God’s Grace and Saul’s Rise

1 Samuel 9–14

Main Idea: Although the people wanted a king like the other nations, God graciously provides a king who could serve effectively though imperfectly.

1. Saul’s Rocky Rise
2. Victory and Failure
3. Saul’s Last Words

Saul’s Rocky Rise

1 Samuel 9–10

The people wanted a king “like all the other nations” (8:19-22), so God granted their request. One of the things they stated in their demand is that they wanted a king to “go out before us, and fight our battles” (8:20). This is not a bad thing, as the king in the ancient world was the exemplar and representative for the people. So on the one hand, you cannot really blame them.

However, the real issue at hand here is that they are actually rejecting the Lord. Remember that God is the great King, the One who goes out and fights for the people.

Come, let us shout joyfully to the Lord,

shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation!

Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving;

let us shout triumphantly to Him in song.

For the Lord is a great God,

a great King above all gods. (Ps 95:1-3)

In the exodus, God is remembered as the One who defeats enemy nations that threaten His people and plan.

The Lord is my strength and my song;

He has become my salvation.

This is my God, and I will praise Him,

my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.

The Lord is a warrior;

Yahweh is His name. (Exod 15:2-3)

These texts remind us (as Israel should have remembered!) that God is the King and deliverer, the salvation we all need. But they reject Yahweh as King and want a king just like everyone else. This demand and God’s acquiescence to it signal an ominous beginning to the coming of Saul.

Chapters 10–14 depict the rocky rise of Saul and the ebbing role of Samuel in the life of Israel. The perspective on Saul’s reign was mixed from the start. Samuel, following God’s direction, anointed Saul and identified him as king. On this there could be no doubt. However, Saul’s name derives from the Hebrew word sha’al meaning “asked” and reminds us that Israel got the king they “asked” for—a king like all the other nations—but rejected the true King they needed: the Lord God.

Chapters 9–10 introduce us to the figure of Saul. He is a Benjaminite, which is not a good thing when we saw what happened in Israel within the tribe of Benjamin in Judges 18–19. The tribe of Benjamin has a history of corruption, inhospitality, rape, and murder. We could say that the tribe was awash with sin. So it is not a good sign that Saul comes from that tribe.

First Samuel 9 depicts the comical choosing of Saul as the king the people wanted. This story reads like a comedy rather than a dignified tale of heroism, class, and valor. Saul is a bit of an idiot, fumbling here, there, and everywhere trying to find his daddy’s donkeys. He searches and searches with absolutely no luck. In fact, Saul gives up on the search until the servant suggests they consult a nearby “seer” to help them find the animals. Seer is another name for a prophet, and the prophet about which the servant spoke was Samuel (10:9).

It is worth stopping here to focus on a couple of points: in the narrative, Saul is (a) unable (or unwilling) to make positive change to transform his situation, and (b) he is hesitant about consulting the prophet of God. Saul has a passivity problem and a prophet problem. He is not able to act, and when he does, he is hesitant to have God (or God’s representatives) involved. Both of these themes will be spelled out in greater detail, especially by chapter 15. But in 9:5-10 the one who has all the ideas and makes them come to fruition is not Saul but the servant. All Saul does is say yes to the servant’s ideas. One wonders how strong a leader Saul will be if he cannot come up with any ideas of his own! And how strong a leader will Saul be if he is inherently suspicious of the Lord’s prophet? These are ominous signals for the reader. You know you are in trouble when you are hesitant or unwilling to consult God before you act!

The two men find Samuel, and the text records that God had appeared to Samuel and told him that he was to anoint a man from Benjamin to be “prince” over Israel (9:16 ESV). The word used here is the Hebrew word nagid (“prince” or “leader”), not the Hebrew word melek (“king”). So why does God use the word nagid rather than melek? It may be a way to reinforce the idea that there is only one King in Israel, Yahweh, and the Israelite king will always and ever be only a prince. The Israelite king will rule as God’s undershepherd in accordance with the authority of the Shepherd of Israel, Yahweh (see Ps 23).

Why does God decide to make Saul king? Only one reason is given: “I have seen the affliction of My people, for their cry has come to Me” (9:16). This language is strikingly similar to Exodus 2:23-24:

After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned because of their difficult labor, and they cried out; and their cry for help ascended to God because of the difficult labor. So God heard their groaning, and He remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God saw the Israelites, and He took notice.

The text of 1 Samuel 9 depicts God as responding to the cries of an afflicted people. Certainly they are afflicted by the Philistines (9:16a), but they are afflicted by their sin as well, as we have seen from their rebellious demand in 1 Samuel 8. God is portrayed here as raising up a leader who will deliver His people from their oppression and sin. Previously, God Himself had done that.

