For, as Yahweh lives, who saves Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die. But there was not a man among all the people who answered him.
Which of these two children has the more serious problem of disobedience? The second child does. Saul’s sin was worse than David’s. Even though David committed a few great sins, God did not cut off his dynasty or his rule prematurely since he really wanted to glorify God. However, David suffered severe consequences for his sins even though God forgave him. God did cut off Saul’s dynasty and his rule prematurely because Saul would not yield to Yahweh’s control, which was crucial for Israel’s king. Failure to yield control to God is extremely important, even more important than individual acts of disobedience (cf. Romans 6:12-13; Romans 12:1-2).