Charles Spurgeon Commentary 1 Samuel 9

Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people.

Here we have the pedigree of the great king of Israel, Saul, the son of Kish. He was descended from a noble tribe, though not a very large one, and he appears to have been endowed with a very notable personal appearance: There was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people; and to the Israelites of that day, who had got away from looking up to God, and to the more valuable accomplishments of the mind and the heart, the striking personal appearance of Saul would be a great attraction and recommendation.

He was diligent in his father's service, even though that service meant a fruitless journey in search of some straying donkeys. As he was then faithfully discharging the duties of his station in life, he was the man who was likely to rise to a higher position. He was the son of "a mighty man of power" or wealth. Yet, so simple were the customs of the time that he was sent, with one of the servants, to look for the lost donkeys. He appears to have started at once to carry out the commission entrusted to him.

Learn from Saul's obedience, dear young people, never to despise any duty that falls to you in the ordinary tasks of daily life. You will be preparing yourselves for a higher position by doing well what you are called to do now.

There was evidently in Saul, at that time, a great considerateness of spirit; he wished to save his father from having any painful anxiety concerning his son and his servant, for Saul put both together when he said "us." It is most desirable that young men, in the present day, should have a tender regard for those to whom they owe their being, and who have done so much for them in the years of their tender infancy; and that all young people should be careful never needlessly to give their parents one anxious thought on their account.

In this case, as in so many others, the servant seems to have had more grace than his young master, because he knew of Samuel the prophet, and he knew where the "man of God" lived, and told Saul a good deal about him, and gave him some good advice on what they should do. In any case where the servant, and not the master, knows the Lord, it is good, when the opportunity arises and it can be done prudently and discreetly, for the servant to speak up and give a good word for the cause of God and truth.

He says nothing about any money that he may have had in his own pocket, and again his servant has to lead the way.