Saul

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**Saul** was the first king of Israel and ruled for 40 years. He was anointed king by the prophet Samuel. Saul was the son of Kish, of the family of the Matrites, and a member of the tribe of Benjamin, one of the twelve Tribes of Israel. The Bible says that Saul was the most handsome man in Israel—head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the land (1 Samuel 9:1-2). But soon he lost favor with God. Saul disobeyed God. Samuel had to tell him that God had rejected him as king (1 Samuel 13:15).

## Bible InfoScan

Saul's name means "the one asked for" or "the one asking". Saul was the first king of Israel and ruled for 40 years. He was anointed king by the prophet Samuel. Saul was the son of a wealthy farmer, Kish, of the family of the Matrites, and a member of the tribe of Benjamin, one of the twelve Tribes of Israel. The Bible says that Saul was the most handsome man in Israel—head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the land (1 Samuel 9:2). But in spite of being good-looking, he was quite shy.

God revealed to Samuel that Saul was to be anointed as the first king of Israel. Samuel met with Saul and God gave Saul a new heart that day. Saul began to prophesy and all those who heard him were amazed (1 Samuel 10:9). When he was anointed king by the prophet Samuel at Ramah, he was surprised. He was filled with the Spirit of God, but he didn’t tell anyone about what happened (1 Samuel 9:1-27, 1 Samuel 10:1-27, 1 Samuel 11:12-15). Samuel then went to the city of Mizpah anointed Saul as king before all of God’s people (1 Samuel 10:17). “Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned for forty-two years.” (1 Samuel 13:1). Saul was married to Ahinoam, daughter of Ahimaaz. They had four sons and two daughters. The sons were Jonathan, Abinadab, Malchishua and Ish-bosheth. Their daughters were named Merab and Michal. Saul also two sons by Rizpah, Armoni and Mephibosheth. (1 Samuel 21:8)

After Saul was anointed as king, the Spirit of God came powerfully upon Saul and he led the Israelite’s army to victory against the Ammonites. The people were filled with joy and appreciation and publicly proclaimed Saul as king (1 Samuel 11). Saul’s armies continued to have success against Israelite’s enemies. When Saul first became king, he was obedient to follow Samuel's instructions that he received from God. As Saul filled with pride, he began to disobey God and Samuel’s instructions.

On one occasion, the Philistine armies had gathered to attack Israel. Saul became afraid and impatient to wait for the prophet Samuel to offer sacrifices to God. Saul chose to offer the sacrifices himself. This was forbidden by God. Samuel declared that Saul’s kingdom would come to an end and God had chosen a new leader because of his disobedience (1 Samuel 13:5).

In another act of rebellion, Saul did not obey God’s command to completely destroy the Amalekites. Saul kept everything that was valuable. When Samuel confronted Saul about his disobedience, Saul lied and made excuses before finally admitting he had sinned (1 Samuel 15:1). This is what Samuel told King Saul: “Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the Lord, he has rejected you as king” (1 Samuel 15:23).

The Spirit and anointing of God that had come upon Saul when he became king were replaced by an evil spirit. Saul was tormented by this spirit and he sent for David to play his harp for him. Whenever David played the evil spirit would leave him and Saul would feel better. Saul loved David very much and David came to live with Saul and become his armor bearer (1 Samuel 16:1).

Saul’s love for David did not last – after David’s victory over Goliath and his victories in other battles caused Saul to be jealous and afraid of David. However, the Lord was with David, and he grew in favor with God and His people (1 Samuel 18:5).

Saul became paranoid and obsessed with David. He made several unsuccessful attempts at taking David’s life. Saul’s daughter Michal, and his son Jonathan, both came to David’s side and warned him from their father’s evil plans (1 Samuel 18:1). Saul, in a fit of rage, ordered the slaughter of 85 priests and their families at Nob because the priests had fed and helped David and his family (1 Samuel 22:11).

Before a battle with the Philistines, Saul prayed to God for help but the Lord refused to answer him. Saul was frightened and in a panic, met with a witch at Endor for advice. The witch brought back Samuel’s ghost from the dead. Samuel prophesied that the Philistine would win the battle. Samuel also said that Saul and his sons would be killed in battle (1 Samuel 28:1). Samuel’s prophecy came true the next day. Saul purposefully fell on his sword to take his own life, and his three sons - Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malkishua also also died that day (1 Samuel 31:6).

The only male descendant of Saul to survive was Jonathan's son, Mephibosheth (1 Samuel 4:4). He came under the protection of David (1 Samuel 2:7).

## Life Lessons

* Obey God at all times.
* Get rid of impulsive, rebellious, jealous, and obsessive behavior.
* Do not merely take part in religious ceremonies, but obey God whole-heartedly.
* Obedience is better than sacrifice.
* Do not seek revenge.
* Always stay loyal to God.
* God judges us by our hearts, not our appearance.