And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago, set not thy mind on them; for they are found. And on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father’s house?
Samuel wore no robes, no retinue, no badge of office; he looked like a porter, not a prophet, so Saul never guessed who he was. Yet great worth hides often under mean appearance. Samuel knew his man before his man knew Samuel; so it is with all whom God calls to glory, He knows them first.
AI summary
Commenting on 1 Samuel 9:18-27
And as for thine asses that were lost three days ago,.... Which, according to Kimchi, is to be understood not of the time from whence they were lost, but to be reckoned from the time that Saul had been seeking of them; so the Targum,"as to the business of the asses, which are lost to thee, and thou art come to seek them today, these...
on whom is all the desire of Israel? Is it not on thee, and on all thy father's house?--This was a covert and indirect premonition of the royal dignity that awaited him; and, though Saul's answer shows that he fully understood it, he affected to doubt that the prophet was in earnest.