King Saul

“ Saul, however, went on in his sinful ways, and this filled the heart of the prophet Samuel, who was now an old man, with sore trouble and distress.
Samuel lived, among his young men on the little hill of Ramah, mourning because of King Saul's sinful ways. But there came a time when God told him—perhaps in a vision—to mourn no longer. He was to fill a small horn with oil and go to the village of Bethlehem, and there anoint one of the sons of Jesse the shepherd to be the next king; but at first the old man was afraid to go, lest King Saul should hear of it and kill him. ”

“ How is it conceivable that Saul, who concealed his anointing even from his own family after his return from Samuel to Gibeah (1Sa 10:16) , should have immediately after chosen 3000 men of Israel to begin the war against the Philistines? How did Saul attain to any such distinction, that at his summons all Israel gathered round him as their king, even before he had been publicly proclaimed king in the presence of the people, and before he had secured the confidence of the people by any kingly heroic deed? ”

“ From the heart of Saul
That mournful echo came—so sad and low!
"Dead! dead! Ah, woe is me!" he sadly sighed.
"My sons—my best beloved! Woe! Woe—alas!"
And as he spake, e'en while his head, gold-crowned,
Bent low in pain beneath the crushing blow,
An arrow from the foe his armour smote,
And pierced his breast, already rent with grief.
Then stepped with hurried tread a servant forth,
And plucked the arrow from its cruel feast,
Rending his robe to stanch the purple stream.
"Heed not the wound!" exclaimed the King. "Too late!
"Where Heaven smites, men's blows are light indeed." ”

“ And Stephen thus his theme premised pursues:
"Rightly and wrongly, both at once, have ye
This day been taught of God's Messiah; King
He is, as Saul has said, but in a sense,
And with a highth and depth and length and breadth
[92] And reach immense of meaning, that nor Saul,
Nor ye, nor any by the Holy Ghost
Untaught, have yet conceived. Not of this world
His kingdom is. The pageant and the pomp,
State visible, and splendor to the eye,
Are of this world that vanishes away,
And of the princes of this world that come
To naught. ”

“ The last occasion on which we hear of the spear of Saul is one of singular interest. Before us rises the hill of Hachilah, with the dark shroud of night around it, where Saul the king and his chosen thousands lie stretched in deepest sleep. The spear of the slumbering monarch is stuck into the ground close to his pillow. We almost wonder that Saul with a conscience so stained by guilt, he being at the time actually engaged in an attempt to hunt David to the death, can sleep so soundly. ”

“ And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.
28:15 And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. ”

“ But though Saul went, and gained a great victory over them, he disobeyed God in the end; for he saved alive the king and the best of the flocks and herds, and all that was good, he kept.
Then the Lord sent Samuel to Saul. And Saul hastened to meet him with the words: "Blessed be thou of the Lord! I have performed the commandment of the Lord!"
But Samuel answered: "What meaneth then the bleating of sheep in my ears?"
And Saul answered: "The people spared the best of the flocks to sacrifice to the Lord." ”

“ King Saul went on fighting with his old enemies the Philistines, who came up at certain seasons of the year to plunder the land, and had to be chased down the long valleys, and back into their walled towns again; but with David's help the king was now able to beat them as he had never done before. And each time they drove the Philistines down, the young men returned leaping, running, dancing, and showing off their skill and strength on the way; and the villagers would often come out to meet them, and rejoice also. ”

“ Although David had known only too well the truth about Saul's great weakness, and had feared him as his most dangerous enemy, still to him was Saul always the King of Israel, mighty in strength of character, and in all the pomp and power of a nation's ruler ”

“ So David stayed at the King's court, and whenever Saul gave way to an attack of anger or depression, the young minstrel would hasten to him, and play melodies grave and gay, sweet and brilliant, playing with such skill that before he knew it, Saul would be in good humour again, or drop into a deep, refreshing sleep, and little did he dream that the lad who had such power to soothe and amuse him had been anointed by Samuel to rule over Israel in his place. ”

“ A king is ordinarily one who rules a kingdom, but in the case of Saul, a kingdom had first to be won. His encounters with the Philistines were successful, but his reign proved to be a continual campaign against them. Gradually Saul became estranged from Samuel, who represented the best element in Israel. Priests of a later period assigned the difference between them as having arisen over Saul's leniency toward his captives, but it is believed that instead it came naturally between two men whose ideals were wide apart. ”

“ Moaning in utter anguish—"Let me die!"
'Twas Saul the Anointed—Israel's fallen King:
Crushed 'neath the hand of an offended God!
"Lo!" cried the King, and raised his tearful eyes,
"The Philistines are near, pierce thou my breast!"
And, turning round, his kingly breast he bared,
Bidding his armour-bearer thrust his sword
Hilt-deep into his heart. "Better to die
"By friendly hand," he cried, "than owe my death
"To yonder hated victors. Quick! Thy sword! ”

“ Shall Saul reign over us? Bring the men and we will kill them.
13 And Saul said: No man shall be killed this day, because the Lord this day hath wrought salvation in Israel:
14 And Samuel said to the people: Come and let us go to Galgal, and let us renew the kingdom there.
15 And all the people went to Galgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Galgal, and they sacrificed there victims of peace before the Lord. And there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced exceedingly. ”

