Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Samuel 9:19

"And Samuel answered Saul, and said, I am the seer; go up before me unto the high place, for ye shall eat with me to-day: and in the morning I will let thee go, and will tell thee all that is in thy heart." — 1 Samuel 9:19 (ASV)

Go up before me unto the high place. —Samuel's directing the young stranger to precede him to the public place of sacrifice was a sign of distinguished honor from one of Samuel’s rank to a young, unknown wayfarer like Saul. These words of courteous respect were addressed to Saul alone: Go thou up before me. The prophet-judge then speaks to the two, Saul and his servant: ye shall eat. The verb here is in the plural and invites both to the sacrificial banquet. Then, Samuel again confines his words to Saul: I will tell thee all—all that is in thine heart. The seer informs him that on the next day he proposes to make strange disclosures to this young man. This young man, entirely unaware of what lay before him, had just come up and accosted Samuel, the aged judge and seer.

Yes, on the next day Samuel would show this young Benjamite that he was indeed a seer. He would tell him all his secret thoughts and aspirations. Regarding the donkeys, about whose fate Saul was so anxious, he was to dismiss them from his thoughts altogether, for they were already found. Far graver matters than the everyday weal and woe of a farm on Mount Ephraim were to be discussed on the next day.

All the desire of Israel. —All the desire of Israel, or, as the Vulgate renders it, optima quæque Israel, “the best in Israel” (Luther). The words do not signify the desire of Israel—all that it desires—but all that it possesses of what is precious or worth desiring. The seer's obscure and dark words on this, the occasion of his first meeting with Saul, were intended to draw him away from thinking about the donkeys and the little matters which had previously filled his life, and to lift him to higher thoughts and aspirations.

The old seer’s words were certainly vague and indefinite. However, they came from the lips of one so high in dignity, known to be the possessor of many strange secrets of the future hidden from mortal men. These words, holding out a prospect of undreamed-of future glory for Saul, amazed the young man. Full of wonderment and awe, he replied, Speakest thou of such glories to me, a member of an unimportant family of the smallest of the tribes of Israel?