(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
1 Samuel 10:17–27, “And Samuel called the people together unto the LORD to Mizpeh; And said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms, and of them that oppressed you: And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands. And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken. When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found. Therefore they enquired of the LORD further, if the man should yet come thither. And the LORD answered, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff. And they ran and fetched him thence: and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king. Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him a band of men, whose hearts God had touched. But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.”
Mizpeh was an important place in Israel. However, there were at least four Mizpehs (sometimes called Mizpah). Samuel called the people to this Mizpeh when the fought against the Philistines and also when important decisions were made. (1 Sam 7:5–12, 15-17, “And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the LORD. And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh. And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the LORD our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines. And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the LORD: and Samuel cried unto the LORD for Israel; and the LORD heard him. And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel. And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Bethcar. Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us…And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 16 And he went from year to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh, and judged Israel in all those places. And his return was to Ramah; for there was his house; and there he judged Israel; and there he built an altar unto the LORD.” They were faced with a significant moment in their history as Samuel was to reveal their king to them. Firstly, Samuel reminded Israel of why the Lord had the right to give them Laws, commandments and regulations. He was the One Who had brought them out of Egypt and given them the Promised Land. Next they used Urim and Thummim, these were part of the priestly accoutrements. They were two stoned that the Lord used to communicate with Israel. They were chosen from a hidden place and one of the stones meant “Yes!” while the other one meant “No!” By using this process, Saul was eventually singled out to the anointed king of Israel. When Samuel went to look for Saul, he couldn't be found but the Lord told Samuel that Saul was hiding among the baggage that the people had brought with them. When the people saw Saul most of them were excited because he was taller by a head than anyone else in Israel, at that time. He was surely a likely candidate for king, just like the kings of the nearby nations. However, some people were jealous that one of their clan hadn’t been chosen and acted churlishly.
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