Around the time when Samuel is leading Israel as a judge, the Israelites ask for a king to rule over them. God commands Samuel to have the people present themselves before Him by their tribes and clans—1,000 from each of the tribes of Israel.
Samuel brings all the tribes of Israel near according to God’s words and casts lots. Among the twelve tribes, the tribe of Benjamin gets chosen. Among the tribe of Benjamin, Matri’s clan is chosen, and finally Saul son of Kish is chosen. Though they look for him, he is not to be found.
“Has the man come here yet?”
As Saul is not to be found, people inquire of God. God tells them Saul’s whereabouts. They run and bring him out from the baggage. As he stands among the people he is a head taller than any of the others. Samuel says to all the people,
“Do you see the man the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.”
Then the people shout, “Long live the king!”
When Saul was announced to be the first king of Israel, he had hidden himself to avoid the faces of the people. People even despised him, saying, “How can this fellow save us?” but Saul kept silent. When Samuel caught sight of Saul for the first time, Saul regarded himself unworthy to be king, saying that he was the least of all clans of Israel (1 Sa 9:20–21).
Around that time, God anointed Saul as king and poured a flask of oil on his head. If Saul’s humility had stayed the same, he wouldn’t have been left as an example of disobedience among Biblical characters, but as a righteous person recognized by God. From Saul’s case, we learn that we ought to inspect whether our heart is haughty or humble. Those who are humble as ever are used by God.