...Saul reigned as king over Israel from about 1050-1011. During this time, the prophet Samuel was Gods mouthpiece. The people of Israel desired a king who could fight their battles against the aggressive tactics of the Philistines. Also, they routinely blamed its shortcomings on the lack of proper leadership; a monarchy comprised of a king (Judges, 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). These passages in the book Judges, reveals that Israel could never fulfill their divinely intended design, as long as it was under the Judges rule. The moral and civil disasters Israel was suffering at this time in history, was due to their spiritual disobedience of the Mosaic covenant. This led to the people of Israel electing Saul as their king. His election was based on his outward appearance, not his heart or regards to the Mosaic covenant. The solidification of Saul’s rule culminated at the victory over Nahash the Amorite. Due to Israel’s failure to honor the Mosaic covenant, Saul’s poor choices caused the nation of Israel to deteriorate rapidly. Even though Saul’s son Ish-bosheth was next in line to the monarchy, it was not to be Gods plan for Israel. The removal of Saul from leadership, culminated from his disobedience to Samuels wish for him to wait on God’s word to attack the Philistines at Gilgal. Saul did not heed to Samuels warning, and attacked solely on his vengeance towards them. The request of a king for Israel was ill motivated, and ill timed. Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin...
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...Professor Bible 105, Essay 2 (MLA) 19 September 2015 Saul, David, and Solomon Before discussing why the people of Israel desired a king, it is important to go back in time and get an understanding of the background and history. Samuel was, at birth, chosen by God. He was a prophet and served under Eli, the high priest. By the power of God and Samuel’s leadership, the Philistines (Israel’s enemy) were defeated. Eli’s sons had been killed, Eli had died and, Samuel became judge over Israel. When Samuel was an old man, he appointed his sons as judges to Israel. His sons, however, were corrupt (Swindoll 2). “Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice” (1 Sam. 8:3). So the people of Israel felt let down and they wanted something done…they wanted a king. However, this was not the only reason they wanted a king. Samuel was not only old and his sons were corrupt, the people wanted to be like other nations (Dale). They told Samuel they wanted him to appoint a king to judge them. “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations” (1 Sam. 8:5). People have always wanted to be like everybody else. Israel was to be different and distinct from all other nations. Israel was to be a covenant people by whom God would reveal Himself and His plan of redemption. “But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And...
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...Essay 2: Saul, David, and Solomon Micheal Coffin September 18, 2015 1 Introduction This essay will examine the transition period in Israel, going from judges to kings. 1 We will look at the four questions asked here. These arise during the time of Samuel, the prophet, priest, and last of the judges in Israel. The four questions we must answer are: 1. Why did the people of Israel desire a king? 2. Why was Saul chosen, and, ultimately rejected? 3. What attribute did David display that made him a better king than Saul? 4. What sin did Solomon commit that ultimately led to the division of Israel after his death? 1. Why did the people of Israel desire a king? Under the reign of the judges, Israel had many troubled times. They had battles with the Philistines and even lost the ark of God (1Sam 4:10-11). To the Israelites, this meant disobedience to God and a total disconnect from God’s presence and the mosaic covenant.2 With all the confusion and turmoil in the land, the Israelites decided they should have a king “to judge us like all the nations” (1Sam 8:5). This action is contrary to the divine will for Israel and the result of the worldly desire of Israel to be like other peoples. 3 The basic difficulty is the nature of the kingship that the elders have in view. Kingships like that of the other nations would be dynastic, bureaucratic, tightly regulated, and thus in direct 1. Ed Hindson, Essence of the Old Testament: A Survey (Nashville, TN: B&H...
