Concluding Thoughts on First Samuel

The fall of Saul looms so large over the First Book of Samuel that this section of the Bible can seem at first to be purely a tragic tale.  There is the hope of David, true, but most of what we get of David is how horribly he is persecuted by Saul.  The true bright spot in First Samuel must be Samuel himself.  The great prophet dies in 1 Samuel 25, so it can be easy to lose sight of him and get swept up in the drama of Saul and David.  But upon reflecting on the book as a whole, Samuel emerges as the key figure, and the true hope raised by God for His people.  From his miraculous origins early in 1 Samuel to his dealings with Heli to his acquiescence when the people demand a king, Samuel always acted with faith, humility, and righteousness.  The fact that he bridges the divide between the eras of judges and kings makes him a supremely significant figure, right up there with Moses and Joshua.  Samuel is a transitional prophet.  He is chosen and raised up by God to deliver the Israelites from the bondage of the Philistines and sin, much like other judges who came before him, e.g. Samson.  But then, in an unprecedented moment, he is directed divinely to switch course.  His anointing of Saul and instituting a new kingship in the Holy Land is a moment full of ambivalence for the reader, since we know God doesn't desire such a course for His people, yet He permits it, and it seems wants everyone to make the best of it.  Samuel humbly obeys God knowing he is setting off a precarious chain of events.  He tries his best to keep Saul on the path of righteousness, but that becomes a more difficult task as the book goes on.  Samuel's final act is to anoint David, but Samuel dies before David can become the fully realized king he is meant to be.  God's prophets (and later His saints) are always placed in their time and place to steer events a certain way, to provide light and hope especially during confusing times.  The time covered in 1 Samuel was a rocky and tumultuous time, and the good prophet Samuel provided much needed stability and comfort to keep God's ship afloat.  But now that Samuel is gone and the Second Book of Samuel begins, who will be that divinely placed sign of hope?  Will it be King David himself?  Another prophet?  Saul is gone as well, but that doesn't mean evil has gone with him.  Someone the likes of Samuel will be needed; and is still needed now.

1 Samuel 31 - The Death of Saul

The First Book of Samuel concludes with the ignominious death of King Saul.  I started this book a little over a year ago.  I knew very little about Saul prior to reading this book of the Bible and so it was a fruitful journey to see and learn from Saul's rise and fall.  The structure of the First Book of Samuel is one of divergent story lines -- Saul on the one hand and David on the other.  (Clearly the Second Book of Samuel will be devoted to David's continued ascent.)  In so many ways, Saul turned away from the Lord.  And that is his tragedy.  He was given so much, chosen divinely to be Israel's first king, but he stumbled when met with challenges, specifically challenges to his inflated pride.  Saul is in many ways an archetype of the proud king whose pride ends up being the death of him.  The fact that he dies by suicide only confirms this defect in him.  Saul couldn't bear to be humiliated, whether by the boy David or by the Philistines that were about to capture him.  But a little humiliation could have been his salvation, if he would have welcomed it.  This is a short write-up since Chapter 31 is pretty brief and straightforward.  But I'm looking forward to moving on to a new book and diving deeper into David's kingship and seeing what kind of archetype he establishes.  After all, King David was the model that medieval kings looked to.  David's kingdom is also seen as the ideal Jewish kingdom on earth, one that Jews anticipate coming again in some form or another.  The Saul experiment ended badly, but now it's time to see how David can salvage the wreckage. 

