9:1
We now come to the anointing of the first king of Israel, and the whole matter is rather strange. We know that Saul quickly turned out to be a disaster, and that raises the matter of why did God tell Samuel to anoint Saul in the first place. Gen 49:10 says “the sceptre shall not depart from Judah”, yet Saul is from the tribe of Benjamin. At the end of Judges we read the disaster that came from Benjamin, and how the tribe was much diminished. Perhaps the best answer as to “why” is that Saul was God’s judgement upon Israel, he was giving them the king they desired and deserved.
9:2
The narrative of Saul is mixed. 9:1 begins by describing Saul as “a man of standing”, this is a positive description of him, and here we are told that he was a “handsome young man” and a head taller than anyone else. So he was physically attractive, he had kingly stature. Although he is described as “young”, 1 Sam 13:1 tells us that he was thirty years old when he became king.
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