Saul and David

The King Controversy ended with God granting the people's ardent request for a king. However, an important condition was given by God through Samuel: a king has to be faithful or else, he and the people with him, will perish.

It was an assurance as well as a warning: God will continue to bless his people and their king as long as they continued to honor him as their One and only True King, from whom authority and the strength to carry it out comes. But then, it was also a very serious warning: all infidelity to the Covenant will have to pay its price.

This part of the lesson explores the lives of the first two kings of Israel and how their actions and attitudes led to their eventual success and downfall:

Saul and his father’s asses (1 Sam 9) – Saul here is described as a tall and handsome young man who, besides being comely of stature, is responsible and efficient in being entrusted with an important errand by his father.

A King among the Baggage (1 Sam 10) – After being chosen and anointed King by Samuel, Saul remains hesitant to accept the post, feeling unworthy and unqualified for the job. Some of the people also question his capacity but Scriptures described them as worthless. He is shy and weak in the eyes of men but in the eyes of God, he is humble and submissive.

Merciful to His Enemies (1 Sam 11) – Certain groups rebelled against Saul and his men slaughtered them. Saul however was hesitant to execute his enemies, thanking the Lord instead for his victories. Saul was not proud about his own achievements but recognized God as the real source of his victory and success.

Chapter 12 – Samuel’s Homily at Saul’s Inauguration
Here, Samuel gives his famous exhortation about authority. Authority comes from God and must be exercised in accord with his will. Fidelity will be the ultimate condition for the kings' success or downfall.

Saul at Gilgal (1 Sam 13) – Saul was waiting for Samuel to offer the holocausts before an important battle but be became impatient and preside over the ritual himself, to the anger of Samuel who arrived just as he finished.

Saul and Jonathan (1 Sam 14) – Jonathan unwittingly disobeyed Saul’s order for a fast. Saul became very angry and ordered him executed. If not for the intercession of the other soldiers, Jonathan's life would not have been spared.

Agag and the Bleating Sheep (1 Sam 15) – Saul disobeyed the “ban” (herem) to dispose of and keep none of the war spoils. He tried to deceive Samuel but God had found him out and told the prophet. Samuel vows never to return to him and refuses henceforth to ever see him.

By the end of Chapter 15, both God and Samuel are already very dissatisfied with Saul. Samuel already refuses to see Saul, although he grieves for him. God orders him to fill his horn with oil once again and look for another king to anoint in Saul’s stead.

When God, and Samuel, finally turned their backs on Saul because of his infidelity and disobedience, the search was on for another king to replace him. Let us try to find out whether this king is indeed better than Saul and what made the difference.

Call of David (1 Sam 16) – David is the youngest of Jesse’s children, but he is the one who was chosen by God. “Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart." (6, 7) He does not measure by human standards but supplies power, strength and grace with the mission that he gives even when it seems lacking at first. The Spirit of God departs from Saul and now goes to David together with God’s favor and blessing. He now possesses the gift of healing “for the Lord is with him” (6, 18) and uses this to help relieve the affliction of Saul.

David and Goliath (1 Sam 17) – With God’s Spirit in him, the young David defeats the feared Philistine giant, Goliath. His renown spreads throughout Israel and he begins to outgrow Saul in popularity among the people with his great skill and also his humility.

David was successful because the Lord was with him. Saul on the other hand grows more and more jealous of David and seeks to end the young man’s life. Jonathan, the son of Saul protects his dear friend.

David’s Attitude towards Saul (1 Sam 24, 26) – Saul is hunting David down but when David finds the opportunity to kill Saul at the latter’s most vulnerable moment (easing nature in a cave), the former refuses to do so. Here, they make a peace pact but Saul continues to pursue David.

Spear and Water Jug (1 Sam 26) – Despite Saul’s infidelity to the peace pact, David continues to refuse to lay his hand on the Lord’s anointed, waiting for the Lord himself to put an end to Saul’s reign in his own way and time. (1 Sam 26: 10-11) Here, David gets another chance to slay Saul at another vulnerable moment (sleeping) but only takes Saul’s spear and water jug as a sign of his mercy and respect for Saul.

The chase continues until the defeat and death of Saul and Jonathan. When Saul and Jonathan died, David wept bitterly for them both. Afterwards, he succeeded Saul and began his reign, soon to become the greatest of all Israel’s kings. He unified the kingdom and established peace in the land.

David established the city of Jerusalem as his capital and brought the Ark of the Covenant there, amid great joy and rejoicing. David’s reign, after many and successive victories, marked a period of peace in the turbulent history of Israel. They were settled in the promised land at last.

David however was not a perfect king. He too had his own mistakes, like Saul. But what made the difference?

David’s Sin (2 Sam 11) – David here commits a double sin. Not only does he take Bathsheba for himself, another man’s wife but he also has Uriah, the husband of Bathseba, killed in a setup. The prophet Nathan goes to David again to rebuke him. David, however, repents, acknowledges his fault, and begs for God's forgiveness. (See Psalm 51 for David's prayer of forgiveness)

Although David was punished by God for his great crime, God forgave David for David remained sincere and loyal to God in his heart despite his grave sin. He continued to show goodness and kindness even to his enemies, even for example, to his own son, Absalom who rebelled against his own father.

God did not take back his promise to David and will continue to fulfill it, for the sake of his promise—to David himself and Abraham, his father.