1 Samuel 29-30: A Campaign of Justice and Mercy

We see David solidify his position among the Israelites in these chapters.  After being dismissed by Aphec from the Philistine army, David returns to his land only to find it has been plundered and destroyed by the Amalekites.  His campaign to recover what had been taken and to slaughter the offending Amalekites comprises Chapter 30.  And here we see the commendable justice and mercy of the future King David.  He acts with justice in going after the Amalekites (having first consulted with God and the priests), and then, afterwards, his act of mercy towards the Israelites who did not go into battle with him is quite striking.  Of the 600 men who went after the Amalekites, 200 eventually stayed behind because of exhaustion or perhaps even a lack of courage.  Whatever the reason, when the 400 who did go and face the enemy returned, they didn't want to share the spoils of war with those who stayed behind.  Most of us would probably be like those 400 men; it's our human nature to not want to share with those we feel don't deserve it.  But these greedy men are described as "wicked and unjust" (1 Samuel 30:22).  David, with great magnanimity, responds: "You shall not do so, my brethren... equal shall be the portion of him that went down to battle, and of him that abode at the baggage, and they shall divide alike" (1 Samuel 30:23-24).  This account almost sounds like a forerunner of Christ's Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard.  David exhibits both justice and mercy almost in one fell swoop.  He is as a good king should be.  Chapter 30 ends with David sharing the spoils of war with the cities of Israel, setting the stage for his ascent to the throne and the unification of the Promised Land, shoring up support among the people, and ultimately making his kingship inevitable -- once Saul is removed from the picture, of course.

1 Samuel 27-28: Witchcraft

I didn't see that coming.  1 Samuel 28 went off the rails a bit, in the sense that the supernatural realm was let in to a degree not really seen much to this point in Scripture.  Saul's been descending into evil little by little as each chapter proceeds, but we see that he is almost now in league with Satan himself.  God long ago left Saul to his own devices (since it was Saul's choice to follow Saul's will and not God's).  When Saul does have fits of paranoia and vexation (as is happening more frequently now that he is no longer close to God), he tries to appeal to God but gets no answer.  So, his fear being at an all-time high because of a growing Philistine threat, he turns instead to the evil one.  He tracks down a witch and demands an answer from anyone (or anything) to his question of what to do next.  This is madness.  Saul has essentially welcomed in pure evil, consulted with that which is out-rightly forbidden by the Law, has turned his back on God in the most egregious manner.  I was not expecting to see witchcraft, necromancy, and the occult so front and center in the middle of Scripture, but there it is.  And what's more startling is that the witch's "art" works (sort of).  There is disagreement over whether or not it is the witch who summons Samuel, and over whether or not it truly is Samuel.  One interpretation is that the witch does indeed summon a spirit but that it is an evil being posing as Samuel.  The problem with that interpretation is that the words of this spirit ring true.  Samuel correctly predicts the fate of Saul and he speaks of Saul with a disapproving tone.  The interpretation that makes more sense is that God used the situation (unholy as it was), to have Samuel's actual spirit appear and deliver an actual prophecy to Saul.  What validates this interpretation is the behavior of the witch, who cries out in fear when Samuel appears.  She who dabbles in dark arts all the time, is greatly troubled by what occurs.  And again, everything Samuel says appears true and accurate and foretells of Saul's troubles and doomed fate and how he has offended God.  Any power of a supernatural and evil origin that a man or woman may possess is always subordinate to God's Power -- that's what 1 Samuel 28 shows.  It's a disturbing chapter because we don't often like to think that people can tap into the evil realm beyond.  But it's comforting at the same time in that it shows there is a greater realm of good that will always overcome any evil in the end.

1 Samuel 26 - To Stay or Go

Yet again, David has spared Saul's life.  In 1 Samuel 26 we see Saul back to his old ways, on the hunt for David, looking to snuff him out.  Even after the incident in the cave, when Saul could have easily been killed by David but wasn't, he seems to have not learned anything (which is why Saul appears to be beyond redemption, having completely lost his soul to evil).  The events of 1 Samuel 26 are similar: David is in a position to easily kill Saul -- he is in his very tent as he sleeps -- but he is moved by the mercy of God to not do harm to an anointed king, instead to let God deal with Saul in His own time.  When Saul sees that David spared his life, he again seems remorseful, but by this point it's hard to know if he's being genuine.  The words exchanged between Saul and David in this chapter are the last they ever shared.  Remarkably, Saul goes so far as to bless David: "Then Saul said to David: Blessed art thou, my son David: and truly doing thou shalt do, and prevailing thou shalt prevail" (1 Samuel 26:25).  This is as close to a peaceful transferring of power that we are likely to see between these two. 

