Saul:
A Deeper Look Into Israel's
First "Mortal" King
By Chad Holle
Kings and Prophets
Dr. Brubacher
3/12/00
Saul, chosen by God and anointed by Samuel to be the first mortal king of Israel. He was chosen after the Israelites, God's people, had lost faith in the protection provided by Yahweh and started to look to themselves for help. This paper will take a quick look at Saul's background, and it will illustrate the good, the bad, and the ugly of life under King Saul. It will also explain the role of Samuel as a prophet during this time. And finally, this paper will elucidate the consequences of Saul's actions in his kingdom.
Saul was the son of a wealthy man from Gibeah, named Kish. Saul was from the Benjamin territory, and was impressive in both size and ability. (Brubacher '99) It was after Samuel anointed Saul that kingship in Israel officially began.
Saul Williams
Saul and David.
David and SaulSaul was given all possible advantages for kingship, God tried really hard to make kingship under a mortal work. Samuel wrote down all the rules and regulation for being king, and gave them to Saul to read over everyday.
Now, let's look at some of the good things that King Saul had done during his reign. Right after Saul was proclaimed king of Israel, the people began to voluntarily bring gifts. However, some people did not like Saul one bit and so they would not bring gifts of good will. Saul used good judgement, he kept calm and forgave the individuals for not being supportive.(Brubacher '99)
The Ammonites besieged Jabesh Gilead, and the Jabeshians wanted to make a treaty. However, the Ammonites said that they would only make a treaty if they could disgrace Israel by removing the right eye of the people of Jabesh.