Saul was Israel’s first king. He is one of the most interesting studies in human nature in scripture. He is often contrasted with King David in studies about leadership or being a spiritual man. Saul is always the “don’t do it that way” part of the study. In his defense, he wasn’t all that enthusiastic about becoming king in the first place. In 1 Samuel 8, the people of Israel began to express their desire to be governed by a king like all the nations that surrounded them. Until that time, Israel had been a theocracy governed by God himself with judges and priests representing him. God warns them about the perils of giving that much power to a man but the people insist. In response, God sends Samuel to Kish the Benjamite who had an impressive son named Saul. God commanded Samuel to find Saul and anoint him as king over Israel. Samuel did so with several objections from Saul. However, as Saul was anointed by the prophet, the Spirit of God came on him and changed his heart so that Saul accepted this appointment to be king.
Saul seemed to do well in the beginning of his reign but it wasn’t long before some serious character flaws began to immerge. A huge turning point in Saul’s reign is reported in 1 Samuel 15. In that chapter, God commanded Saul to attack the Amalekites as judgment against their sins. God clearly told Saul to destroy the tribe and everything in it. They were to spare no one and nothing as judgment against them. This text from that chapter is telling.
Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: “I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” Samuel was troubled, and he cried out to the Lord all that night. Early in the morning Samuel got up and went to meet Saul, but he was told, “Saul has gone to Carmel. There he has set up a monument in his own honor and has turned and gone on down to Gilgal.” When Samuel reached him, Saul said, “The Lord bless you! I have carried out the Lord’s instructions.” But Samuel said, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears? What is this lowing of cattle that I hear?”
Two fatal flaws stand out in Saul’s character is this chapter. First of all, we discover that Saul craved the approval of men more than the approval of God. Why else would he go to Carmel to set up a monument in his own honor? Those who seek the approval of men to such a degree always question their own value or competence. Saul seemed to have little faith that the God who had established his kingdom could keep it secure. And so he built a monument proclaiming his greatness to the people like some third world dictator brandishing a slew of shiny brass medals he never earned. Those who are not convinced of their authority go to great lengths to convince others of their authority. Those who have little character, pay others to proclaim what great men they are. Perhaps, they are hoping to believe it themselves.
Finally, when Samuel caught up with him at Gilgal, Saul greeted him with proclamations about how he had thoroughly obeyed the Lord’s commands to destroy the Amalekites. Of course, Samuel immediately heard evidence to the contrary and soon discovered that Saul had spared the life of Agag, the king of Amalek, as well. And yet, apparently in Saul’s view he had been completely obedient to the Lord. His personal wants and desires often blinded him to his own disobedience. Theologians call it “accommodative theology” which means I interpret scripture in a way that accommodates my personal desires or situation to the exclusion of God’s true intent.
Before we skewer Saul for his monument building and playing fast and loose with the Lord’s commands, we need to acknowledge that we each have a little of Saul in us. Even the best of us succumb to the praise of men at times and promoting ourselves in order to maintain our positions of “power and influence” or, at least, to secure our place in the “pecking order” of our social group or business. How many of us have “engineered” outcomes that we desired rather than waiting to see if the Lord would establish the thing – a relationship, a job promotion, an invitation, a house or a car we couldn’t afford, etc.? After we had forced all the square pegs into the round holes to get what we wanted, we declared it was God’s leading, even if it violated a few biblical principles along the way. In manipulating circumstances to get what we want, we reveal our belief that God can’t be trusted to give is the things that make us happy. We also reveal our belief that happiness is more important than holiness. Saul simply reinterpreted God’s commands so that he could give away what he didn’t care about and keep the things his flesh craved while declaring that he was God’s man all the way.
In the end, those character traits cost him his kingdom and his destiny. No doubt we all “mess up.” Certainly King David had his share of spiritual failures and character lapses. But the real proof of a man’s character is not always in whether or not he “blows it,” but rather in his response when he does. Saul consistently excused and rationalized his failings – sometimes with outlandish self-justifications. David acknowledged his sin, took full responsibility for it, and trusted in the unfailing love and mercy of God.
David’s view of God was significantly different from Saul’s. David held a firm belief that the throne was God’s all along. God had put him on the throne and would keep him there as long as God determined. He was also willing to relinquish the throne the day that God said he was done. David also hungered for God more than the throne and more than the approval of men. Those perspectives made him great in the kingdom of God even though he had some serious train wrecks from time to time.
I’m convinced that we all have a little of David in us and a little of Saul. To the extent that our sense of significance comes from our position or our popularity rather than from our relationship with the Father, God cannot trust us with more. More would lead us into idolatry. To the extent that we “engineer” the outcomes we desire rather than waiting on a word from God, God will not be able to bless those outcomes otherwise we would think that he simply exists to do our bidding like a cosmic butler or the genie in a bottle.
In the end, Saul went a little crazy trying to protect his throne from David even though God had told him that his throne had been taken away. Paranoia, jealous rages, and monuments to himself were the results of believing that his throne, power, and influence were his rather than God’s. David held it all loosely and viewed his throne, power and influence as simply things God had given him to steward until he took them back. His goal was to please God rather than men. Eventually, Messiah will sit on the throne of David forever. Saul’s name will stay in the “don’t do it that way” category. These things are written for our learning and on occasion we need to scan our own lives and motives to see if we are on a good trajectory or headed for disaster. Have we been busy building monuments for God or for ourselves?
