1-2 There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth. And he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upwards he was taller than any of the people. 3 Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. So Kish said to Saul his son, “Take one of the young men with you, and arise, go and look for the donkeys.” 4-5 And he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. And they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then they passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them. When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, let us go back, lest my father cease to care about the donkeys and become anxious about us.”

6 But he said to him, “Behold, there is a man of God in this city, and he is a man who is held in honour; all that he says comes true. So now let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us the way we should go.” 7-8 Then Saul said to his servant, “But if we go, what can we bring the man? For the bread in our sacks is gone, and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?” The servant answered Saul again, “Here, I have with me a quarter of a shekel (11 grams) of silver, and I will give it to the man of God to tell us our way.” 9 (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to enquire of God, he said, “Come, let us go to the seer”, for today's “prophet” was formerly called a seer.) 10 And Saul said to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.

11-13 As they went up the hill to the city, they met young women coming out to draw water and said to them, “Is the seer here?” They answered, “He is; behold, he is just ahead of you. Hurry. He has come just now to the city, because the people have a sacrifice today 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. For the people will not eat till he comes, since he must bless the sacrifice; afterwards those who are invited will eat. Now go up, for you will meet him immediately.” 14 So they went up to the city. As they were entering the city, they saw Samuel coming out towards them on his way up to the high place. 1 Samuel 9:1-14 English Standard Version

We mustn't build a theology of guidance on a section like this as it's a record of Biblical history rather than about ourselves! But, like Saul, there may have been a very ordinary event in our life which led to a big change, such as meeting our future husband or wife, or the career we pursued. In this man Saul's case, it was the time when his father's donkeys went missing. Little did he know that it would lead to him meeting God's Seer, Samuel, and eventually being crowned King of Israel. And, speaking of Samuel, what a lovely testimony of his life in those words “there is a man of God in this city, and he is a man who is held in honour; all that he says comes true.” May we who love Jesus be such people. Not in the sense of prophesying, but in living in ways that honour God, and always, always, speaking the truth.

Notice too how those who the Holy Spirit used to bring about God’s word to us, were so careful in all they wrote. The writer here explains to his readers how “formerly in Israel, when a man went to enquire of God, he said, 'Come, let us go to the seer', for today's 'prophet' was formerly called a seer.”

And so it was that just as 'by chance' the donkeys of Kish had gone missing, so it was 'by chance' that Saul and his servant arrived on the very day Samuel the Seer was in town for an important sacrifice. And as they were entering the city, they saw Samuel coming out towards them! Saul's life was about to take a dramatic new step.

If there's a personal lesson for us here, perhaps it's this. Whatever things God might orchestrate in our life, we are still accoutable for what we do thereafter. Saul's story is a sad one. It went from being the King of Israel - to ending up at logger heads with God. May we strive rather to be faithful to God, so that He who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion, until the day of Christ Jesus.