One thing in this chapter that had me pausing to reflect was when David proclaims to Saul that he could not continue to live in exile.  David had left to live among the pagans in neighboring nations when Saul first sought to have him killed, but realized he could not live his life there.  David as we know is devoted to God and seeks to live a virtuous life abiding by God's commandments.  These things would be severely difficult to do if one was surrounded by constant sin and antagonism toward God.  David says "...the sons of men, they have cursed in the sight of the Lord, who have cast me out this day, that I should not dwell in the inheritance of the Lord, saying: Go, serve strange gods" (1 Samuel 26:19).  Living among the pagans is tantamount to serving their gods, according to David.  In his 83rd Psalm, he says: "I have chosen to be an abject in the house of my God, rather than to dwell in the tabernacles of sinners" (Psalm 83:11).  To David, it's better to live among God's people even in a lowly state, than to have a position of prominence among the sinful. 

1 Samuel 25 - A Lesson for David

Samuel dies in this chapter but it seems mentioned almost in passing.  The focus has completely shifted to David by this point; even Saul is barely mentioned in this chapter.  What distinguishes 1 Samuel 25 is that we see for the first time a moment of weakness on David's part.  He has been a model of virtue heretofore, especially when compared with Saul's evil behavior.  But in 1 Samuel 25 we see that David is human after all as he gives in to his anger and comes close to having someone unjustly killed.  That someone is Nabal, a sinful man who God plans on dealing with soon.  But what we learn through David is that punishment must ultimately come from God; it is not ours to dole out at our whim.  This lesson comes from the voice of Abigail, Nabal's wife.  Her words are filled with holiness, as if she is God's mouthpiece in this chapter.  David realizes the error of his ways and does not proceed with his evil intentions, thanks again to the good Abigail.  And Nabal is eventually dispatched by God, in due time.  We see David referred to as the king several times in this chapter, which leads to believe that his ascension is near at hand.  He is being regarded more and more by the Israelites as their rightful king.  The time of Saul is all but over.  And the Israelites will soon have a virtuous king who takes the virtuous Abigail to be his queen. 

1 Samuel 23-24: A Lesson in Mercy

"...be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, loving the brotherhood, merciful, modest, humble:  Not rendering evil for evil, nor railing for railing; but on the contrary, blessing: for unto this are you called, that you may inherit a blessing." (1 Peter 3:8-9)

A thousand years before the arrival of Jesus Christ and the proclamation of his message of radical love, David was already displaying what that love looks like.  As Saint Peter says in the above verses, we are called not to repay evil with evil, but to do good and be merciful always no matter what.  In David's case, a most vivid example of this is playing out in these chapters of the First Book of Samuel.  Saul is filled with evil and is bent on having David killed.  According to mankind's natural (i.e., fallen) inclinations, it would be expected that David would just as soon turn the tables on Saul and kill him if given the opportunity.  That opportunity comes in 1 Samuel 24 when Saul enters a cave unaware that David is within.  If David had wanted to kill Saul, a more perfect moment couldn't have come.  But he doesn't do it.  His virtuous heart, thanks to the grace of God, prevents him from repaying evil with evil.  Instead he simply cuts off a piece of Saul's garment to be a visible sign of mercy, that it might change Saul's heart.  And it almost appears to have worked.  Saul leaves knowing he could have easily been killed, and his anger seems to have been quelled.  David shows himself yet again to be a remarkable precursor to Jesus.  He demonstrates what it means to love one's enemies.  His is the virtuous life.  (Though, as a man David is still flawed and some of those flaws come out eventually).  David is just when it is fit to be just, as when he kills Goliath.  And he is merciful when we are called to be merciful, as when he spares Saul's life.  He is a model for us all, one of the best ones to appear in Scripture, before the coming of our Lord.

1 Samuel 22 - Restraint/Unrestraint

"Thou hast loved malice more than goodness; and iniquity rather than to speak righteousness." (Psalm 51:5)

So David proclaims in the 51st Psalm, speaking of Doeg, Saul's evil henchman, or even of Saul himself, for by 1 Samuel 22 we see that Saul has become a legitimately evil king.  Not only must David hide himself from Saul's wrath, but he must hide his family.  And horrifyingly we see Saul murder hundreds of priests all because one of them helped David flee.  The list of crimes in Psalm 51 could all be directed at Saul, for he truly now has become someone who loves evil more than good.  He has become unhinged and lacking in all restraint; he is angry, vengeful, frustrated, offended.  He has lost his grip on reason and rationality.  He wants nothing but to see the virtuous David destroyed. 