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...The nation of Israel, or God’s chosen people, had every opportunity to set themselves apart from other nations. Israel had a covenant relationship with God, which means Israelites only had to live holy lives to receive God’s blessings. The book of Judges describes the cycle of the Israelites forsaking God and then Him raising up judges to bring them to repentance. After this time of uprising, and sorrow, the cycle would begin again. Just like the situation of Israel, Christians have the opportunity to set themselves apart from others. In my opinion, it is of utmost importance to look to God for leadership, and to learn from the lives of others, like Saul, David, and Solomon. It is common, in the human experience, to look for leadership. This was the case of the Israelites during the time of the prophet Samuel, who lived during the time of the Judges. In the fifth verse of the book of 1 Samuel chapter eight, the people of Israel said to Samuel , “….Therefore, appoint a king to judge us the same as all the other nations have” (Holman Christian Standard Bible). God’s chosen people, in this verse, made it known that they desired to be like everyone else. God gave the nation of Israel what they desired and told Samuel, “Appoint a king for them” (1 Sam 8:22). The reasoning behind why peoples may choose their leader is not infallible. For example, sometimes a leader may be chosen because his physical appearance is more appealing than his competitor. This was proven during the...
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...while they wandered through the desert. Time and time again the Israelites had chosen to go their own way instead of following the orders God gave. This cycle occurred again during the time of Samuel. During this time the people said, “Give us a king to judge us.” (Samuel 8:6) Even after Samuel had advised the people against having a king appointed, they decided that their way ultimately better than God’s way. God did not fight them, even though He knew the destruction that it would bring, instead He did what they asked. God had a plan for Israel, but the people had decided that God’s way was not efficient enough and that they knew how to govern themselves more efficiently. Saul was everything the Israelites could have wanted in a king; he was tall, good looking, and would triumph in many battles. When Saul first became king he followed God’s...
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...the time of Samuel, Saul was initially chosen for king, but David became succeeded him, while Solomon committed a sin that ultimately led to the division of Israel. Israel’s desire for a king Until Samuel got old and did not have a son to lead, Israel operated as a Theocracy, following God and His Law, but Israel desired to be like other nations. In 1 Samuel 8:5, the elders of Israel discussed their displeasure with Samuel, and they not only expressed their distrust in God, but also their desire to be like the adjacent nations. The people of Israel had been continuing to worship foreign gods since they left Egypt, and now they saw an opportunity, which they thought they could justify asking for a king. The Israelites were fallible humans, and they did not put their trust in God. They put their trust in what was tangible and did not require faith, which led to Saul becoming the first king of Israel. The Choosing and Rejection of Saul First Samuel 9 describes Saul as not just a handsome man, but a head taller than all other men: He physically fit the profile of a worldly leader but did not live a life above reproach. In the article Looking Good or Looking Competent? Physical Appearance and Electoral Success in the 2008 Congressional Elections, Rodrigo Praino outlines how physical appearance does make a difference in how humans elect candidates for public office. The people of Israel wanted a king, and God gave them one that met their human profile. Saul had the same problem...
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...nations and to escape the corruption of the judges. (1 Sam.8: 4-5 HCSB). Samuel saw this as a rejection of him but God told Samuel, “They have not rejected you; they have rejected Me as their king.” God allowed the people to have a king like the other nations but Samuel did convey God’s warning of the “rights of a king” (1 Sam. 8:11b HCSB) and their national “covenant of unfaithfulness.” (Hindson and Yates 2012, 165). These events subsequently lead to the coronation and reign of Saul, David, and Solomon, the first three kings, but each struggled with maintaining “covenant fidelity”. (Hindson and Yates 2012, 171) Saul was the first who was appointed to be the king. Saul was selected by the people of Israel because, “There was no one more impressive among the Israelites than he. He stood a head taller than anyone else.” (1 Sam. 9:2b HCSB). In the beginning, Saul follows God’s commandments. Saul delivered Jabash-gilead from the Nahash the Ammonite. However, Saul was ultimately rejected. In 1 Samuel 13: 7-9, Saul violated the “priestly functions.” (Hindson and Yates 2012, 165). “[A]ll his troops were...
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...2012 The story of Saul, the first king of Israel, begins with a demand by the Israelites — led until then by judges, the last one being Samuel: “When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel… Yet his sons did not follow in his ways… Then all the elders gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him… Appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations” (I Samuel 8.1-5). Israel had been led by an array of figures, starting with the patriarchs, followed by enslavement in Egypt, and then liberation under Moses. The Israelites entered the Promised Land under his successor, Joshua. After that, the first kind of permanent office was that of the judges, but the biggest change came with the establishment of the office of king, which constituted the most powerful form of leadership. It was hereditary, continuous, and it granted the incumbent almost absolute power. Much of the Bible consists of the juxtaposition or intertwining of several versions of the same story. There are, for example, successive stories of creation and an intertwined story of the Garden of Eden. The life of King Saul is an intertwined story, which runs through much of the first book of Samuel (from which I quote in this piece). In one strand, as mentioned, the people demand a king, doing so in defiance of God, who had in effect been their king. God therefore takes the demand as a repudiation of Him leading to the eventually fatal opposition between God and Saul. In the other strand...
