The Private Word Before the Public Anointing Text: 1 Samuel 9:25-27
Introduction: The School of Providence
We live in an age that despises quiet preparation. Our culture celebrates the instantaneous, the viral, the overnight sensation. Men want the crown without the cross, the throne without the training, and the public anointing without the private instruction. We want God to do a big thing, and we want Him to do it right now, preferably with a hashtag. But this is not how God builds His kingdom. God is a master craftsman, and He does not rush His work. He is in the business of preparing men for the tasks He has prepared for them, and this preparation is almost always done in secret, far from the clamor of the crowd.
The story of Saul's selection as king is a masterclass in the sovereignty of God working through the most mundane circumstances. A man is sent to look for his father's lost donkeys, a thoroughly earthy and unglamorous task. He is about to give up in frustration, but his servant, in a moment of what appears to be simple common sense, suggests they consult a local seer. This entire affair, from the wandering livestock to the servant's suggestion, is orchestrated by God down to the minute. God had already told Samuel the day before, "Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be prince over my people Israel" (1 Sam. 9:16). Saul, looking for donkeys, stumbles into his divine destiny. This is how God works. He weaves the grand tapestry of His redemptive plan using the ordinary threads of our daily lives.
But notice the sequence. Before Saul is presented to the people, before he is anointed with oil, before the Spirit rushes upon him, there is a period of private preparation. There is a feast, an honored seat, a conversation on a rooftop, and a quiet moment at the edge of the city. God does not simply drop a man into a position of immense responsibility without first speaking to him. The public work of God is always preceded by the private word of God. Before God makes a man a king, He must first teach him to listen. This is the principle we see here, and it is a principle that our impatient and performance-driven generation has almost entirely forgotten.
The Text
Then they came down from the high place into the city, and Samuel spoke with Saul on the roof. And they arose early; and at the breaking of dawn Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, “Get up, that I may send you away.” So Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went out into the street. As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Say to the young man that he might pass before us and pass onwards, but you remain standing now, that I may cause you to hear the word of God.”
(1 Samuel 9:25-27 LSB)
The Rooftop Catechism (v. 25)
We begin with the private conversation that follows the public honor.
"Then they came down from the high place into the city, and Samuel spoke with Saul on the roof." (1 Samuel 9:25)
Saul has just been treated as the guest of honor at a sacrificial feast. He was given the chief seat and the choice portion of the meat, a portion Samuel had set aside beforehand. This was a public signal to the thirty or so guests that this man was significant, though they did not yet know why. But after the public honor comes the private instruction. They go to Samuel's house, and the conversation happens on the roof.
In that part of the world, flat roofs were common and served as an additional room for the house, a place for sleeping in the cool of the evening or for private conversation. This is not just an architectural detail; it is theologically significant. The conversation is elevated, set apart from the normal traffic of the house and the street. It is a quiet, secluded place. What did Samuel speak with Saul about? The text doesn't give us a transcript, but we can infer the substance. Samuel was preparing Saul for the weight of the kingdom. He was likely catechizing him on the law of the king found in Deuteronomy 17. A king in Israel was not to be like the kings of the nations. He was not to multiply horses (military power), wives (political alliances), or silver and gold (personal wealth). He was to write out his own copy of the law and read it all the days of his life, that he might learn to fear the Lord and not turn aside from the commandment.
This was a conversation about the nature of covenantal leadership. It was about submission to the word of God as the true foundation of his reign. Saul was a head taller than any other man in Israel. He looked the part. The people wanted a king they could see, a physical specimen who would lead them into battle. God gave them what they wanted, but Samuel's task was to instruct this physical specimen that true strength lay not in his height or his might, but in his obedience to the God who had chosen him. This rooftop conversation was the beginning of Saul's seminary education. Before he could wield the scepter, he had to learn to sit at the feet of God's prophet.
The Early Morning Summons (v. 26)
The instruction continues into the next day, with a sense of divine urgency.
"And they arose early; and at the breaking of dawn Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, “Get up, that I may send you away.” So Saul arose, and both he and Samuel went out into the street." (1 Samuel 9:26)
The summons comes at the "breaking of dawn." This is a time for new beginnings. The darkness is passing, and the light is coming. This is symbolic of the new day dawning for Israel with the institution of the monarchy. Samuel's call is direct and authoritative: "Get up." This is not a suggestion. This is the call of God through His prophet, and it demands immediate obedience. Saul's response is simple and correct: "So Saul arose."
