The United Kingdom (Part 1)

by Micky Galloway

After the disastrous battle with the Philistines, Samuel urged the people, “… If ye do return unto Jehovah with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you, and direct your hearts unto Jehovah, and serve him only; and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistine” (I Samuel 7:3). The people listened to Samuel, but not for long. After numerous battles with their neighbors (the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Amalekites, and the Canaanites) and their own rebellious style of living, the people asked Samuel for a king. “Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations” (I Samuel 8:5). Samuel warned the people of what it would mean to have an earthly king, but “the people refused to hearken unto the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay: but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles” (I Samuel 8:19-20). They had a king – God. They also had a law that gave the details of how they were to live – the law of Moses. Yet, the book of Judges closes with these remarkable words. “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). God instructed Samuel to grant their request. God assured Samuel that the people were not rejecting him as their judge; rather they were rejecting God as their King.

Saul, of the tribe of Benjamin, son of Kish was anointed as the first King, the “captain over God’s people” (I Samuel 9:1-2). At first, Saul was a very humble man. He appeared to be unsure of his own worthiness to be king. He had no predecessor to imitate and was uncertain about his duties. He was plowing in the field when he learned that the Ammonites had attacked the city of Jabesh-gilead (I Samuel 11:1, 5-6). Through the leadership of Saul, the Ammonites were firmly defeated and the city was rescued. The people of Israel rejoiced over their victory and their new king. They were confident that Saul could lead them to victory over all their enemies. Samuel warned, “If ye will fear Jehovah, and serve him, and hearken unto his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of Jehovah, and both ye and also the king that reigneth over you be followers of Jehovah your God, (well): but if ye will not hearken unto the voice of Jehovah, but rebel against the commandment of Jehovah, then will the hand of Jehovah be against you, as it was against your fathers” (I Samuel 12:14-15). Afterward, Saul and the soldiers of Israel were challenged by the Philistines. They proved to be a much more formidable foe than the Ammonites had been. The Philistines were better armed with iron swords and spears, while the Israelites had only their weapons of bows and slings. Israel followed Saul trembling and began to desert Saul, hiding in caves and some even crossing the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead (13:7). The time came for the sacrifice to be offered before the battle with the Philistines and Samuel the priest had not arrived. Saul foolishly went ahead and offered the sacrifice, seemingly thinking the sacrifice itself was more important than true obedience to God. Saul explained, “…I forced myself therefore and offered the burnt offering.” Samuel explained to Saul, “Thou hast done foolishly; thou hast not kept the commandment of Jehovah thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would Jehovah have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. But now thy kingdom shall not continue: Jehovah hath sought him a man after his own heart, and Jehovah hath appointed him to be prince over his people, because thou hast not kept that which Jehovah commanded thee” (I Samuel 13:13-14).

God was with Saul during his early years as king, but Saul continued to demonstrate that he was not the kind of man God needed to lead Israel. God sent Saul to destroy the Amalekites. The instructions were simple. “Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass” (I Samuel 15:3). Though Saul was successful in the battle, he disobeyed God by bringing back the king of the Amalekites and the best of their animals. Saul explained, “They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto Jehovah thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed” (I Samuel 15:15). Samuel then explained to Saul, “Hath Jehovah as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Jehovah? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, he hath also rejected thee from being king” (I Samuel 15:22-23). Saul reigned as king of Israel for forty years.

In our next study, we will learn about David and his son Solomon who ruled over the kingdom of Israel.