God Is Good All The Time

1 Samuel presents Israel transformation from theocracy to monarchy as theological and sociopolitical. Knut Heim mentions, “Such transformation could not take place without stresses and conflicts. The book of Samuel in general, and chaps. 8-15 in particular, reflect the tensions and ambiguities of these transitional time.” The Israel’s request of a king is seen desperate and insistence to become like other nations, due to internal and external crises. Of course, it was an evil thing to ask for because they were the God’s chosen people and God was their divine king. They are supposed to be different than other nations. Nevertheless, God graciously gives them a king, Saul, who eventually fails but God’s eternal plan of kingship unfolds as he choses a king for himself in David.

Saul’s séance with the witch of Endor in 1 Samuel 28 is regarded as the starting of the coup de grâce of his tragic ending of being King Israel. The first anointed to be king, being first inst always what is suppose to be. Here in Saul’s case he was the first and now it’s going to end in mess. In his life the Israelite king has gone from the top of the mountain to the bottom of the valley of moral.

He shows he is weak and not ready to lead. (1 Samuel 9:21). Saul even hides when he is supposed to show himself to the Israelites as the chosen King (1 Samuel 11: 22). Although Saul knows that he cannot lead, he has no choice, he has to follow the Lord’s order. At last, God realizes that Saul was indeed not a leader-type person and chooses another person. God must have known that people are not forced to be leaders, but they themselves should be aware of the ability to be leaders.

The rise and fall of this desired king is one that is unique with a lot to look at and learn from. Saul was a man who won many battles on the field as he defeated the Philistines and others who came against the Jewish

While David was a king of God so to say, Saul was a king of man. Both had different desires in what they wanted. David was after God's own heart while Saul was after the praise of his people. Saul was cruel and unforgiving and therefore was separated from God. 1 Samuel 20: 30-32 is a good example of Saul's harsh behavior. "

From a biblical perspective we see in 1 Samuel 12:1-4 Israel’s high regard for Samuel. He was a man who exuded integrity. Samuel said to all of Israel, “I have listened to everything you said to me and have set a king over you. Now you have a king as your leader. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have been your leader from my youth until this day. Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the Lord and his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If I have done any of these, I will make it right.” “You have not cheated or oppressed us,” they replied. “You have not taken anything from anyone’s hand.”

Although Saul met all qualifications of what the ideal king should resemble, he lacked the most important trait, obedience to God. Saul was identical to the rest of the people of Israel and wanted to reign his way. Saul’s disobedience caused his fall, “For example, his usurpation of priestly functions while awaiting Samuel to offer the sacrifices at Gilgal before the battle with the Philistines caused God to vow that he would remove the kingdom from Saul (Hindson 165).” God rejected Saul as king because of his blatant disobedience of God’s commands, and God chose David as the forthcoming king.

King David wrestled with sin, such as adultery, family disorder, and rebellion on a national level, however he also experienced great accomplishments as well. One great achievement was the unification of Israel. "Then all the tribes of Israel went to David at Hebron and told him, "We are all members of your family. For a long time, even while Saul was our King, you were the one who really led Israel. And the Lord has told you, "You will be the shepherd of my people Israel. You will be their leader" (2 Samuel 5:3). It is here that David makes a covenant with the leaders and becomes anointed as the

As Samuel grew in age he intended to appoint one of his sons as the king of Israel. His sons however did not follow the ways of their father or God. “They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice” (I Samuel 8:3). The people of Israel desired a king, “a king like all the other nations” (Hindson and Yates, 2012. P.164). The people had grown tired of oppression and felt that “the lack of a strong human leader as the cause and did not realize that the reason for the oppression was a spiritual on-their failure to serve God” (Harbin, 2005, p.219). Saul was not God’s choice for the throne but “he was the people’s choice” (Hindson and Yates, 2012. P.164). Saul’s appointment as king was against the “old

However, Saul is soon abandoned by God because of his disobediences. Yet, Saul’s disobedience is controversial. Patricia K. Tull, the author of “1 and 2 Samuel” in Theological Bible Commentary, argues, “Saul’s exact offense is unclear, and commentators struggle to reconstruct it, augmenting the impression that he was given a test with no correct choices.” In contrast, Marvin Sweeney, the professor of the Hebrew Bible in Claremont School of Theology, asserts, “Although the narrative can hardly be considered anti-monarchic, it takes care to raise concerns about the character of kingship and its costs to the nation at large and it demands that proper kingship in Israel must be exercised in accordance with the divine will.” In this view, Saul has not been accorded with God’s will. Then, is this God’s intentional choice? If it is true, why he does this? If God did not choose Saul as the king, it would be possible that he is not deserted from God. Bible

We first met Saul in chapter 7:58 as the one at whose feet the robes of those who stoned Stephen were laid. Acts 8:1, he consented to Stephen’s death. 8:3, he began to destroy the church by entering the homes of the believers, and dragging off men and women to prison. Saul greatly persecuted the early church and caused the believers to be scattered. We would see in 9:1 Saul was breathing threats and murder against the Lord’s disciples. Chapter 9:1-2 he sought warrants from the Jewish authorities to arrest and bring back to Jerusalem anyone who is following Jesus. We learn more about Saul in his personal testimony. In 26:9, He did many things hostile to the name of Jesus. Acts 26:10, he voted for the execution of believers. Verse 11, he punished the believers in their synagogues and forced them to blaspheme the Lord. It’s obvious that Saul hated Jesus and all who followed Him as hated the gospel. He was a murderer and zealous for the law but on the path to hell because he did not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Saul believed that his actions met the God’s approval because he faithfully maintained the beliefs of the Jewish religion. However, in this text we will see the transformation of his life and his name would later change to Paul. After Jesus he would become the greatest theologian, missionary, teacher and pastor and God would use him to start churches all over the world. He would

The book of 1 Samuel, a part of the Old Testament, sparks the dawn of the United Kingdom of Israel by telling of its first king, Saul. Samuel is one of the first talked about pre-literary prophets in the bible perhaps because he anointed the first king of the United Kingdom. He is a prophet by definition because he possessed the ability to converse with the almighty Yahweh. Samuel and Saul are key players to the rise of the kingdom but Saul runs into trouble and disobeys God, which leads him to his own inevitable demise.

Saul was tall, good looking and a warrior, however, as Hindson and Yates put it, “The people seemed to focus on Saul’s outward appearance (9:2) rather than his heart (16:7)” (Hindson and Yates 2012, 164). Despite his early successes as king, Saul’s arrogance and pride caused him to start disobeying God. Samuel warned Saul repeatedly about his covenant disobedience. So when he offered priestly

God told Samuel to locate the right person to be Israel’s first king. Well, he looked at a lot of people; God guiding him all the time. And finally he selected Saul. Saul was just a boy, but he was a tall, striking and modest young man.

In The Bible there are multiple ideal societies which are presented, each denoted by the God's approval of that society and its leader. One of these societies is that portrayed in the story of Saul. In this story Samuel, a prophet of God, is given the task of revealing Saul, the ruler who is specified