David, on the other hand, is a model of restraint in these chapters.  He knows that he has a divine appointment to be the next king of Israel, yet he has not tried to take the crown by force.  He has removed himself from Saul's radar of wrath until God decides Saul's time is done.  We see in 1 Samuel 22 that David has a growing legion of followers; in theory he could amass an army and march on Saul.  But he doesn't.  He waits, bides his time, and in doing so exhibits both restraint and humility.  David continues to be everything Saul is not.  The latter is a figure of sin and worldly passion, while the former is a saintly model of virtuous living. 

1 Samuel 20-21: David's Antic Disposition

David has fled.  The peaceful coexistence of both him and Saul was bound to come undone at some point.  But what follows seems to be a frenetic escape on David's part with no rhyme or reason to his actions.  He goes into hiding, shows up at the tabernacle, eats of the holy bread, leaves with Goliath's sword, heads to the city of his enemies, then acts crazy in order to escape the very same city.  It's all very bizarre behavior at first glance.  From the very beginning of David's story, there seems to be a sort of exceptional or even aberrant quality to his actions.  He is clearly a figure set apart.  Saul may have been the first king of the Israelites, but David's ascension makes the former's seem pretty mundane.  And it all points towards One to come.  Jesus Christ came to essentially turn the world upside down.  His actions baffled men.  Some thought Him a fool.  Mark 3:21 says, "...when his friends had heard of it, they went out to lay hold of him: for they said: He is become mad."  David's kingship prefigured the divine kingship of Christ, and we know Christ came to fulfill the law in a way entirely unexpected by men.  When David shows up at Nob, to the tabernacle, he is desperate for food and is given the bread reserved for sacred purposes.  To a legalist, this would seem sacrilegious; just as to the Pharisees, many of Christ's actions seemed dismissive of the law.  But those Pharisees didn't realize that Christ was not rejecting the law, but showing it in its proper light, its fullest sense.  So David as well appears to shed new light on the law.  For David proceeds to usher in a new era for the Israelites; he is come to upend many things and establish an unprecedented kingdom on earth -- a kingdom meant to illuminate the words of Christ.  We may be baffled by David's madness in 1 Samuel 21, but it helps us to detach from legalism and understand that God's ways aren't entirely bound by letters, nor can they be understood entirely by man.  Many of the saints were thought to be fools by men because they adhered to God's mysterious ways to a degree that is unfathomable to most men attached to the world.  And David appears to be one who knows God on a unique level. 

1 Samuel 18-19: The Persecution of David

"Save me, O God: for the waters are come in even unto my soul." (Psalm 68:2)

There is a tradition that says David composed the 68th Psalm (or 69th according to the Hebrew numbering) during the events described in 1 Samuel 18-19.  It would make sense.  David is daily fearing for his life, as Saul conspires over and over again to have him killed.  "I am come into the depth of the sea: and a tempest hath overwhelmed me" (Psalm 68:3).  Imagine the horror of going from the serenity of the pasture tending sheep to the backstabbing and intrigue of the royal court.  David was plucked from a simple life, chosen by God to be king of all Israel, but before ascending the throne, he would have endure a life-threatening persecution by none other than the king himself.  He was thrown into quite a storm alright.  "Draw me out of the mire, that I may not stick fast: deliver me from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters" (Psalm 68:15).  David pleads in this psalm for deliverance.  David knows that Saul is trying to have him killed -- has even attempted to do so himself -- and day and night fears for his life.  He has to hide and run; he is remarkably helped by Saul's own children, Jonathan and his wife Michal.  It is all a heavy trial that David must bear.  "Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; and with the just let them not be written" (Psalm 68:29).  So David says of his enemies, and principally among them must be King Saul himself.  And if God so answered David's prayers here, then we must shudder to think on Saul's fate. 

Of course, Psalm 68 has gone on to represent more than just David's trials.  It is a prayer for anyone being attacked and mercilessly persecuted.  A plea for God to aid us in our hour of need, especially when all hope seems lost.  And like so many of David's prayers, there are powerful prefigurings in Psalm 68 of Christ's sufferings.  Jesus, after all, is the supreme example of someone persecuted by jealous enemies.  But before that there was David, an example come alive in Sacred Scripture of someone whose very innocence lights the ire of prideful men who, motivated by evil, would seek to destroy heaven itself if it stood in their way. 

