As Saul and his servant looked for the donkey's that had strayed from his father's property in the land of Benjamin, the Lord had already spoken to Samuel to inform him that the man chosen by the Lord for the kingship of Israel would arrive at High Place of Gibeah (which is just five mile north of Jerusalem). Although Samuel had appointed his sons to judge Israel, the Lord had chosen Saul to rule Israel as a king. Saul's search for the donkeys was God's method used to move Saul into position to approach the prophet in order to inquire about the donkeys. At this point the prophet Samuel would anoint Saul and reveal to him the Lord's plan to appoint him as king over Israel.

The Lord's intention for the kingship of Saul was to deliver the people from the oppression of the Philistines. The people had cried out to the Lord for help. It would appear Samuel's leadership, instruction and example had brought the people to a higher level of insight and understanding concerning the Lord and their relationship with him. Teaching and knowledge always lead to greater understanding and insight which deepens a relationship with the Lord.

There would still be a lot of theological ground for Israel to recover since the damage caused by the period of the judges has taken Israel deep into the darkness of the Canaanite culture. Samuel had begun to lead the people back into the light of the Lord's truth, and now Saul would manifest an earthly order and implementation of the Lord’s will in order to bless Israel with an opportunity to understand and apply more of the truth that would be restored to them.