9. Saul turned and left Samuel. At that very moment God transformed him—made him a new person! And all the confirming signs took place the same day.
10-12. When Saul and his party got to Gibeah, there were the prophets, right in front of them! Before he knew it, the Spirit of God came on Saul and he was prophesying right along with them. When those who had previously known Saul saw him prophesying with the prophets, they were totally surprised. “What’s going on here? What’s come over the son of Kish? How on earth did Saul get to be a prophet?” One man spoke up and said, “Who started this? Where did these people ever come from?”That’s how the saying got started, “Saul among the prophets! Who would have guessed?!”
13-14. When Saul was done prophesying, he returned home. His uncle asked him and his servant, “So where have you two been all this time?”“Out looking for the donkeys. We looked and looked and couldn’t find them. And then we found Samuel!”
15. “So,” said Saul’s uncle, “what did Samuel tell you?”
16. Saul said, “He told us not to worry—the donkeys had been found.” But Saul didn’t breathe a word to his uncle of what Samuel said about the king business.
17-18. Samuel called the people to assemble before God at Mizpah. He addressed the children of Israel, “This is God’s personal message to you:
18-19. “I brought Israel up out of Egypt. I delivered you from Egyptian oppression—yes, from all the bullying governments that made your life miserable. And now you want nothing to do with your God, the very God who has a history of getting you out of troubles of all sorts.“And now you say, ‘No! We want a king; give us a king!’“Well, if that’s what you want, that’s what you’ll get! Present yourselves formally before God, ranked in tribes and families.”
20-21. After Samuel got all the tribes of Israel lined up, the Benjamin tribe was picked. Then he lined up the Benjamin tribe in family groups, and the family of Matri was picked. The family of Matri took its place in the lineup, and the name Saul, son of Kish, was picked. But when they went looking for him, he was nowhere to be found.
22. Samuel went back to God: “Is he anywhere around?”God said, “Yes, he’s right over there—hidden in that pile of baggage.”