These chapters in the First Book of Samuel also seek to show how insignificant man's will is compared to God's Will.  What we want and desire, ultimately, means nothing.  Saul desires power and control and hates David because he is a threat to those things.  Saul's will is to have David killed, but over and over he fails, because it is God's Will that David be king, and in the end it is God's Will that will have the final say.

1 Samuel 17: All Things Are Possible

"The one perfectly divine thing, the one glimpse of God's paradise given on earth, is to fight a losing battle -- and not lose it." - G.K. Chesterton

David versus Goliath.  Probably one of the most recognized stories in all of Scripture.  It's a story nearly everyone knows, whether it was encountered in the Bible or not.  Even reading it as just another episode in the grand chronology of Scripture, there's something unique and special that stands out about it.  The previous chapter, when David is divinely chosen as the next king and is anointed, seems to pale in comparison to the events of this chapter.  It's as if God wanted to make David's entrance in the story as dramatic and unforgettable as possible.  But there are similarities between Chapters 16 and 17 -- in the former chapter it is said that God values what's in the human heart, not physical or outward stature and strength.  Then, as if to vividly illustrate that idea, in the latter chapter we see the small, young David defeat the literal giant Goliath!  God shows us all that with Him all things are possible.  He shows us that even if the odds are against us, or the enemy seems stronger, He has the ultimate say in who will be victorious.  And making the victor a humble shepherd only serves to illustrate more profoundly to whom all power truly belongs.  Chapter 17 also serves to make the line between Saul and David more clearly visible.  God is not with Saul; it is more evident than ever.  Saul cannot save the Israelites; he lacks the courage even to stand up to Goliath.  God's grace and power is with David now.  And it is David's faith that proves more valuable and powerful than the strength of an entire army.  David says, "...the Lord saveth not with sword and spear" (1 Samuel 17:47).  And earlier: "Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts..." (1 Samuel 17:45).  This emphasis on faith in God over and above weapons and armor and material displays of strength is quite profound.  David is almost ushering in here a new theology, i.e., a deeper understanding of God.  The Israelites had clamored for a king, someone who could be a source of strength and power here on earth and save them from their enemies.  David, though, comes to remind them that their strength and power needs to come from faith in God and a firm commitment to uphold His commandments.  He may be a king just like Saul, but he's a different kind of king.  David sings the praises of God, and shows the people what faith looks like.  It's no wonder the Christian kings of later centuries and eras looked to him as their role model.

1 Samuel 16: The Lord Chooses David

There have been hints at his coming, but finally in this chapter we meet for the first time David, future king of Israel.  David is right up there with Moses and Abraham as one of the few towering figures of the Old Testament.  He marks a coming shift for God's chosen people -- a covenantal shift.  With Saul we've seen the shift to a monarchical government, but with David we'll see the true fullness of that shift, as David will be the greatest king Israel will ever know, and that greatness will make his kingship a model for generations and centuries to come.  There are also the symbols and figures of David's kingship.  Much of Jesus Christ's teachings hearken back to David's reign, showing how it was a type of the eternal heavenly kingdom of which Jesus came to tell us.  I simply pause to reflect on the significance of David before I begin reading his chapters in Scripture, for his entrance marks the beginning of a new and momentous era for the Israelites.  And furthermore, there is the unavoidable symbolism of God's favor passing from Saul to David.  Saul was chosen first by God, as were the Jews, but Saul proved obstinate and unfaithful and so God abandoned him, and instead sought out the lowly and unassuming shepherd David.  David is the church of Christ, which began humble and small but ultimately flowered into a glorious regal and spiritual power.  This is the symbolic example that is repeated over and over in Scripture, and the figures of Saul and David probably illustrate the supersession most vividly of all; for the Jews sought a worldly power, a kingdom full of outward strength and glory, much like Saul.  Instead, God sent His Son, a poor carpenter, who exuded strength via spirituality and taught us how to pray, much like David.

