From 1117 B.C. to 1077 B.C. Israel under her first king: Saul

About 1150 B.C., the people of Israel again suffered a lot as a result of constant attacks by the Philistines. Once more, God appointed a judge for them: Samuel. Later on, Samuel not only became a great liberator of Israel, but also a great prophet. He also played a tremendous part at one of the most dramatic events in the history of God’s people: the transition to a monarchy ruled by a king.

In the first few decades in which Samuel acted as a prophet (a man sent by God), JHWH helped His people in their constant struggle with the Philistines. However, the people continued to worship the images of Baal and Astoreth. Around 1120 B.C., God stopped helping the people and they were cruelly oppressed by the Philistines. In those critical times, the people began to urge Samuel to appoint a king who would be able to liberate them from their oppressors.

At first, Samuel refused to do this. Since their arrival in the Promised Land, the people had had only one king: JHWH. God had always told the people that they did not need an earthly king. Therefore, Samuel did not want to appoint a king for them, until JHWH Himself ordered him to give the people what they asked for.

In 1117 B.C., God Himself selected an earthly king for His people. This marked the end of the period of the judges and the beginning of the era of the kings. In the years in which God’s people was a monarchy, the nation first rose to great prosperity. It became extremely powerful and was highly esteemed in the region. But a few centuries later, the kings led the people to a horrible downfall.

The first king of Israel was selected by JHWH Himself. His name was Saul and he belonged to the tribe of Benjamin. He was a handsome man with a strong, supple body and he came from a rich family. God asked Samuel to anoint Saul as the king. At first, he was exactly what the people expected from a king. Saul led them in their struggles against the Philistines and gained great military victories which considerably decreased their power. But later on, he committed serious sins against God on two occasions. The first one was when the army was preparing for an important battle. The army wanted to offer sacrifices to God and hoped to get instructions from JHWH with respect to the tactics to be adopted. Samuel was the only priest and prophet and only he could get into contact with God. But he was nowhere to be found. When time was running out, Saul himself offered the sacrifice to God. This was a terrible transgression of God’s law. Shortly after Saul’s sacrifice, Samuel appeared on the scene. He told Saul that God would punish him severely for this wicked deed. God would take the kingship away from him and He would appoint another king to take his place: a king who would obey Him.

A few years later, Saul committed a similar sin. God helped Saul and his army in destroying another enemy of His people: the Amelekites. But before the battle, God had clearly told them that they should kill all Amelekites and destroy all their possessions. However, Saul allowed a few wonderful cows to live and also refused to kill their king, Agag. When Samuel found out about this, he condemned Saul for the second time and told him again that God would take the kingship away from him. Then Samuel took a knife and, in spite of the fact that he was an old man and a priest and a prophet, he killed Agag with his own hands.

After these events, God and Samuel did not put off selecting a new king until Saul had died. God led Samuel to the house of Jesse at Bethlehem in Judah and ordered him to anoint the youngest son, David. He was the new king of Israel, the second king in the history of God’s people, and the first of a great dynasty of kings.

After anointing the second king, it was visible that God’s spirit came to rest on David and he became successful in everything he undertook. God’s spirit left Saul who became mentally ill when he got older.

In spite of this, Saul remained the lawful and God-appointed king of Israel until his death, also after Samuel had appointed David as his successor.

During yet another war with the Philistines, these arch enemies of Israel had a giant in their midst: Goliath. He was a man who was almost three meters tall. This man made fun of God’s people and challenged them to select a man from among them who would dare to fight him in a single combat. Nobody dared, until David heard about him. David, who knew that God was with him, accepted the challenge. He armed himself only with a sheep-staff, a sling, and five smooth stones. He hit the giant in the middle of the head with one of his stones. Goliath fell to the ground. Then David took the giant’s sword and killed him with it.

After this heroic deed, David became more and more popular, while Saul grew more and more jealous and mentally ill. Saul really came to hate David and began to do anything he could think of to kill him. Twice, David had to flee away from the territory of Israel to escape from Saul’s murderous intentions.

In the meantime, the war between the Israelites and the Philistines continued. In 1077 B.C., just before the start of another big battle between the two arch enemies, Saul was determined to ask the prophet Samuel, who had died in the meantime, for advice. Transgressing God’s laws yet again, Saul resorted to spiritualism and visited a medium. This person conjured up someone and Saul thought he recognized Samuel in him. But “Samuel” did not have a pleasant message for him. He foretold that the Philistines would win the battle and that Saul and his three sons would be killed.

The following day, the big battle took place. The Philistines gained a major victory. Saul’s three sons lost their lives in the battle. Saul himself was badly wounded and killed himself.

Thus the reign of Israel’s first king ended in a national and personal catastrophe.

(It is very worthwhile to read the account of Saul’s tragical life and his disastrous influence on the people of Israel in the Bible itself. It is to be found in 1 Samuel.)