Saul of Israel

“ Once more I saw when Israel quailed before Philistia's pride;
While great Goliath, day by day, Jehovah's power defied.
The weak and timid fled away, the valiant shrank with fear;—
'Twas threatened death or dire defeat, and life and fame are dear.
Even Saul, their chosen king, forgot (admiring Israel's boast!)
That he stood head and shoulders high above his martial host.
"And are there none," he cried, "who dare to meet this vaunting foe?
And must the banner of our God trail in dishonor low?" ”

“ Then said Saul to his servant, But, behold; if we go, what shall we bring the man; for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God; what have we? And the servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I have here at hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver; that will I give to the man of God to tell us our way. (Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he spake, Come, and let us go to the seer: for he that is now called a prophet was beforetime called a seer.) ”

“ It was a surer way to save Israel than to teach it by the king's example that the ordinances of the Lord could be set aside because it was convenient. I cared not for myself: how can he who is His messenger care for aught save His honour? But I saw by this act of Saul what was in him—that it was an example of his heart—that if he could conquer the Philistines he cared not for the Law. His victories without the Law would have melted away like snow in summer. They would have been as the victories of Philistines over Amalekites, or Amalekites over Philistines. ”

“ There was a strong enemy on the western coast that was the most serious trouble to Israel. It was to save themselves from these people that the Hebrews had longed for a king. Imagine how we should feel if some foreign nation should capture New York and Chicago and St. Louis and San Francisco and should compel us to give up a large part of our crops every year. We should look for a great general to lead us to turn them out. What then did Saul feel was his first duty as king? He had with him his noble son: what was his name? The first blow was struck at the town of Geba: what followed at once? ”

“ Now when Saul had taken the kingdom over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, {370} and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines: and whithersoever he went he defeated them.
THE DISOBEDIENCE OF SAUL.
"To Obey Is Better than Sacrifice."
And Samuel said to Saul, "The Lord sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou to the voice of the words of the Lord. ”

“ Saul was a brave man, and led the people to war, and they were pleased with his success, but he was not single in his service of the Lord, and he had for a wife a Horite, one Rizpah, who worshipped false gods. He believed he could make Israel a nation by battles, and he saw not what I saw—that the one thing necessary for our salvation was to keep ourselves pure and separate. The people complained that the Law was a burden, but it was their safeguard: it was the Law which marked them off from the heathen, who were doomed to fall by their sins. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Now the Lord had revealed unto Samuel a day before Saul came, saying, "To-morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be prince over my people Israel, and he shall save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me." ”

“ And Saul knew David's voice, and said, "Is this thy voice, my son David?"
And David said, "It is my voice, my lord, O king. Wherefore doth my lord pursue after his servant? for what have I done? or what evil is in mine hand? for the king of Israel is come out to seek a flea, as when one doth hunt a partridge in the mountains."
Then said Saul, "I have sinned: return, my son David: for I will no more do thee harm, because my life was precious in thine eyes this day: behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly." ”

“ Human life was of so little value in those Eastern countries, and the crime of destroying it was so little thought of, that if Saul had in any way provoked hostility, he would have been almost certain to fall by some assassin’s hand. It was therefore wise of him to continue for a time his old way of living, and wait for some opportunity which should arise providentially, to vindicate his title to the sceptre of Israel. ”

“ Shall Saul reign over us? bring the men, that we may put them to death.' 13And Saul said: 'There shall not a man be put to death this day; for to-day the Lord hath wrought deliverance in Israel.'
14Then said Samuel to the people: 'Come and let us go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there.' 15And all the people went to Gilgal; and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal; and there they sacrificed sacrifices of peace-offerings before the Lord; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly. ”

“ He himself held supreme sway over all Israel as the last of the “judges” until compelled to accede to the popular demand for a king. The young Saul was chosen by lot and gained unanimous recognition by delivering Jabesh in Gilead from the Ammonites. (2) But other traditions represent the people scattered and in hiding; Israel is groaning under the Philistine yoke, and the unknown Saul is raised up by Yahweh to save his people. This he accomplishes with the help of his son Jonathan. ”