First Samuel 9:16 gives a brief glimpse into the heart of God. His heart is full of love and compassion for His people. As He was moved to act on their behalf in the past (the exodus), He is moved to act on their behalf now. This is the mercy and love of God. But He has agreed to give them a nagid like all the other nations. So, as He gives them Saul, what did He think Saul would do for His people?

He would deliver the people from the Philistines (v. 16). But Yahweh tells Samuel that Saul will do something else: “It is he who will restrain My people” (9:17, authors’ translation). Scholars do not know exactly what to do with the word we have translated “restrain” here. The word comes from the verb ‘atsar, and it usually means something negative: “to shut up, imprison, restrain, close, or detain.” So a positive reading of the verb “to rule” (as in the HCSB, NRSV) is highly unlikely (see Firth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 119). We would rather translate the phrase as we have done above: “It is he who will restrain My people.” The reality is that Saul’s actions for the people are a mixed bag of good and bad. Saul will deliver the Philistines and fight the people’s battles (just like they asked!), but in so doing, it may be that he will imprison and shut up his people from true worship and fidelity to Yahweh.

Nonetheless, Samuel anoints Saul as king. There are three steps to Saul’s installation as king, which will mirror the steps to David’s installation, as Firth rightly points out (1 & 2 Samuel, 120–21):

In 1 Samuel 9–10, we see the private anointing and public acceptance. Samuel proclaims to Saul the “word of God” (9:27), which is that God has chosen Saul to be “prince over His heritage” (10:1, authors’ translation). Again the word nagid “prince” is used instead of melek “king,” driving home the notion that Yahweh is King and Saul will only be the undershepherd under the authority of the true Shepherd. Samuel informs Saul that he will experience certain “signs” that will verify his anointing and choosing for kingship. One of these “signs” is that Saul will prophesy (10:9-13). In the book of Samuel, the true king will be an instrument of God and speak the word of God, like a prophet. Saul looks like a prophet as king but ultimately will be shown to be a false prophet, leading God’s people away from the Lord. But for now, the appearance of true prophecy appears with the life of Saul.

Saul returned home to his father, and his father asked what happened to him. Saul told his father that the donkeys had been found and that he had encountered Samuel. But interestingly, he did not tell his father anything about the anointing or appointing as ruler over Israel. Why? Saul is passive and hesitant when it comes to following through with the command of God.

This becomes all the more relevant in 1 Samuel 10:17-27, when Saul is formally proclaimed as king and publically accepted by the people. Samuel brings all the people together and proclaims,

The Lord, the God of Israel, says: “I brought Israel out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the power of the Egyptians and all the kingdoms that were oppressing you. But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and afflictions. You said to Him, “You must set a king over us.” Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and clans. (10:18-19)

Samuel does not pull any punches! The reason the people are mustered to proclaim a king is because they have “rejected” their God! Nonetheless, God has granted their request. But where is the king? When Samuel called on Saul to present himself, he was nowhere to be found! In fact, in a hilarious scene, we find Saul has hidden himself in some baggage so as not to be noticed.

They cannot find him, so they “inquire” of the Lord again, to see whether the man could be found! The text is clearly playing on the name “Saul” here because the people wayyish’alu “ask” for sha’ul “Saul.” The narrative shows that they are asking for something that cannot be found! Saul eventually throws the camel bags, carpets, and blankets off of himself and appears to the people. Although Saul has just been hiding in baggage, Samuel proclaims, “Do you see the one the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among the entire population” (10:24). Indeed! One wonders if Samuel was biting his lip and suppressing a laugh when he said it.

Still, Samuel dutifully reads aloud all the rights and responsibilities of the king to Saul, presumably something that was stable and known, perhaps Deuteronomy 17:14-20. Saul was to exercise his rule under the authority of Yahweh and His word. Would he do this? The rest of the narrative in 1 Samuel 11–15 reveals that he would not. Still, that fact will be unpacked as the story progresses.

Victory and Failure

First Samuel 11 records a great victory. Just after he is installed as king, Saul fights the Ammonites and defeats them. The reason for the conflict is because, in fact, the king of the Ammonites (Nahash) shamed Saul and the Israelites. Saul wanted to make a peace treaty with them, but Nahash would only do that if every Israelite gouged out their right eye, thus bringing “shame” on Israel. That did not sit well with Saul (as you could imagine!) so he went to war with them. He mustered the Israelites into a fighting army and led them to victory.