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...Chris Newman Michael Ritter REL124 16 December 2012 David: Hero, King and Prophet There is no doubt that King David is one of the most outstanding biblical and historical figures, who also inspired artists of all epochs to make him a hero of their work. His role was special as the second King of Israel and as a human ancestor of Jesus Christ. Thus, one can state for sure that this personality is of great importance both for Judaism and Christianity and embodies devotion to God and the idea of authority blessed by God as well. Most of information on David can be found in the Books of Samuel and Ruth. Historically, David was one of eight sons of Jesse, who in his turn descended from Judas. In the Old Testament books, it is mentioned that he was handsome, physically strong, had red hair and was an outstanding musician. He started by helping his father to care about the herd and quite succeeds in doing so. Even at a young age, he demonstrates courage as a shepherd when a lion and bear attack the herd. He conquers in the battle with beasts, for which he gains his first glory. In fact, it should be mentioned, that being a shepherd is more than a narrative element which is mentioned in the Bible. In fact, this role of David is foreshadowing his future position of Israeli ruler. In the scriptures, a shepherd is often a positive idea that implies being in charge of people. Even God has been compared to a shepherd not once like for instance in the following passage: ‘Then he blessed...
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...lack of a strong human leader as the cause and did not realize that the reason for the oppression was a spiritual on-their failure to serve God” (Harbin, 2005, p.219). Saul was not God’s choice for the throne but “he was the people’s choice” (Hindson and Yates, 2012. P.164). Saul’s appointment as king was against the “old theocratic ideal that God alone was King of Israel (I Samuel 8:5). Saul’s reign lasted from 1029-1005BC (Roux and Williams, 2012). Saul had great military talent and garnered God’s support by reuniting the Israelites and crushing the Ammonites. Nearing the final years of Saul’s reign “he was very pre-occupied with David’s increasing fame which severely depressed him” (Roux and Williams, 2012). Saul had even gone so far as to hunt David down in order to kill him. In 1 Samuel 16:14 we see were Saul had lost God’s spirit and He had replaced it with and evil spirit. Saul had begun to suspect everyone around him of plotting against him. After God refused to bless Saul in a battle he did the unthinkable. Saul “consulted a medium at Endor” (Roux and Williams, 2012). This consultation was against the law of the land and against the laws of God. During the final battle against the Philistines Saul was so fearful of capture that he committed suicide by falling on his own sword. Unlike Saul, David was God’s choice as king for the people. Being that he was from the tribe of Judah it meant “that he was God’s choice to become the next...
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...national unity, covenant exodus tradition Last four chapters 17-21> in those days there was no king, slowly building the case for a king Two major concerns- first the reolocation of the tribe of dan, the second Is the conflict between tribe of Benjamin and the rest of Israel Stories include episodes of grisly murder and profanity, to demonstrate without intervention of YHWH, there can only be chaos- the time for the king has come. CH11 First Samuel In Hebrew, the two books of Samuel were grouped together, only in Greek and Latin translations are they separate, the Greek preserves older version of Text, the old version in Hebrew is now lost 1 Samuel covers the transition from Judges to the monarchy, the rise of David after the brief and traffic reign of Saul; the prophet Samuel mediates the story Tension between the desire for God and human kingship Take home-> reconcile faith with god with the desire to have king- how to be a good king, how do you avoid the temptation to say I can do whatever I want 1 Samuel sis the work of multiple hands- its D and J Samuel: mother hann is childless (Husband is Elkanah), she goes to Eli, high priest at Shiloh, asks for blessing, it is given Gives...