A couple of important things of note in 1 Samuel 16:

1) The significance of God's emphasis of heart versus appearance.  In 1 Samuel 16:7 it is said: "Look not on his countenance, nor on the height of his stature: because I have rejected him, nor do I judge according to the look of man: for man seeth those things that appear, but the Lord beholdeth the heart."  This seems like such a revolutionary idea.  In an era when tribal warfare was constant, outward strength and power was everything.  We see this with Saul, who was a towering and commanding figure based on appearance alone.  But he proved inept in God's eyes.  By choosing David, God is telling us that He doesn't care much about outward appearances the way we do.  We, being confined to our senses, tend toward superficiality.  But God sees the hearts of men.  He saw in David faithfulness and other virtues that we might overlook for vain reasons.  This is also why we must not judge other men, for only God truly knows their hearts.

2) Saul's descent into madness, evil, and despair, and David's healing harp.  This whole notion is full of symbolic import.  It seems obvious that at the same time God would abandon Saul, an evil presence would take up residence in him.  For where God is absent, there surely are the devils.  Saul's story is again a tragic one, though one he wrote himself.  He has become a tormented figure, an example of one desperately clinging to his own pride and power and yet descending into despondency and desolation.  But he discovers the music of David, which seems to heal him, at least temporarily.  This also is a powerful symbol.  We know David as the future author of the Psalms, the sacred prayers still sung today by God's faithful the world over.  His music played on his harp is indicative of those prayers as they literally chase away Saul's demons.  We see right away that David will become a much different kind of king than Saul.  He has a spiritual heart, he is attuned to God's music, and he will show the world how to pray.

1 Samuel 15: The Last Straw

"He hath put down the mighty from their seat, and hath exalted the humble." (Luke 1:52)

Saul's time on the throne has come to an end.  The events of 1 Samuel 15 are what finally do him in.  And this chapter makes it clear that Saul's transgression, the very thing that separated him so dramatically from God, is disobedience.  We've already seen how the crown had made Saul prideful and arrogant, but the greater crime, which obviously results from those vices, is how he disregarded God's commands.  He made himself the ultimate judge and ignored the true Judge.  In looking over Saul's brief reign, it doesn't immediately seem clear that he's done anything seriously egregious.  But then in this chapter Samuel spells it out for us: "Doth the Lord desire holocausts and victims, and not rather that the voice of the Lord should be obeyed?  For obedience is better than sacrifices: and to hearken rather than to offer the fat of the rams" (1 Samuel 15:22).  For obedience is better than sacrifices.  Saul wanted to make sacrifices to God in this chapter, and in previous chapters when he would perform the sacrifices himself rather than wait for the proper officiant.  He felt that the sacrifice itself was what was important, and that it didn't matter who did it or in what way.  His pride blinded him to the truth that he was grievously disobeying the specific orders of God -- just as Satan had done when he was cast from Heaven, just as Adam and Eve had done when they ate the fruit, just as all of us do when we think ignoring God's commands is no big deal.  God doesn't need a sacrificed animal, He needs us to obey Him.  In 1 Samuel 15 that meant Saul needed to kill all the Amalekites, including their king, Agag.  This might be a hard matter for us to think on, but God's ways we must remember are mysterious.  Saul does not kill all the Amalekites, and even spares the life of Agag, in direct disobedience and defiance of God's orders.  He tries to make the excuse that he spared the animals in order to make sacrifices to God, but again as we've seen it wasn't the sacrifices God wanted but Saul's obedience.  Why Saul didn't kill Agag isn't immediately clear.  Was it a false pity?  Was it so he could march the captured king back home as a sign of his triumph?  Whatever the reason, Saul disobeyed God and was thus officially cast away as Israel's king.  Samuel makes it clear by the end of the chapter that Saul is no longer God's chosen king.  His last disobedience was the last straw. 