The people are rightly pleased because of the victory, and they attribute the victory to Saul (v. 12). In one of the strongest statements in his reign, Saul boldly proclaims, “The Lord has provided deliverance in Israel” (v. 13). This is so promising, as Saul leads God’s people to attribute praise to the appropriate person—Yahweh, who gives deliverance. Where God’s people want to praise Saul, Saul leads God’s people to praise the Lord!

This is as much a victory as is anything else in this story. It is a strong reminder for God’s people:

1. When good things happen in our lives, to whom do we give the credit?
2. When others praise you for your work, do you point them to God’s grace?
3. When others want to make much of you, do you make much of God?

But Saul’s victories and fidelity to the Lord are not uniform in 1 Samuel 9–14. It is good in 1 Samuel 11, but things go badly in 1 Samuel 13–14. The problem Saul faces as recorded in those chapters is the Philistine threat. The Philistines were people from the region of Greece and Crete who had sailed southeast across the Mediterranean and settled in the coastal plain in Israel. They held five major cities in the plain: Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. They had been a constant threat in the period of the Judges, and they were still a threat in the times of Saul and David.

The Philistines maintained a garrison at a little place called Geba, and Jonathan, Saul’s son, defeated it. The Philistines, in response, went to war against Saul and his armies. The Scripture records that 30,000 Philistine chariots, 6,000 cavalry, and troops like the sand on the seashore came up and encamped at a place called Michmash to engage Israel in battle. The text describes how the people followed Saul at this point: “And all the people trembled after him” (13:7, authors’ translation). They wanted a king who would lead them out in battle. Instead, they got a king they followed in fear, trembling. This is not a ringing endorsement of Saul or the people.

As they encamped, apparently Samuel told Saul to wait to go into battle for seven days until he was able to get to Gilgal and offer a sacrifice (13:8-9). Samuel did not arrive on schedule. As a result, Saul offered the sacrifices himself instead of waiting for Samuel. This may not seem like a big deal, but it reveals that Saul is more concerned with his own agenda and timetable than with following the word of the Lord.

Samuel’s response to Saul is unequivocal:

You have been foolish. You have not kept the command which the Lord your God gave you. It was at this time that the Lord would have permanently established your reign over Israel, but now your reign will not endure. The Lord has found a man loyal to Him, and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not done what the Lord commanded. (13:13-14)

Is God’s verdict far too harsh? We may think so. But in fact, God’s verdict was absolutely just. God’s word is sure and certain, just and good. For us to think we know better than God so that we operate how we wish rather than how He wants is the definition of pride and disobedience.

This reveals a deep failure in the life of Saul. He puts on the airs of a real, authentic spiritual relationship with God, but he has none of its power. The psychologist M. Scott Peck describes how pure evil is found most prevalently around religious things. The reason is because such evil is most attracted to light and hides in it. It is the reality of Lucifer, the son of the morning: beautiful and filled with light and yet pure evil and a rebel against God. Where there is light, a lie is not far behind (Peck, People of the Lie).

This is true with Saul. He does things that look so good and holy and right:

Saul enacts worship.

Saul makes a sacrifice to God.

Saul prepares his people for battle.

It looks worthy of the Lord, filled with light and life. And yet it is a lie. Saul did nothing to bring honor and glory to the Creator. He did it for himself. Saul has the appearance of godliness but denies the Lord’s power (cf. 1 Tim 3:5). He attempts to manipulate the things of God to his own ends. This is, by some definitions, an act of sorcery.

The failure of Saul is a failure to be truly devoted to the Lord. When we have the appearance of faith without authentic faith, then we can anticipate absolute judgment. Saul’s kingdom is torn from his grasp. “The Lord has found a man loyal to Him.” God says that Saul at heart was disloyal to his Maker. The victory he experienced was short-lived because his faith in the Lord was inauthentic and did not last.

You can always tell whether a tree is rooted in the ground by seeing if it grows and bears fruit. For instance, a live Christmas tree, after it has been in the house for about a week, starts to deteriorate—the needles fall off and it bears no cones. Likewise, Saul did not bear fruits of victory and true righteousness because he was not planted in the Lord.

The rest of the story of Saul in 1 Samuel 14 highlights Saul’s son, Jonathan, more than it exalts the greatness of the king. Jonathan is one who thinks of the health and state of the warriors in Saul’s army more than his own well-being. He even dares to go up against his father and a death sentence to care for his men. We discover later in 1 Samuel that Jonathan is devoted to David and to God’s plan with David. All in all, Jonathan is a good man who loves God and loves his fellow Israelites. But he is the exception. Saul is the rule.

