Pastoral Letters

King Saul — First King of Israel

April 10, 2016 Author:Elder Teo Chin Tian
King Saul was the first King of Israel.  He started well but sadly, he faltered during his reign as the first king of Israel.  He was a handsome and tall man from the tribe of Benjamin.  King Saul started off humbly and when Samuel anointed him to be the first king of Israel, this was his comment: “Saul answered, “But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?” (1 Sam 9:21). 

God will use a humble man, but will despise the proud and the arrogant.  “For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength” (1 Cor 1:25).  If you want to be used by God for his ministry, you must have a humble heart. 

Saul’s first failure was not obeying the commands of God.  He was supposed to wait for Samuel to present the burnt offering to God.  Instead, he disobeyed the command and presented it himself: “You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.  But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command” (1 Sam 13:13-14). 

His second failure was his disobedience to annihilate the Amalekites.  This was God’s command for Saul:  “Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys” (1 Sam 15:3,15:7).  

This is what King Saul did: “Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt.  He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. 9 But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed” (1 Sam 15:8-9).  When Samuel pointed out the faults of King Saul, instead of his repentance, he put the blame on his men. 

God demands our wholehearted obedience to his commands.  We often offend God by not keeping to his commands.  We are too impatient and we lack the steadfast trust and faith in God.  When God points out our sins, we should acknowledge them, repent, and ask God for forgiveness instead of giving excuses for our faults. 

“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king” (1 Sam 15:22). 

King Saul had a tragic ending when God removed him as the first King of Israel.  He died in battle with his son Jonathan.  We need to learn to obey God regardless of our situation in life.  Obedience is better than sacrifice.  May we always be humble and wait upon God.