There is a lesson here about responding to the call of God. When God summons a man, the only proper response is to get up and go. Procrastination and hesitation are forms of rebellion. Saul, at this early stage, is compliant. He is teachable. The tragedy of his life is that he does not remain so. He starts well, but he does not finish well. He listens to Samuel here, but later he will listen to the voice of the people and the voice of his own fear.
Samuel says, "that I may send you away." Samuel is acting as God's emissary. He is the one who commissions, who sends. This establishes the proper relationship between the prophet and the king, between the word of God and the power of the state. The king is under the word. The state is to receive its commission from God. When the king, or any civil magistrate, forgets this, he begins to see himself as the ultimate authority, and tyranny is the inevitable result. Saul's entire reign will be a test of whether he remembers this foundational lesson from the breaking of dawn on Samuel's roof.
The Appointed Place for the Word (v. 27)
The final verse in our text sets the stage for the anointing itself, and it is packed with significance.
"As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Say to the young man that he might pass before us and pass onwards, but you remain standing now, that I may cause you to hear the word of God.”" (1 Samuel 9:27)
They are at the edge of the city. They are in a transitional space, leaving the ordinary life of the town behind to step into the extraordinary calling God has for Saul. It is here that Samuel orchestrates a moment of profound privacy and gravity. He commands Saul to dismiss his servant. "Say to the young man that he might pass before us."
Why is the servant dismissed? Because the word of God that is about to be delivered is for Saul alone. The anointing is a personal, private transaction between God and His chosen man before it becomes a public reality. This is crucial. A man's calling must first be a secret fire in his own bones before it can be a public bonfire. If a man is not gripped by the word of God in private, he will have nothing of substance to offer in public. He will be a hollow man, an empty uniform. The servant represents the public, the spectators, the daily concerns. All of that must be sent on ahead. To hear the word of God that truly commissions, you must be alone with God and His messenger.
Then comes the final command: "but you remain standing now." The Hebrew is emphatic. "You, stand still right now." Stop. Cease all your striving, all your journeying, all your worrying about donkeys and fathers and servants. Be still, and know that He is God. This is the posture for receiving revelation. We cannot hear the still, small voice of God when we are rushing about in a frenzy of our own activity. We must be brought to a standstill.
And what is the purpose of this divinely orchestrated pause? "...that I may cause you to hear the word of God." Samuel does not say, "so I can tell you something." He says, "that I may cause you to hear." The verb is causative. Samuel is the instrument, but God is the one who opens the ear. This is the doctrine of effectual calling in miniature. God does not just speak; He makes Himself heard. He doesn't just offer the word; He ensures its reception in the hearts of His chosen.
Conclusion: Hearing and Doing
This brief, quiet scene at the edge of the city is the pivot upon which Saul's entire future turns. It is his moment of ordination. Everything that follows, the anointing with oil, the signs that confirm the calling, the public selection by lot, and the victories in battle, all flow from this moment of standing still to hear the word of God.
The application for us is straightforward and sharp. In our own lives, God is constantly at work, arranging our "lost donkeys" to bring us to the place where He would speak to us. He honors us in ways we don't deserve, seating us at His table. He takes us aside for private instruction, away from the noise. And He brings us to the edge of the city, commanding us to dismiss our distractions and stand still before Him.
The great question for each of us is what we do when that moment comes. Do we have ears to hear? The tragedy of Saul is that he heard the word of God here, but he did not ultimately obey it. He was given the kingdom, but he tried to keep it on his own terms. He listened to Samuel's instructions for a time, but eventually, the fear of man became louder to him than the word of God (1 Sam. 15:24).
Every man who would be used by God must first learn this lesson. Before any public usefulness, there must be private communion. Before any great work for God, there must be a moment when you stand still and let Him cause you to hear His word. This is true for pastors, for fathers, for rulers, and for every believer. God is not looking for impressive specimens; He is looking for obedient servants. He is not looking for men who are a head taller than everyone else, but for men who know how to bow the knee. The path to the throne, in God's economy, always begins at a standstill, at the edge of the city, with an open ear for the word of God.