The anatomy of failure (1 Sam 9:1-14)

A Christian woman I know married in her fifties but a few years after the wedding, she realised that her relationship was in trouble. Talking to a friend of mine she admitted that the warning signs were there all along, but she disregarded them because her doubts were eclipsed by her desire for companionship. Sometimes we look back on a mistake, whether we misjudged a person or a situation and wonder if we could have seen the problem coming. Even if we could not, analysing how and why we went down a certain road can help us avoid similar mistakes. Thus, Saul’s story and failure as king is worth reflecting on. 1 Samuel 1-8 concluded with Israel’s demand for a king and God’s consent (find my series here, the introduction here and the two posts on 1 Samuel 8 here and here). Now we expect events to move quickly, but the introductory chapter seems long and rambling. When Scripture slows down, though, we should pay attention.

Despite the negativity in chapter 8, the outlook seems promising in our passage. At the same time, a closer look raises questions. It is like the ominous music of a film against the backdrop of a peaceful scene. The passage opens in v.1 with a lengthy genealogy and flattering description of Kish (is he our hero?), but then attention shifts to his son instead. Saul is head and shoulders above others (1 Sam 9:2; 10:23) and this is promising for a future military leader (physique in the ancient world was often connected with military prowess). Yet, readers may remember Hannah’s song and the contrast between human might versus God’s support and exaltation of the weak (1 Sam 2:4, 7-8). Further, in the OT, scenes by a well are often a precursor to a betrothal (Gen 24:11-14; 29:10; Exod 2:15-21),[1] but in our chapter (1 Sam 9:11-14), it becomes just another stage in trying to find the man of God. Our expectations are raised, then subverted, as if to alert us that not all is as it seems.

The introduction of a hero often contains vignettes that foreshadow what is to come. Thus, Saul’s inability to find the stray donkeys illustrates his later failure in shepherding his people as king.[2] Not finding the animals may not be initially his fault, but revealingly, it is a nameless servant who suggests that they inquire of God, rather than Saul. Moreover, the servant is the one who knows that such a man is in town and has the money to pay him (1 Sam 9:5-8). The lengthy explanation of the women at the well again underline Saul’s need to be guided by others and when he meets Samuel face-to-face, he does not recognise him as the seer (1 Sam 9:11-13, 18).[3] These details once again evoke for readers Saul’s troubling attitude to God’s guidance later and his eventual inability to gain access to it, as well as his blindness to spiritual matters.

Saul’s introduction overall then hints at two aspects where the future king will struggle: in fulfilling his task as ruler and in the area of God’s guidance to do so. Our story reminds us that seeking God in our tasks needs to be a deeply ingrained habit and warns that without learning spiritual discernment, we shall lack the kind of wisdom required to be godly people. How do we gain such wisdom? Proverbs 9:10 suggests that knowing and obeying God is the foundation. Tragically, those are the very qualities where Saul will fail though the outcome is not pre-determined from the outset. At several juncture, Saul will have the chance to turn things around. Thus, recognising our failures should not be the cause for despair but the opportunity to choose a different path and a closer walk with the Lord.

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[1] Such ‘type-scenes’ that set up expectations (including the one about meeting by a well leading to a betrothal), are well-established in biblical literature. See e.g. Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative (Basic Books, 1981), 47-62. The connection between wells and an opportunity for social interaction with women is based on real life, thus the development of a type scene is a case of art imitating life. Women had to draw water and tended to do so in the cool of the day. When they gathered round the well, they had the chance to chat and exchange news. It was one of the few public places where a stranger could encounter a woman without a wall of men relatives protecting her. Modern literature similarly produces type scenes that set up expectations (think of a whodunnit where guests gather for a party in someone’s house leading to the expectation that someone will be murdered).

[2] David G. Firth, 1&2 Samuel, AOTC 8 (Nottingham: Apollos; Downers Grove: IVP, 2009), 122.

[3] Saul’s inability to recognise Samuel as the seer may have been because the prophet did not have any distinguishing features to mark him out as such, though note that clothes in the ancient world often indicated position or occupation (cf. 2 Kings 1:7-8). The point is that the writer uses this incident in the physical realm as symbolic of a spiritual dimension. This is a common technique in biblical writing. There is a similar parallel in the story about the disciples going to Emmaus. Their inability to recognise Jesus physically corresponds to their lack of understanding about His true identity and what He had achieved on the cross (Luke 24:13-35).

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