Saul

by R. Darke, Victoria, B.C. | Category: Character Studies | May 1969

Many men in history have ascended royal thrones and enjoyed happy and prosperous reigns. Others have not taken opportunity by the forelock, and their time of sovereignty has ended in abysmal failure. Such was the case with Saul, the first king of Israel. Few men have been given the glorious opportunity which awaited Saul to succeed as a monarch, for there was so much in his favour when he mounted the throne, but his errors of judgement, and mistakes of self-will, became so marked that long before the end of his kingship the word "Ichabod" (the glory hath departed), might easily have been written over his throne. What happened to deprive Saul, the son of a valiant father named Kish, of the coveted honour of being one of the great and noble kings of Israel? The simple word "If" could provide the answer.

Brought from obscurity at a time when the people of Israel were crying rebelliously to the prophet Samuel-not directly to the LORD, incidentally-for a king, so that they could be like the nations around them, Saul revealed himself to be humble, self-effacing, and courageous. It was not below his dignity to seek the lost asses belonging to his family (1 Samuel 9); he hid himself when he knew he had been chosen as king (1 Samuel 10.22); and he fought valiantly against Israel's enemies, the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Edomites, and the Philistines (1 Samuel 14.48). In addition to possessing these admirable qualities, he was anointed by Samuel, and acclaimed prince over God's inheritance (1 Samuel 10.1); he was given the kiss of fellowship and approval; The Holy Spirit came mightily upon him at the hill of God (v.v. 5,9); there was bestowed on him the gift of prophecy, and he prophesied with the prophets; he received from God "another heart" (v.9); and there went with him a host of men "whose hearts God had touched" (v.26). Surely this man was well equipped to be a good and great king in Israel. But a study of the life of Saul seems to indicate that he lived without seeking after God. For we read very little of Saul humbly consulting the LORD, or expressing concern for divine things, or the spiritual welfare of the nation, which was extremely low during his reign. As for the' condition of the Temple, or the Ark, which the people removed during Eli's time to help win a battle against the Philistines and was now reposing in the house of Abinadab, Saul showed little or no concern. This is indeed passing strange for a king reigning over a divinely chosen people, and is in striking contras": to' David, who habitually talked with the LORD, stood and sat before Him, and had many sleepless nights in his concern for God's house (Psalm 132.4,5). It is not surprising, therefore, that Saul was unable to turn the eyes of the nation from things below upward to God, and bring them out of the slough of despond up to the hill of frankincense.

Evidence of Saul's spirit of independency is seen on' the occasion when Samuel delayed coming to Gilgal, and Saul usurped his authority in offering the burnt offering. After the prophet's rebuke Saul confessed, "I have not intreated the favour of the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered the burnt offering" (I Samuel 13.12). He relied on himself and not on the LORD; he communed with his own mind, and sought not the mind of the LORD, and so the flesh, with all its weaknesses, led him into acts of disobedience which caused him ultimately to be rejected by God. Herein is a solemn warning to all the Lord's people, that plans conceived without Him can only produce carnal fruit. We can possess an abundance of natural talent, and great spiritual potential, like Saul, but unless we are sanctified for Him, and following the directions of His word, we, too, must end up spiritual failures.

Saul came not from the kingly tribe of Judah, but from "little Benjamin", a tribe of valorous men (Judges 20.44,46). It was evidently a matter of pride to be a descendant of Benjamin, for his distant relative, Saul of Tarsus, refers to it twice in his testimony. What a contrast in the two men! When Saul of Tarsus received a new heart and the Holy Spirit dwelt in him, he admitted that in his flesh (which had previously been the source of great pride) there dwelt no good thing, and the Lord was consulted in his plans and purposes. The line of communication to heaven's throne was always kept open, and it was "not I but Christ" who guided and directed him. What a contrast, too, in the conclusion of the lives of the two Sauls! The one, king of Israel, died in disgrace at the hands of an unconquered enemy, and his decapitated body hung from the ramparts of the Philistines as though mocking his life of defeat. But converted Saul of Tarsus, at the end of his last battle, said "... the time of my departure is come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give to me at that day" (2 Timothy 4.6,8). The wise man said, "Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof" (Ecclesiastes 7.8), and it is well for us all to examine the path of our feet to ensure that we are walking as Paul walked, fighting as he fought, running as he ran, and keeping the Faith as he kept it, that we, too, might receive the crown of righteousness. The alternative is to end up in inglorious defeat as Saul did, because of a life of self-choosing and self-pleasing.

