Samuel's '1 Samuel 9: 2'

Saul was the ideal king the Israelites desired. David was the king Israel needed. David was not tall or handsome but he was a man of God. When David defeated Goliath, not only did he fully trust God, David gave all the glory of his victory to God. David possessed the vital attribute that Saul never had, obedience to God. David trusted in God’s timing and plan. Despite David having the opportunity to kill Saul and reign over Israel , David continued to follow God's commands. In 1 Samuel 24:19-20 Saul said to David after spearing his life, “ When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed? May the Lord reward you well for the way you treated me today. I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands (NIV).” Unlike Saul David was obedient to God. God rewarded David for his obedience by anointing him King and later

Bonnie and sherry both good post. Solomon shows us that even if you’re the wisest person in the world if you are not abiding in the Lord then the vines of the world are going to choke you out. God allowed Solomon to make this choice to disobey as he does with us. “So the Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant.’” (1 Kings 11:11 NASB). God displayed mercy to Solomon for David’s sake “Nevertheless I will not do it in your days for the sake of your father David, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son.” (1 Kings 11:12 NASB). How faithful and patients God is with us is just amazing.

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

King David had sworn to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother, that her son would be king following him. Solomon was a wise man. When the Lord came to Solomon and allowed him to ask whatever he wanted Solomon asked for more wisdom. “Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?” (2 Chronicles 1:10). Solomon ruled with greatness and that was evident in the cities he built, the number of followers he had. Another sign of his greatness was the fact that the queen of Sheba ventured to Jerusalem just so she could lean at his feet and gained wisdom.

Solomon may have introduced foreign trade and increased the nation income, but he increased an oppressive policy and grew heavy of the people. Many of the issues that Solomon had were economic such as, building projects, military fortifications, ship construction, and foreign trade which needed men. Different foreigners were used for labor as well as Israelites as military service. Solomon’s pride and selfishness contributed to his issues. He added tax to supply for his “wasteful court.” He wanted to be a king that was admired by all the other kings. Samuel prophecy concerning kingship and was fulfilled in Solomon. Now this wasn’t necessarily a good thing, He put burdensome taxes on the people, he took over the basic sources of wealth and more. The people of the northern tribes wanted to

First, foreseeing the day that Israel would have a king, expressed in Deuteronomy are instructions for such a time. At this point it should be noted that the idea of Israel having a king, began in the mind of God. Contrary to what some believe about the idea of kinship and God’s supposed disdain for it, Howard mentions the fact that “God has spoken of kings to Abraham from the beginning (Gen. 17:6, 16; 35:11)”; furthermore, he noted that the problem with anointing a king was intention of the people to be like the nations

1 When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beer-sheba. 3 Yet his sons did not follow in his ways, but turned aside after gain; they took bribes and perverted justice. 4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5 and said to him, “You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.” 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to govern us.” Samuel prayed to the Lord,

The first three kings of Israel, Saul, David and Solomon were men that had one thing in common. Even though they had their own sets of strengths, they each shared one weakness, disobedience to God. In this essay I will explain why Israel wanted a king. I will give you background on each of the first three kings, their strengths, and their disobedience to God.

King David proved to be a wise and effective leader for Israel. However, it can be said that his son, Solomon, made several mistakes during his reign. Many of his problems originated from his Temple, a stucture that was conceptualized by his father to be a deterrent against the paganism, which infested the land. Yet, it seemed as if several of Solomon’s policies actually encouraged paganism rather than deter it.

Saul had a proper start, and what looked to be a promising future. But Saul differed from the Lord’s plan, calling for the whole reason to appoint David. Saul directly disobeyed Samuel, not putting his trust in the Lord and focusing on his people, and constantly thinking he could do better than the

As we examine the heroes of the faith outlined for us in the Old Testament, we would be hard pressed to find a more faithful man that King David. After the death of King Saul, David became the King of the Hebrew people. David, who was meek and pious, steadfastly believed in the true God and tried to do His will. He had endured much persecution from Saul and other enemies but did not become bitter, did not lift his hand against Saul, as he was the Lord’s anointed, but placed all his hope in God, and the Lord delivered him from all his enemies.

Though the New Testament is essential to developing one’s Christian faith, the Old Testament is full of godly men and women whose examples Christians should follow, as well as not-so-obedient individuals who serve as warnings of what not to do. Among the most famous of Old Testament characters are Joshua, son of Nun, and Saul, the first king of Israel. Both men were chosen by God to lead His people and succeeded godly leaders, Moses and Samuel, respectively. Yet where one man fell so far from God that his kingdom was taken away from him, the other provided such excellent leadership that Israel followed God his entire life and was able to seize the Promised Land.

For a brief time, Solomon followed in the footsteps of his father, and exemplified righteousness, wisdom, and spiritual fervor in every action he undertook. As a result of his actions, the Lord blessed his endeavors and the kingdom of Israel thrived and prospered under his jurisdiction. However, Solomon had one great weakness: a love of women. Due to this obsession with women, Solomon took many wives, most of whom were pagan and had no love for Yahweh or his statues (Maller, 2011). Sadly, his love for his many pagan wives gradually led Solomon astray, resulting in his adoption of much of their pagan religious views (1 Kings 11:3-6). Although he is described as still acknowledging the Lord, his heart was no longer as devoted to the will of God as it had formerly been, and Jehovah-Jireh had become only one out of the host of other gods to be worshiped (Hindson and Yates, 2010). The Lord, displeased and grieved by Solomon’s infidelity, warned Solomon that as a result of his ungodliness and unfaithfulness, his kingdom would be torn from his descendants and given to another. That is, his land would be divided and bestowed upon another individual not of the house of David and the once united nation of Israel, would now fall prey to great disunity, incessant war, and bitter rivalries, all as a result of Solomon’s failure to maintain an upright spirit before his God (Maller,

Solomon had many strengths and weaknesses as a king. Solomon was considered to be a very knowledgeable man (Tullock & McEntire, 2012). He was known to be a scientist, as well as an excellent speaker and acquirer for truth and advice (Tullock & McEntire, 2012). Solomon was also known to be quite the city planner and builder, as he transformed Israel’s landscape by building great structures within the city (Tullock & McEntire, 2012). Although he formed many unions that allowed for peace and wealth for Israel, his downfall came about through his marriages with pagan women and his self-indulgence. Solomon allowed his wives to worship their pagan gods. He also taxed his people unreasonably and basically enslaved them to satisfy his own indulgences.

One of King Solomon strengths were being responsible for building the first temple located in Jerusalem. It took him several years to complete this mission however; he was committed to God and illustrated a level of wisdom that God bestowed upon him due to his obedience. My beliefs of this type of commitment are that God granted him specific skills to allow him to be knowledgeable to build and oversee this mission. King Solomon desired for the people of the Israel descendants to pray or repent for God to accept their apology for their shortcoming or sins and those they would try to serve him in a more heartfelt manner. Their belief of these modifications within their lifestyle would have permitted them to hear from God and only he could forgive their sins. For example, he could basically wipe the slate clean removing the people of Israel’s sins away. His purpose was to strive to help the upcoming creation of the people within this region, so they could have a more abundance lifestyle. In analyzing this concept God was displaying the quality of life and his ability to have power to bless people with a productive lifestyle as long as they followed his instruction and was obedient.