From the earliest days in Israel’s history, there was a promise of a coming king who would rule over the people of Israel. When God spoke to Abraham in Genesis 17:6, He promised that “kings will come forth from you.” Later in Genesis 49, when Jacob prophesied concerning his sons, he said, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” (v. 10). Long before the days of King Saul, long before the time of the judges, and even before Moses was born, God not only promised a future king for Israel, but even specified the tribe out of whom the king would come!

When the Israelites entered the Promised Land, something about them was different than the nations surrounding them. First, they were the nation that was entrusted with the oracles of the true and living God; the other nations were pagan idolators. Secondly, they were the only nation to have direct access to the place where the true God could be worshiped (first the tabernacle and later the temple); no other nation on earth at the time experienced this privilege. But there was another characteristic that made Israel unique among the surrounding nations: a lack of an earthly king. The fact that the Israelites were the only nation to not have someone occupy an earthly throne by no means escaped their notice, and it was intentionally so. God Himself was to be their king, as it is Yahweh who would fight their battles (Exodus 14:14).

By the time of the judges, Israel had experienced apostasy, followed by revival, then more apostasy. Rinse, repeat. Despite Yahweh fighting their battles and appointing various judges to deliver them out of the hands of their enemies time and time again, Israel continued to take interest in how the other nations had earthly kings and wanted to be just like them. This greatly displeased the Lord, and we have the account of this discourse recorded in 1 Samuel 8:

“Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah; and they said to him, ‘Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.’ But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, ‘Give us a king to judge us.’ And Samuel prayed to the Lord. The Lord said to Samuel, ‘Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day—in that they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. Now then, listen to their voice; however, you shall solemnly warn them and tell them of the procedure of the king who will reign over them.’” (v. 4-9).

The Israelites were indeed promised an earthly king that would rule over them according to the Abrahamic Covenant, but because of their apostasy, their motivation for this desire was sinful. Note the language that the Lord employed here: the Israelites were doing more than just wanting to copy the other nations. Ultimately, they were rejecting God as their king and judge. They rejected God’s timing and purposes and wanted to do things their own sinful way. Nonetheless, God would allow them to choose a king for themselves, and they did just that in 1 Samuel 9. First of all, they chose someone not from the tribe of Judah, but from Benjamin (v. 1). Secondly, personal character was irrelevant. Their goal? Find someone who is tall and physically attractive (v. 2). Was he a godly man? Doesn’t matter. Was he someone who was after God’s own heart? So what, who cares. What are the possible ramifications? They’ll cross that bridge when they get there.

This man, King Saul, was indeed quite a promising figure in the early years of his reign. He expressed an appearance of humility (1 Samuel 9:21), the Spirit came upon him mightily (1 Samuel 10:9-10), and he soundly defeated the Ammonites (1 Samuel 11). But once we get to 1 Samuel 12, a shift begins to take place. A once seemingly perfect track record began to show its cracks. It was not a blatant act of sin, such as adultery, lying, murder, theft, etc. In fact, Saul’s downfall began as a result of what is by all appearances a good and right thing! What did Saul do? He offered up burnt offerings to the Lord (v. 9). Sounds pious and innocent enough, doesn’t it? Except there are a couple of reasons why Saul was in error. First, he was not a Levite and was therefore legally disqualified from offering burnt offerings in a priestly role. But perhaps most importantly, Saul directly defied Samuel, who told him ahead of time that he would be the one to offer the burnt offerings in Gilgal after waiting for seven days (1 Samuel 10:8).

When Samuel did arrive, Saul was seemingly oblivious to his disobedience, as he eagerly greeted him in 1 Samuel 13:10. But Samuel’s response was anything but cheerful, and he wasted no time confronting him over his sin. However, Saul did not truly repent for his actions, but instead tried to make excuses and defend himself when he got caught (v. 11-12). Though he did later express remorse and regretted his actions, this would come to characterize this king’s life over and over again. By the end of his life, his spiritual reputation went completely down the drain. From multiple attempts to end David’s life to seeking a medium, it became clear for all to see that this man was the epitome of the kind of person Paul later described when he wrote, “…holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power…” (2 Timothy 3:5).

At this point, one might think that Israel had forfeited any divine approval to ever have an earthly king again. They tried it, and it failed spectacularly. Yet despite the whole account being centered around sinfully motivated intentions, God was not finished with His people Israel, and indeed being ruled by an earthly king was still His plan, just as He had promised to Abraham. This time, however, God Himself would handpick their king, not the people. And He did this not after Saul died, but after the king failed to kill Agag as he was commanded to do. As a consequence of yet another act of disobedience on Saul’s part, Samuel told him that “…the Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you.” (1 Samuel 15:28).

Better in what way? In all the ways that matter most. The next king that God would choose would be as different from King Saul as Abel was from Cain. Just as was the case with the aforementioned two brothers, only one had the kind of true faith that pleases the Lord. In the coming weeks, we will begin to explore the life and background of King David, and how he and the everlasting covenant God established with him are types and shadows of Christ, the true and better David.