He went there to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God came on him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah.
This reference to Saul’s prophesying (1 Samuel 19:23-24), which happened near the place where he prophesied shortly after his anointing (1 Samuel 10:12), became "an ironic comment on Saul’s life story." [Note: Baldwin, p. 134.] Saul had begun his reign with great potential plus God’s enabling Spirit, which resulted in his praising God (cf. 1 Chronicles 25:1-3; 1 Corinthians 12:3). Yet now he was almost a raving madman. This passage does not support the theory that the prophets became ecstatic when they prophesied. Neither do 1 Samuel 18:10; 1 Kings 18:29; 1 Kings 22:10-12; 2 Kings 9:1-12; Jeremiah 29:26; Hosea 9:7; or any other passages. [Note: See Wood, The Prophets . . ., pp. 40-56, 92-93.] Saul drove himself to the brink of insanity by refusing to submit to God, who still exercised sovereign control over him despite the king’s attempts to go his own way.