Samuel made clear to Saul the commandments on which the survival of his kingdom depended, and these were fearing, serving, heeding, following, and not rebelling against the LORD. In so doing, he said, all would be well both with the people and the king that reigned over them (1 Samuel 12. 1~17). If only Saul had carried out these commandments! If only he had obeyed and not rebelled, and followed in the spiritual sense, Samuel's early advice to "go on forward" 10.3); if only he had valued prayer and said to the nation, as Samuel did, "God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you"! If only, in time of sin, he had sought the LORD in true repentance; and in times of trouble resorted to the Urim and Thummin, as David did! If only he had communed with the LORD. he would not have needed to commune with the witch of En-dor! If only he had been faithful, he would not have fallen from grace! So can be multiplied the many 'ifs' in Saul's life, which might have turned a catalogue of grim failure into a record of fruitfulness.

There are, however, things to be said in Saul's favour. He was courageous in battle, and had "slain his thousands"; sought mighty men to fight with Him against the enemy. On one occasion he and Jonathan alone had swords and spears in the day of battle, though it was a sad reflection on the king that Israel had no smith; and all instruments had to be repaired and sharpened at the enemy's forges (13.19). He showed dignity in sentencing his son Jonathan for disobeying a royal command, and only the people's intervention saved brave Jonathan from death (1 Samuel 14). In this, Saul excelled David who failed to judge nefarious Absalom for far worse crimes, and temporarily lost his throne to his murderous, usurping son. But it was Saul's flagrant sins of disobedience which God could not overlook, such as his rash and precipitous act of offering the burnt offering of Gilgal instead of waiting for the promised arrival of Samuel. The prophet told Saul, "Thou hast done foolishly ... now thy kingdom shall not continue ... because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee" (13.14). Then followed later his defiance of the divine command to wipe out king Agag, the evil Amalekites and all they possessed. Where was his wisdom and sound judgement in retaining the best of Amalek's cattle when he was told specifically they were to be destroyed? Where was his spiritual conception of the LORD, His righteousness. His holiness, and His altar? Saul lied to Samuel when he said, "I have performed the commandment of the LORD" (1 Samuel 15.13), causing the prophet to ask,

"What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep ... and the lowing of oxen? Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD ... Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams ... Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, He hath also rejected thee from being king" (vv. 13-23). Then followed the pathetic incident of Saul blaming the people, and pleading with Samuel to stay with him. But Samuel turned to go, and desperate Saul in grasping the prophet's robe tore it, causing Samuel to say, "The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou" (v.28). So sounded the death knell of Saul's kingdom. The anointing of David as king and the national acclaim he received made Saul jealous, and he sought to slay David.

Finally there came the greatest, and most unbelievable transgression of Saul, when he consulted the witch of En-dor (28.7). Was this prompted by the evil spirit? Not long before, at the death of Samuel, Saul had banished all witches and magicians; but when he knew the LORD had left him, he asked her to being up for him, Samuel. Instead of advice, Saul heard again from the prophet the LORD's rejection of him, and also of his personal death very shortly at the hands of the Philistines at Gilboa. However, the following striking word indicates Saul's soul was safe. "... and tomorrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me" (28.19).

What degradation and dishonour attended the closing hours of Saul's life! What pathos, what sadness and disgrace as he fled helplessly and in great fear of the Philistines, and fell on his own sword for a suicide's death! Oh the leering triumph of the enemy over his corpse, its abusive decapitation, and the sending of the head around the nation as a token of good news before it reposed in the vile temple of Dagon; the placing of his armour in the house of idols, and the contemptuous hanging of his headless body from the wall of Beth-Shan. Even his own warriors, who with great courage sought to restore some honour and dignity to their monarch's end, provided no royal funeral but a blazing pyre, and they buried his bones under a tamarisk tree.

May our lives be worthy of an end like Paul with its glimpse of the glory, rather than that of Saul with his degradation at Gilboa. Let us learn the lesson from Saul's failure by serving the Lord with a whole heart in the holy nation today, valuing our birthright, opening our eyes and ears to the Person and Voice of the King of kings, buying up the opportunities, living and loving with our eyes upon the Eternal Throne so that our epitaph will not carry this regret,

Of all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are "it might have been".

R. Darke, Victoria, B.C. | May 1969
Character Studies