“ There is none like him, as thou canst see.
And they all cried out, God save the king! Then Sam-u-el told them what they were to do, [152] and how the king was to rule, and wrote it down in a book.
When Saul had been king for two years, he set out with his son, Jon-a-than, to fight the Phil-is-tines. And a great host went with them. And the Phil-is-tines had more men than they could count. And when the Jews saw the strength of their foes, they were in great fear, and ran and hid in caves and pits, or fled to the high hills where the rocks would screen them. ”

“ Fellows, Saul the Pharisee had zeal without knowledge. He blazed away upon the presumption that Jesus was an impostor. Why, the Jesus idea was preposterous, Saul mused. God's Kingdom was to be set up with a great capital at Jerusalem and a great and powerful king on the throne to whom all the world around would come and pay tribute. Anybody who claimed that the King had already come and been crucified like a thief was a dangerous fanatic and should be haled to prison or put to death. ”

“ And he did valiantly and smote Amalek, and delivered Israel out of the hands of them that spoiled them.” That success gave him a good name as king, but it did not draw much affection to him; and it had more [439] effect in ridding the people of evil than in conferring on them positive good. Royalty bred in Saul what it bred in most kings of the East, an imperious temper, a despotic will. Even in his own family he played the despot. And if he played the despot at home he did so not less in public. All that we can say in his favour is, that he did not carry his despotism so far as many. ”

“ Saul hastily cut up a yoke of oxen, and sending these bloody tokens to the various tribes, he notified them that such treatment would be meted out to their flocks and herds unless they came to the relief of the trans-Jordan cities. Recognizing a leader at last, men quickly gathered. The desert tribe was surprised, defeated and pursued into its desert strongholds. Thereupon Saul was popularly proclaimed king, as it was now believed that he alone could save the Hebrews from the Philistines, who were heavily oppressing them. ”

“ The tragic end of their king made a profound impression on the people. We read that, before entering on his last battle, Saul was given over to gloomy forebodings: he had sought counsel of Jahveh, but God “answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.” The aged Samuel had passed away at Ramah, and had apparently never seen the king after the flight of David;* Saul now bethought himself of the prophet in his despair, and sought to recall him from the tomb to obtain his counsel. ”

“ Saul was chosen King, in free gathering of the hardy yeomanry, and proved his human election a divine selection by rousing the nation to new efforts, which his genius led to victory. Saul was followed by a brief period of national unity under David and Solomon, in which the rapid and brilliant progress made in the spread of the kingdom, in wealth and civilization, revealed the latent powers of this gifted race. ”

“ He has softened Saul’s wild heart by his courtesy and pathos when he pleaded with him, after letting him escape from the cave; and he has sworn to Saul that when he becomes king he will never cut off his children, or destroy his name out of his father’s home. ”

“ I do, sir, and more especially so as it exposes a man to fewer sins. If king Saul had continued a poor laborious man to the end of his days, he might have lived happy and honest, and died a natural death in his bed at last ”

“ The division within the ranks of Israel once more gave opportunity to the watchful Philistines. They made ready for a final assault, and the moody and disheartened Saul prepared to fight them back. He was no longer able to rouse his kinsmen as at first. Many were discontented with his rule, and many favored David. Before the battle, Saul, grown more superstitious with the pressure of circumstance, visited the witch of Endor to learn by her art the issue of the battle. Never does the king, tall in stature and once confident, but now broken in spirit, appear more tragic. ”

“ A man whose influence has never died out among men, and who is to-day a vital force in the world of religion, of philanthropy, and of letters.
The short and ill-starred reign of Saul, the first king of the Jews, chosen when the people had wearied of the theocratic style of government, came to a speedy end. While yet the crown was on his head, the favor of the Lord departed from Saul, and Samuel, the Lord's prophet, was sent, 1064 B.C., to anoint his successor. The monarch was virtually deposed, though still in power. ”

“ We have all the reason in the world to believe that Samuel and the priests made every possible advantage of an adventure so fortunate for their intended king, to improve his growing popularity, which even at its outset had so far exceeded all bounds of decency: "What," said Saul, "can he have more but the kingdom?"** and we may therefore conclude that the king saw enough to alarm him ”

“ A special band of men served as runners (razim) , an armed force who became the obedient instruments of the king's will. These and their chief formed the king's court. Saul's leader of the guard was named Doag, an Idumæan by birth. Owing to the presence of the standing army and attendants, Gibeah, till then only a small town, now became the capital. Towards Samuel, Saul at first showed submission. When the prophet, in the name of God, commanded him to declare war to the death with the Amalekites, Saul immediately made preparations, and summoned his warriors. ”

“ Samuel, the prophet, came from Ramah, and pouring some very precious oil upon the head of David, anointed him to be the future King of Israel. Saul was then King, but on account of his wickedness God had rejected him, saying that another should reign in his stead.
Soon after this event Saul became very wretched. An evil spirit troubled him, we are told. His servants advised him to get a man that could play skilfully upon the harp, so that music might drive away his misery. ”

“ And Saul said, God hath delivered him into mine hand; for he is shut in, by entering into a town that hath gates and bars.
8 And Saul called all the people together to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men.
9 And David knew that Saul secretly practised mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring hither the ephod.
10 Then said David, O LORD God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake.
11 Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? ”

“ Samuel lived, he resolved to consult one who was renowned in all Israel
as a man from whom nothing was hid. Instructed in the divine designs
regarding Saul, the prophet received him with honor. He assured him that
the asses which he had sought were already found, and invited him to
stay with him until the next morning. Saul was in fact the man on whom
the divine appointment to be the first king of Israel had fallen. A hint
of this high destiny produced from the astonished stranger a modest
declaration of his insufficiency. ”