Not many people would want to be remembered because of their unruly tantrums and jealous fits, however, that is just what happened to Israel’s first crowned king, King Saul. He did not start out with such a volatile temperament. He seemed to have a pretty good head on his shoulders when he was initially crowned king and he won some military campaigns as such, and was celebrated by his people.
Saul was anointed at God’s instruction by the prophet Samuel, and should have realized that since God sent a prophet to inaugurate his leadership, that he should probably try to stay close to that God and to abide by his instructions. Pride may have been a part of Saul’s eventual ruin; he came from a wealthy family, and he stood head and shoulders above all the other men. God had selected him and he may have thought this meant that he could do no wrong.
Saul began doing things his own way when he only partially followed God’s instructions to him regarding those he did battle with. Instead of destroying all the people and their livestock, Saul saved out the choice livestock and spared their king. After this he lied to the very prophet that had anointed him as king on God’s authority; thus he was lying to God as well. As a result, God took His spirit from the presence of Saul, and everything went totally downhill from that point on.
Another thing that Saul had done to bring about this breech was to decide to serve as an impromptu priest before a battle, rather than waiting for God’s chosen priest, Samuel to arrive as he said he would. God did not take this lightly; He had given minute detailed instructions on who could serve as priest and how they were to serve. It was considered a sacred office that Saul’s authority did not encompass. Just after this blunder happened, the appointed priest, Samuel, arrived on the scene telling Saul that he had done a very foolish thing.
As a result of all these things, God told Samuel to anoint what seemed to be an unlikely candidate to be the King of Israel, David, son of Jesse. Jesse had other sons of similar stature and military prowess as Saul, but God had not chosen them. He chose a shorter, ruddy complexioned boy whose job it was to tend to his father’s sheep. A simple shepherd with no acts to bring him fame or admiration. Saul did not realize what had happened and he allowed David to come assist with the Philistine giant, Goliath who was terrorizing the world.
All that ended when David’s single shot with a stone fired from his sling shot found its way right between Goliath’s eyes and killed him on the spot. With this, King Saul embraced David as one of his own, but when David became a legitimate military leader the people sang that Saul had slain his thousands, but David had slain ten thousand. Suddenly David fell from Saul’s good graces and Saul began to plot David’s demise. God sent an evil spirit to torment Saul and interfere with his efforts to harm David.
King Saul’s lack of humility and his flagrant disregard for God’s instructions cost him his kingdom and his peace of mind. It seems it may have cost him his sanity as well because in the end, instead of talking with God’s prophets Saul decided to consult with the witch of Endor in order to find out what was in his future. God allowed Samuel to come up from the dead and prophecy Saul’s death to him and the ruin of his house, which all came about the next day.
From all this we can surmise that gratitude and loyalty are fitting responses when we receive an unexpected honor and blessing from God in our lives. Also, we can say that God is very much involved in the lives of His people, even selecting leaders and interfering with natural consequences of some decisions. He is worthy of our love and of our worship.
Church of Abounding Life in Jesus Christ 