your God, who Himself saved you from all your adversities and your tribulations; and you have said to Him, ‘No, set a king over us!’ Now therefore, present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your clans.”

And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was chosen. And Saul the son of Kish was chosen. But when they sought him, he could not be found. Therefore they inquired of the LORD further, “Has the man come here yet?”

And the LORD answered, “There he is, hidden among the equipment.”

So they ran and brought him from there; and when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward.

Samuel cleverly lets the choosing of the new king be a “live event” that everyone participates in. This precludes any griping about who Samuel “picked” as their king.

Saul wins this lottery, but he’s hidden among the equipment. What in tarnation is going on here?

First off, the Hebrew word translated as “equipment” (כֵּלִֽים, kay-leem) is very broad. The ESV translates it as “baggage.” It can mean implements or tools. The one who carries the kay-leem for a soldier is the armor bearer. All we can know is that they were things in storage.

Fortunately, the word translated as “hidden” (נֶחְבָּ֖א, nekh-bah) means exactly that (literally “hidden himself”). So, Saul has hidden himself in a storage area. It wasn’t so good a hiding place (like a closed shed) that he couldn’t be found. He was just hiding in the shadows amongst stored items.

But that still doesn’t tell us why he was hiding. What was his goal?

Since hiding means avoiding being found, that has to be related to his goal. But being found in this case means being selected as king.

The only conclusion that fits is that Saul didn’t want the job.

Good. The desire for power is often associated with great sin. History is filled with stories of people killing their relatives because of their desire for power. This dreadful sin path will end up affecting Saul and many other Israeli kings.

But at least it doesn’t start out that way.

These Monday—Friday DEEPs are written by Mike Slay. The Weekend DEEPs are written by Matt Richardson. To subscribe to all the DEEPs click here:

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV stands for the English Standard Version. © Copyright 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV stands for The Holy Bible, New International Version®. © Copyright 1973 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. KJV stands for the King James Version.