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...Saul and Macbeth gain the power of king. The only remaining factor is the way to maintain that power. Macbeth seeks to abolish anyone who is in his way, including his once close friend, Banquo, and especially his son, Fleance, who is to be the next king. Saul, on the other hand, builds up murderous intent on David, the boy God chose to be his successor, someone he once saw as a lovely, young man. As soon as Samuel anoints David as the next king of Israel “the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul. and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. And Saul’s servants said to him, ‘Behold now, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you’ ” (I Samuel 16:14-15). Saul takes action and calls for a lyre player to cheer himself up. Coincidentally, David is brought to the presence of Saul. By playing his music, Saul gets to “like him very much, and David became one of his armor bearers” (I Samuel 16:21). Amusingly, when David plays his music, he reveals that he will be the most powerful king, and his chorus echoes, “Saul has slain thousands, and David his ten thousands” (I Samuel 18:7). This stirs jealousy and anger within Saul and he begins to take action against him. With David’s proclamation of future king, Saul would always pay attention to him. This leads to “an evil spirit from God” to possess Saul, which leads to himself “raving within his house, while David is playing the lyre” (I Samuel 18:10). With his spear in hand, Saul would try to “pin David to the wall. But David evaded...
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...The First Three Kings of Israel God heard the people of Israel when they cried out for a king. Saul was the “people’s choice.” He was tall and handsome, but he didn’t have what it took to be a great king. David was known as the “man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14, NKJV). He was a much better king than Saul. Solomon was one of the wisest people in entire Bible, yet sin crept in and brought the downfall of Israel. God answered His people’s prayers for a king but none could have been more different from one another than Israel’s first three kings: Saul, David, and Solomon. The desire for a king was not new to the people of Israel. The Israelite people had cried out for a king in the past. Judges 8:22 says, “The Israelites said to Gideon, ‘Rule over us, you, your son and your grandson, because you have saved us from the hand of Midian.’” Gideon had just wiped out the army of Midian. When his people asked him to be king, he wanted nothing to do with it, saying, “I will not rule over you, nor shall my son rule over you; the Lord shall rule over you” (Judges 8:23, NKJV). Their desire for a king was not necessarily wrong either. It had been foretold numerous times in the past that a king would rise up. In Genesis 17:6, God told Abraham that kings will come from him. Numbers 24:17 says, “I see him, but not now. I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob. A scepter will rise out of Israel. I will crush the foreheads of Moab, ...
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...of David face, stinging when meeting openings in the tarred skin. Fighting in pain, blisters urge him to stop. Incredibly, thousands of scavengers flew above, continuously catching sight of dead Philistine soldiers. Unfortunately, the birds feed on the red flesh of the dead, the image was horrendous. "David! Behind you!" a scream from an Israelite soldier echoed the valley. Instantly, David ducked, narrowly missing the sharp blade. Unhesitatingly, he swung his body around, catching the enemy of guard and stabbing the sharp, bloody blade through his stomach. Only an hour earlier, King Saul announced the marriage of his daughter to David. On one condition, David had to kill one hundred Philistine...
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...desired a king. During that time Saul was chosen, but eventually he was rejected. David ended up becoming king after Saul and ultimately did a better job. This essay will discuss why Israel demanded a king, why Saul was rejected, as well as why David was a much better choice than Saul was for king, and after David’s reign what sin Solomon commited to divide Israel. Hindson and Yates say that a judge could only partially administer Torah, execute justice, and condemn lawbreakers, therefore a king was needed (Hindson &Yates, 2012). Israel needed someone who could so all of these principles. Samuel had two sons, Joel and Abijah, who ended up perverting justice and accepting bribes. Therefore Samuel could not make them kings, as he grew old. The people of Israel were not pleased and told Samuel to find a new king, because he was too old and his sons were no good (1 Samuel 8:1-6, New International Version). After Samuel was told that by the Israelites the Lord came to him and said that the people were actually rejecting him, not Samuel. Samuel took back everything the Lord said and repeated it to the Israelites, but they still demanded and king. With that Samuel went back to the Lord and the Lord said, “…give them a king” (1 Samuel 8:7, 19-22). With that, Samuel found Saul. Saul was from the town of Benjamin. According to 1 Samuel 9:2 Saul was a whole head taller than everyone else, so he could be seen all over (1 Samuel 9:2). As Saul was out with his servant he heard...
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