1 Samuel 14: The Rashness of Saul

Yet again, in 1 Samuel 14 we see King Saul acting with pride, rashness, impatience, and overconfidence, putting his valiant son Jonathan's life at risk.  And we also see a growing distance between Saul and God.  Just as in the last chapter, it seems Saul has become puffed up as king.  He feels superior to the prophets and the priests; he offers sacrifices himself without their aid.  And in this chapter we see him making rash oaths.  The seriousness of oaths and the dangers of making rash ones has been a prevalent theme so far in Scripture.  One of the best examples was Jephte in Judges 11.  Saul's oath in 1 Samuel 14 seems very similar to Jephte's.  Both men put their children's lives at risk because of the thoughtlessness of their words.  It's debatable whether or not Saul was acting in good faith purely.  His pride most likely clouded his judgment.  At any rate, it is notable that every time Saul seeks God's confirmation as to whether or not he's acting according to His will, he receives only silence.  The implication is clear.  God does not approve of Saul's actions, and furthermore God no longer even favors him as king, for His eyes have moved to David (though this hasn't been revealed to Saul yet).  Each successive chapter of the First Book of Samuel reveals more clearly that Saul's reign has quickly become a tumultuous one full of missteps and blunders.  Samuel himself doesn't appear at all in this chapter and one wonders if he has washed his hands of Saul and has moved on to God's chosen one, David.  The tone of the text here is one of emptiness and disapproval.  King Saul is losing his grip on his kingdom.  The tale is a tragic one, for it's not that Saul appears evil or intentionally antagonistic toward God.  But he does lack faith and humility and seems to trust himself more than anyone else -- more than God even.

1 Samuel 13: Saul Descends

Well that didn't last long.  The reign of King Saul already appears to be nearing its end.  It didn't take long for the regal power to begin corrupting Saul.  And the defining moment that exemplifies this lamentable shift is in 1 Samuel 13 when Saul offers a sacrifice himself instead of waiting for the prophet Samuel to do so.  It may seem like a trifling matter -- Samuel was, after all, late in arriving, and the people were growing increasingly nervous as the Philistine threat grew -- but it suggests that Saul's new role may be going to his head.  There are also hints in this chapter that suggest the people may be losing confidence already in their new king.  Saul may have been motivated by a fear that he was losing control and he needed to offer the sacrifice both to alleviate everyone's fear and also to demonstrate his absolute power.  It's the latter matter that is more problematic.  Saul demonstrates an audacity and a disregard for God's commands by circumventing the rules to just do the sacred action himself.  It's only a first step, but it's a mode of thinking that, if left unchecked, could lead to terrible tyrannical actions.  Saul doesn't exhibit much humility and pride is the sin most offensive to God.  Which is probably why Samuel's condemnation of Saul is so harsh.  I was surprised to see that even David's future kingship is foreshadowed in this chapter: "...thy kingdom shall not continue.  The Lord hath sought him a man according to his own heart: and him hath the Lord commanded to be prince over his people, because thou hast not observed that which the Lord commanded" (1 Samuel 13:14).  So there we have it.  At this early point in Saul's reign, God has already chosen his replacement!  Samuel already knows about David and foresees Saul's fall. 

Taking into account God's larger plan, it's important to note how limited our own perspective can be.  For those paying attention to Scripture, Saul's ascension to the throne may have been a matter of confusion and doubt.  For in Genesis 49 it pretty clearly indicates that Judah's line will bear the scepter and rule over the other tribes.  But Saul is a Benjamite.  In hindsight, though, we can see that God knew Saul would transgress and lose his royal power.  This opens the way for the scepter to pass to David of the house of Judah.  God's plan, then, continues, and we are called to have faith in it, even at times of great confusion.

