Saul was the king of Israel. He was the son of Kish, was the grandson of Abiel, great grandson of Zeror, great great-grandson of Becorath, great-great-great-grandson of Aphiah–a Benjaminite of stalwart character.He was the son As far as disasters go, Saul’s time on the throne was an unmitigated one. At first, the man with the impressive physique tried to resist his appointment as king of Israel. He did not consider himself suited to the job. He was, as he reminded Samuel, a member of “the smallest tribe of Israel”; his clan was “the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin” (1 Samuel 9:21). Apparently, many of Saul’s own subjects were inclined to agree. After his first coronation, some openly questioned whether Saul was up to the job of delivering Israel.
Soon, however, Saul won over the doubters when he rallied a massive army to come to the aid of Jabesh Gilead, just east of the Jordan River.
The victory prompted a second coronation ceremony—this one marked by the people’s enthusiastic celebration of their new king.
Saul’s triumph was short-lived. For the rest of his reign, he proved erratic and unstable. More than once he failed to listen to the prophet Samuel—as a result, Samuel announced that the throne would be taken from Saul. When God chose David as Saul’s successor, the king of Israel became even more dangerously paranoid. Though David would not lift a finger against him, Saul made repeated attempts on the young warrior’s life. So obsessed was Saul that he slaughtered eighty-five priests suspected of aiding David and even began neglecting his royal duties. While Saul schemed, it was left to David to deliver the town of Keilah from the Philistines—the very enemy whom Saul had been raised up to fight.
Saul’s life ended in humiliating defeat to the Philistines. His failure was complete, and the nation of Israel was in disarray.
Despite being enemies, David never completely lost his regard for Saul. Such was David’s honor that on the first occasion when he spared Saul’s life, he was “conscience-stricken” over merely cutting a corner of his robe (see 1 Samuel 24:5). When Saul was finally killed, David responded with a touching lament for Israel’s fallen king (2 Samuel 1:19–27). Long before Jesus came, David demonstrated what it looks like to “love your enemies” (see Matthew 5:44).
