At the Battle of Aphek, Israel fought the Philistine armies, and facing a losing fight, brought forth the ark of the covenant so that God would fight against his enemies. And God did precisely that- He fought against the armies of Israel, who had made themselves the enemy of God by virtue of their infidelity. In the process, the priestly lineage of Eli and his sons is extinguished. The lamp of the tabernacle- dim at the beginning of the book- has gone out. The ark of the covenant has gone into exile, and there it will do battle with the Philistine gods.
The ark returns seven months later, but it is not returned to Israelite hands for twenty years. In 1 Samuel 6, the Philistines return the ark to Israel because the ark had caused plagues to break out in their midst. Yet when the Israelites bring the ark of the covenant back to the land, they mistreat it in almost every way. They bring it on a cart- rather than carrying it as they were meant to (1 Samuel 6:11). The ark is naked and visible before them- rather than being covered for Israel’s own protection. And thus God strikes Israel again (1 Samuel 6:19). The ark is then sent to Kiriath-jearim. This city is a Gibeonite city (Joshua 9:17). The Gibeonites were a Canaanite tribe who were spared but consecrated to the perpetual service of God’s house. God is no respecter of persons. Thus, those Canaanites who were faithful in the land protected the ark of the covenant while it lay outside of Israelite hands- and this remained the case for twenty years (1 Samuel 7:2).
This is the context for the feast on the high place in 1 Samuel 9. Samuel begins with the tabernacle- the family home of God as heavenly Father of Israel. There he begets Samuel as firstborn son and heir, through which He will give Israel rebirth as the priestly nation and son of God near to His presence. Samuel is reborn at the ark of the covenant, becoming a living and breathing ark of God’s presence. This is what it means to be a prophet- to be filled with the Spirit and glory of God, which is why prophetic callings often occur in the context of cultic language. In Isaiah’s case, for example, it actually takes place within the temple (Isaiah 6:1-7). Subsequently, the glory of God departs from Israel (1 Samuel 4:21-22). Once the ark of the covenant goes into exile, it does not return to Israelite hands for twenty years. As such, Samuel himself becomes the cultic core of Israel. We can see this in the way the narrative is written. 1 Samuel 7:2 tells us that the ark was with the Gibeonites at Kiriath-jearim for twenty years. It is immediately afterwards that we are told of how Samuel gathered all Israel to Mizpah and offered an ascension offering (1 Samuel 7:9). As the smoke rises to heaven, the Philistines attack- but Israel is victorious and Samuel builds a cultic stone to commemorate the victory (1 Samuel 7:12). And then he returns to Ramah, where his home was, and there built an altar to the LORD (1 Samuel 7:17).
We are told that Saul encounters Samuel in the “land of Zuph” (1 Samuel 9:5). This land is only here mentioned in the Bible- so where is it? “Zuph” is earlier identified in the Book of Samuel as Samuel’s ancestor (1 Samuel 1:1). The land of Zuph almost certainly, then, refers to a district within Ramah, where Samuel built an altar. In other words, the high place on which a sacrificial feast is celebrated in 1 Samuel 9 is probably the altar built after the Battle of Ebenezer in Samuel’s hometown.