1 Samuel 12: "...God was your king."

"To determine precisely what sort of government is the best, would be an arduous task."  So says a note in my commentary on 1 Samuel 12.  Such a thought comes to mind precisely because this chapter seems to deal rather harshly with the concept of monarchy, and yet for most of Church history it has been the monarchical form of government that has best preserved Christianity and allowed its values to flourish.  And the Christian monarchy of the Middle Ages and even into early modern times has been primarily based on the Biblical model, the very one being established here in this First Book of Samuel.  The conundrum, though, is based on Samuel's very harsh words in this chapter.  He says in verse 17, "...you yourselves have done a great evil in the sight of the Lord, in desiring a king over you."  How can a monarchy (or any specific king) be seen as good when it seems to be condemned as an outright evil here in the First Book of Samuel?  It all comes back to man's fallen nature, of course.  It's the pattern established in the first books of Genesis: man has it good, but man is weak, so man lapses, then man is punished.  In hindsight, the Israelites had a good thing going during the time of the judges.  Their political system was decentralized, with each tribe essentially taking care of its own basic needs, each region being ruled by a judge (many of whom were divinely raised and thus good and virtuous, salvific even).  God Himself seemed to have been pleased with this system.  The Israelites needed no king because God Himself was their king: "...the Lord sent Jerobaal, and Badan, and Jephte, and Samuel, and delivered you from the hand of your enemies round about, and you dwelt securely" (1 Samuel 12:11) and "...the Lord your God was your king" (1 Samuel 12:12).  When seen this way, the Israelites' demanding of a king is really a demonstration of faithlessness.  Had their faith in God been stronger, they wouldn't have needed an earthly king, but God lets them have what they want, though it will come with consequences.  Which leads me to the last verse in this chapter: "But if you will still do wickedly: both you and your king shall perish together" (1 Samuel 12:25).  Even with the king they wanted, the Israelites can't refrain from sin; they fall, their king falls, and they are ultimately cast out. 

So in the end, Chapter 12 really comes off as a dire, fatalistic warning of sorts.  What's fascinating is how God manages to use man's follies to still carry out His divine plan.  Though God doesn't desire men to be ruled by an all-powerful king, He permits it.  And through this development, He even allows us a glimpse at the divine kingship of Christ to come.  In fact, in 1 Samuel 12 we see Saul being referred to as the "anointed" one, literally, the Messiah, or, in Greek, the Christ!  So through man's weakness in needing a king, we are given a remarkable symbol of Christ the King.  A lot more could be said about what this chapter means for best political practices.  It appears indeed that local governance, i.e., subsidiarity, is the ideal.  Monarchy, though obviously better than some modern democracies, is actually not God's preferred political system for men, though He permits it and can still use it to achieve His plan.  It will be important to remember this point when Israel's kingship ultimately and inevitably falls apart.

1 Samuel 11: The King's Might

There was one thing left for Saul to do and that was to prove his worth on the battlefield.  The constant threat from the pagan nations surrounding Israel was part of what led to their demanding a king, and it was time to now put the regal power to the test.  So in 1 Samuel 11 we see the latest threat emerge from the Ammonites and King Saul is quick to assemble the tribes and fight back.  When he makes quick work of the Ammonites, we see his power solidified, as it is expressed in verse 12: "And the people said to Samuel: Who is he that said: Shall Saul reign over us? Bring the men, and we will kill them."  So it seems, for now at least, that the murmuring at the end of Chapter 10 has been silenced.  Saul has mightily proved that he can unify the Israelites and defeat their enemies.  King Saul appears to be everything the people longed for when they said they wanted to be ruled by one powerful king rather than regional judges.  So we see Samuel, again, ceremonialize the moment by making a spectacle of Saul's crowning.  If there were any lingering doubts about whether or not Israel had truly become a monarchy, or over Saul being the monarch, they were laid to rest after the defeat of the Ammonites.  Israel's kingdom has officially begun!

1 Samuel 10: The Raising Up Of A King

The Israelites are going all in on this king thing.  If a monarchy is coming to Israel, it's going to be grand.  Really, though, what we see in 1 Samuel 10 is God, through Samuel, establishing a royal precedent.  The anointing of Saul with oil; the bestowing of prophetical gifts; the ceremonial "crowning" beside the Ark of the Covenant.  Throughout 1 Samuel 10 there is a sense that this newly founded kingship is brimming with import.  Saul almost seems like someone just swept up in it, as if he's along for the ride.  It's Samuel who seems to understand the gravity of all of this.  He understands what's at stake, and how much this new development will change Israelite society, for good and bad.  He's doing his best to "get it right."  And the people, for the most part, are all in.  They see Saul (who is physically imposing) as the rightful king among them and fall in line as his subjects.  Well, most do.  1 Samuel 10 almost ends with a bit of a cliffhanger.  It seems there are some who aren't so keen about Saul, a Benjamite.  Some inter-tribal hostility appears to emerge since Judah's line was thought to be the kingly one.  It seems clear almost from the beginning that Saul's reign will not be one without conflict.