The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-03-09
THE REIGN OF SAUL Samual fS..fQ.OV

13. And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him. Blessed be thou of the Lord I have performed the com mandment of the Lord.
 IA. And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears. and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? 15. And Saul said: They have brought them from the Amalekites for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have ut terly destroyed.
 16. Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on.
 17. And Samuel said, When thou vast little in thine own sight, vast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel. and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel?
 IS. And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go, and utterly de- stroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be con sumed.
 19. Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil. and didst. evil in the sight of the Lord?
 20. And Saul said unto Samuel, yea have Obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag, the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 4t 21. But the people took of the spoil, eh nd ba z kln which should have been utterly de- stroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal.
 9. And Samuel. said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. vs.
 g. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is an iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king. Editors Note-Today's lesson is No. 10 in the current course of the inter
 sous Which began with the 5euS Kew Vi Yesr. es | 1924, and which, will continue to July,. constitute 8 sort of aeroplane.,
 
 The preceding Bible talks have been
 based upon the outstanding events in the history of Israel from the Cove l the period of the theocracy. Tn point ?f time this period was approximate ;. NIy thousand years. E Today's Bible passage presents the transition period and deals with, the
 important matter of the change from
 psTticuiSriy % it deals de Hfar With ths ina@Sue Meue ration of Israers first king, and the,
 history of his reign. The Age Herald has arranged with Mir Bailes of the Birmingham bar and teacher of the Cosmopolitan Mems
 class of the First Baptist church at P.
 talk on each lesson of the inter
 Sword RattIers ,,5s 4,5s Kings are always interesting. They are not always popular. There has never been a time in the history of governments and men when monarchies and kings were as unpopular as they are on this good day, March g, 1924.
 The World war was disastrous to the shaus of thorns and crowns eand scepters. Indeed the World war was a supreme test between the two great conceptions of government. It was a contest between autocracy on the one hand and democracy on the other. In the court of the nations it was the case of the Kings vs. the People.
 l , Saul is an interesting character in history. There were many kings be- fore him and many that have strutted their little parts in the great dramatic history of nations since him. -7H | But Saul was the first king of Israel. One Sunday morning great big, fine looking farmer boy, with his father hired man, was looking for some mules that had strayed away from the place they had been allowed to graze. The party came to a village called Ramah. This was the home of Samnel, the grand old man. and prophet of Jehovah. As soon as Samuel saw the young farmer, Saul, standing more than six feet in his moccasins. Samuel knew that here was the fellow who would appeal to the imagination of the people, and would be best suited to fill the place of roy .alty and splendor and make-belieye Euren which the people had set their hearts. <
 The Fashion '.
 They had seen the palaces of the rulers of the heather nations around them; they had seen the people ''bow and scrape' as the royal chariot was pulled through the streets by the hands of slaves. They were attracted by the rule which prohibited the wearing of purple by anybody except members. of the royal household. The children of Israel thought that a grand scheme Of things. They considered it an index of greatness. They felt that somehow theirs would be a greater nation and a happier people if they could have sonic man to bow before, some man to wear queer looking hat called d crown, and carry peculiar kind of swagger stick called scepter. and who should de. mand tribute and set himself up as first among the people.
 The tribe leaders and chief men had sent committees to Samuel on more than one occasion to present petitions that Israel might have n king like the other nations around them.
 Samuel told the people what it would be like to have king. He will take J aur sons away from you, and will nate some of them soldiers. lie will