First Samuel 14:47-52 provides a summary of Saul’s kingship. It speaks of his victories and his family. It shows that Saul fought hard against the Philistines, as God said that he would. However, the summary statement in verse 52 is telling:

And the battle was strong against the Philistines all the days of Saul. So when Saul saw any valiant man or any brave man, he would gather him to himself. (14:52, authors’ translation)

On the face of it, this verse just indicates that Saul was a good recruiter. If he saw a warrior or brave man, he enlisted that man into his army. But the biblical narrative is sparse in its details. Why does the narrator tell us that Saul enlists men to himself? Because the text reveals that Saul enlists people into his army rather than God’s army. Again, Saul builds his name but “restrains” God’s people from embracing God’s name. We have seen that Saul uses the things of God when it is expedient—he has no real desire for his men to follow the Lord.

The conclusion to this narrative reveals ultimate goals for one’s life: Are we about building our kingdom or God’s kingdom? Saul was decidedly in favor of the former! This narrative sets the stage for Saul’s final downfall and judgment in 1 Samuel 15.

Saul’s life is tragic and in many ways mirrors Eli’s. As Eli was passive, so too was Saul. As Eli was lackadaisical with the things of God, Saul was manipulative with the things of God. Both Eli and Saul treated God’s holy sacrifices with some contempt. Both Eli and Saul had their leadership stripped from them. Eli and Saul were told that the true priest (Samuel) and the true king (David), respectively, would replace them.

Samuel’s Final Words

Set between Saul’s victory in 1 Samuel 10–11 and failure in 13–14 are Samuel’s last words as the prophet in chapter 12. He still appears in the remainder of the narrative, but these mark his final statement concerning the people and the king. These words should be remembered for all believers because they remind us of the story of God—a God who loves and delivers, who is holy and pure, but a God who works miraculous redemption for an undeserving people.

Samuel closes his speech to the people by stating these words:

Don’t be afraid. Even though you have committed all this evil, don’t turn away from following the Lord. Instead, worship the Lord with all your heart. Don’t turn away to follow worthless things that can’t profit or deliver you; they are worthless. The Lord will not abandon His people, because of His great name and because He has determined to make you His own people.

As for me, I vow that I will not sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you. I will teach you the good and right way. Above all, fear the Lord and worship Him faithfully with all your heart; consider the great things He has done for you. However, if you continue to do what is evil, both you and your king will be swept away. (12:20-25)

What do we learn from Samuel’s final words?

1. Learn to live in God’s story. Samuel retells the story of God’s work with Israel from the Exodus to the present day. He situates their story within God’s story. It is always good to situate our lives within what God is doing in the world. Why? It reminds us that God is not something we fit into our lives; rather we fit our story into God’s life and God’s plan. It’s His world, and we fit into what He is doing.
2. Sin is real. As if we have not seen it clearly enough in the life of Saul and the people, Samuel’s words remind us that sin is real. It will not go away, and we must deal with it. But we cannot deal with sin on our own. We need divine help!
3. Love God’s redemption. Divine help comes from the gospel. The God Samuel describes is not a violent and abusive God. He is a loving and redemptive God. He does not leave wicked people alone. Despite our sin, He goes to the distant country and draws us back to Himself. Samuel’s words, then, point us to the gospel. Jesus has gone to the far country and forgiven us of our sin; He has died on the cross so that we don’t have to.
4. Celebrate the gospel. “Consider the great things He has done for you” (12:24). The gospel is not merely something to be understood and known—a cerebral recognition of random facts. No, the gospel is a wonder that must be lived, loved, and celebrated. Consider and reflect on the mighty and wonderful things God has done on our behalf!
5. Follow closely. Samuel reminds God’s people to watch continually how closely they follow the Lord, how they walk with Him. He says, “Don’t turn away from following the Lord.” The temptation is to embrace worthless things we think will satisfy. They don’t. The only satisfaction comes from following Jesus in the little and big things, from the deepest parts of who we are.

Reflect and Discuss

1. What does 1 Samuel 9–14 help you understand about God?
2. How does this passage of Scripture exalt Jesus?
3. Identify the victories of Saul. Who granted him these victories?
4. Saul was, in many ways, a false leader. He drew the people of God away from following their Lord. Have you ever committed this same sin? Are you doing so now?
5. What are some of the reasons you lead others away from the Lord and exalt your name instead of His name?
6. What makes Jonathan different from his father, Saul?
7. Saul used sacrifice as a way to achieve his purposes and carelessly manipulated the holy things of God. Have you ever manipulated the things of God for your own ends? How have you done that, and why?
8. How does Saul’s life contrast with the life of Jesus?
9. Reread Samuel’s last words in 1 Samuel 12. What stands out to you? Write your thoughts.
10. Samuel’s words encourage God’s people to celebrate the Lord, to consider the great things He has done. How do you celebrate the gospel?