“ This person soon becomes advantageously known to Israel by his single combat with a gigantic Philistine chief, called Goliath, whom he slays; on which the Israelites attack the Philistines, and give them a total overthrow. Saul, envious of David's popularity, seeks his destruction; he is in consequence obliged to escape for his life, and take refuge sometimes among the Moabites, sometimes among the Philistines, and sometimes in the caves of the mountains of Judah, everywhere pursued by Saul, and everywhere visibly protected by the Lord. ”

“ 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. ”

“ I. Saul, the first king of Israel, being much disturbed in mind for fear of the army of the Philistines, which came against him, would by all means know aforehand the issue of this doubtful war, now whereas before, whilst he performed the duty of a good king, and obeyed the commandments of God; he had cleaned his realm of witches and inchanters; yet he is now so senseless, as in his extremity to ask counsel of them, adding this wickedness to all the rest of his sins, that the measure thereof might be full ”

“ SAUL (Heb. shā’ūl, “asked”) , in the Old Testament, son of Kish, and king of Israel. [1] His history is closely interwoven with that of the prophet Samuel and the Judaean king David. Two distinct accounts are given of his rise. In one Samuel, after defeating the Philistines, rules as the last “judge” of Israel; the people demand a king, and Saul, a young giant of Benjamin, is chosen by lot ”

“ 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? ”

“ So Saul became the crowned of Israel—
The first great King of their united tribes.
Episode the Second.
SAUL DISAPPOINTS THE EXPECTATIONS OF JEHOVAH, AND IS VISITED WITH THE ALMIGHTY'S DISPLEASURE. Brave is the heart that beats with yearning throb
Tow'rds highest hopes, when, wandering in the vale,
Some snowy Alp gleams forth with flashing crown
Of golden glory in the morning light.
Brave is the heart that lovingly expands
And longs the far-off splendour to embrace. ”

“ The Hebrews who once were on the side of the Philistines and who had joined their army also went over to the side of the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. Likewise all the men of Israel who were hiding in the highlands of Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines had fled, closely followed them in the battle. So Jehovah delivered Israel that day, and the battle passed over beyond Bethhoron. But Saul made a great mistake that day, for he strictly commanded the people, saying, "The man who shall eat any food until evening and until I take vengeance on my enemies shall be punished." ”

“ And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on. And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel? ”

“ But, according to an earlier account, instead of a state of peace after the defeat of the Philistines (vii. 14) the people groan under their yoke, and the position of Israel moves Yahweh to pity. Samuel is a local seer consulted by Saul, and is bidden by Yahweh to see in the youth the future ruler. Saul is privately anointed and receives various signs as proof of his new destiny (ix. 1–x. 16) . Despite the straitened circumstances of Israel, an army is mustered, a sudden blow is struck at the Philistines, and, as before, supernatural assistance is at hand. ”

“ LAST Sunday you heard how God chose Saul to be king of Israel, and promised to help him if he would obey in all that God commanded him.
Now, there were some cruel robbers that lived in the mountains, and used to fall upon peaceful people and kill them; and take their cows and sheep and camels and asses, and gold and silver, and all they had. So God sent a message by Samuel to Saul and his brave men, to destroy these cruel people; but God said that none of all their prey and riches, that had been gained by such wicked ways, was to be kept by His people ”

“ It is inconceivable that the monarch of a country so insignificant as Palestine could have maintained so exorbitant a household in a small city like Jerusalem. Moreover, there is, on every ground, reason to correct the statement. Saul, so far as we know, had only one wife, and one concubine; David, though he put so little restraint on himself, had only sixteen; no subsequent king of Israel or Judah appears to have had even a small fraction of the number which is here assigned to Solomon, either by the disease of exaggeration or by some corruption of the text. ”

“ When Saul was king he was but the cypher, thou wast the figure, thou wast he that leddest out Israel to battle, and broughtest them in in triumph; and therefore who so fit now to fill the vacant throne?" He that is faithful in a little deserves to be entrusted with more. Former good offices done for us should be gratefully remembered by us when there is occasion. 3. The divine appointment was the greatest inducement of all: The Lord said, Thou shalt feed my people Israel, that is, thou shalt rule them ”

“ And Saul said to David, "Thou art not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth."
And David said unto Saul, "Thy servant kept his father's sheep; and when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant smote both the lion and the bear: and this Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God." ”

“ 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. ”