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The Complete Story of Saul - The First King of Israel Who Was Rejected by God _ Biblical Stories · truthunedited

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Speaker 1: Imagine a man of impressive stature, chosen by God himself
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Speaker 1: to lead a nation, a man so humble that he
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Speaker 1: hid on the day of his coronation. This is Saul,
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Speaker 1: son of Kish from the small tribe of Benjamin, an
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Speaker 1: unlikely candidate who became the first King of Israel. But
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Speaker 1: what transforms a leader anointed by God into a tormented monarch,
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Speaker 1: consumed by jealousy and abandoned by the divine spirit. Saul's
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Speaker 1: story is a fascinating journey of rise and fall, a
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Speaker 1: warning about how power can corrupt even God's chosen ones.
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Speaker 1: In the pages of the Bible, few characters undergo transformations
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Speaker 1: as dramatic as Saul, from a shy young man to
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Speaker 1: a powerful king, from a blessed leader to a man
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Speaker 1: obsessively chasing his successor until his tragic end on the battlefield.
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Speaker 1: Join us on this journey through the life of Israel's
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Speaker 1: first king, a story that teaches us about obedience, power,
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Speaker 1: and the devastating consequences when we allow pride to replace
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Speaker 1: submission to the divine will. For many years, the people
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Speaker 1: of Israel lived under the system of judges. These were
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Speaker 1: men and women raised by God at specific times to
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Speaker 1: deliver the people from the oppression of enemy nations. This
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Speaker 1: system of governance had worked for several generations, but was
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Speaker 1: not always perfect. The Israelites often fell into cycles of disobedience, punishment, repentance,
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Speaker 1: and deliverance. When the judge Samuel, who had led Israel
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Speaker 1: with integrity and wisdom, began to age, a new concern
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Speaker 1: arose among the people. Samuel's sons, Joel and Abija, whom
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Speaker 1: he had appointed as judges in Beersheba, did not follow
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Speaker 1: the righteous ways of their father. The Bible clearly states
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Speaker 1: in First Samuel eight three that his sons did not
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Speaker 1: walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain,
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Speaker 1: took bribes, and perverted justice. This situation created a leadership crisis,
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Speaker 1: with Samuel aging and his sons demonstrating corruption. The elders
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Speaker 1: of Israel gathered and went to Samuel at Rama. They
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Speaker 1: presented a demand that would forever change the course of
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Speaker 1: Israel's history. Appoint a king to lead us such as
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Speaker 1: all the other nations have. The request was not just
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Speaker 1: for a new leader, but for a fundamental change in
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Speaker 1: the system of governance. The people wanted to be like
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Speaker 1: the other nations. A revealing motivation. Israel had been called
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Speaker 1: to be different, to be governed directly by God, but
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Speaker 1: now they wanted to conform to the political models of
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Speaker 1: the nations around them. For Samuel, this demand was deeply disturbing.
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Speaker 1: He saw in this request a rejection not only of
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Speaker 1: his leadership, but of the very system established by God.
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Speaker 1: The Bible says that Samuel was displeased, and his first
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Speaker 1: response were to take the matter to the Lord in prayer.
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Speaker 1: God's response to Samuel was revealing, Listen to all that
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Speaker 1: the people are saying to you. It is not you
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Speaker 1: they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.
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Speaker 1: God made it clear that this request for a human
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Speaker 1: king represented, in reality, a rejection of divine sovereignty over Israel.
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Speaker 1: It was consistent with the historical pattern of rebellion that
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Speaker 1: the people had demonstrated since leaving Egypt. God instructed Samuel
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Speaker 1: to seriously warn the people about the consequences of having
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Speaker 1: a king, and Samuel did so with impressive detail, describing
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Speaker 1: how a king would confiscate the best fields, vineyards, and
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Speaker 1: olive groves, demand a tithe of crops and herds, take
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Speaker 1: sons and daughters for service in the royal court and
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Speaker 1: army and turn the people into his servants. Samuel concluded
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Speaker 1: the warning with a grim statement, when that day comes,
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Speaker 1: you will cry out for relief from the king you
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Speaker 1: have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in
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Speaker 1: that day. Despite this serious warning, the people remained resolute. No,
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Speaker 1: we want a king over us. Then we will be
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Speaker 1: like all the other nations, with a king to lead
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Speaker 1: us and to go out before us and fight our battles.
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Speaker 1: The desire for military security and national identity outweighed the
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Speaker 1: divine warning. God, respecting the free will he had granted
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Speaker 1: his people, instructed Samuel listen to them and give them
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Speaker 1: a king. Amid these significant national events, a young man
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Speaker 1: from the tribe of Benjamin was living his ordinary life
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Speaker 1: with no idea of the role he was about to
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Speaker 1: play in Israel's history. Saul was the son of Kish,
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Speaker 1: a wealthy man from the smallest of Israelite tribes. The
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Speaker 1: Bible describes him as an impressive young man, a head
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Speaker 1: taller than any one else, and also the most handsome
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Speaker 1: among the sons of Israel. The story of how Saul
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Speaker 1: became Israel's first king begins with an every day event
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Speaker 1: lost donkeys. Saul's fathers donkeys had gone missing, and Kish
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Speaker 1: sent his son accompanied by a servant, to find them.
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Speaker 1: They traveled through various regions, the Hills of Ephraim, the
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Speaker 1: land of Shalisha, the Land of Shalim, the land of Benjamin,
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Speaker 1: but did not find the animals. When they reached the
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Speaker 1: land of Zoof Saul, worried about the delay, suggested returning
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Speaker 1: home so that his father would not become more concerned
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Speaker 1: about them than about the donkeys. At that moment, the
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Speaker 1: servant mentioned, look, in this town there is a man
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Speaker 1: of God. He is highly respected, and everything he says
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Speaker 1: comes true. Let's go there now, perhaps he will tell
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Speaker 1: us which way to take. This man of God was Samuel,
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Speaker 1: the same prophet who was in the process of seeking
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Speaker 1: a king for Israel by divine guidance. What seemed like
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Speaker 1: a casual encounter was in in fact a divinely orchestrated meeting.
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Speaker 1: Although Saul was hesitant because he had no gift to
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Speaker 1: offer the prophet, the servant had a quarter of a
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Speaker 1: shekel of silver, which was considered sufficient. What Saul did
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Speaker 1: not know was that the day before God had already
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Speaker 1: spoken to Samuel about this time tomorrow, I will send
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Speaker 1: you a man from the land of Benjamin, anoint him
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Speaker 1: ruler over my people Israel. When Samuel saw Saul approaching,
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Speaker 1: the Lord confirmed, this is the man I spoke to
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Speaker 1: you about. He will govern my people. The meeting between
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Speaker 1: the two was remarkable. Samuel immediately invited Saul to eat
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Speaker 1: with him, informing him that the lost donkeys had already
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Speaker 1: been found, and then made an enigmatic statement, and for
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Speaker 1: whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it
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Speaker 1: not for you and for all your father's house. Saul,
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Speaker 1: demonstrating humility, responded by questioning why Samuel would speak this
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Speaker 1: way to someone from the smallest of the tribes and
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Speaker 1: the least of the families. Samuel led Saul and his
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Speaker 1: servant to a dining room where about thirty people were gathered. Surprisingly,
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Speaker 1: Saul was given the place of honor and received the
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Speaker 1: best portion of the meal, a portion that Samuel had
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Speaker 1: specifically reserved for him even before he arrived. Everything was
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Speaker 1: being prepared for an event that Saul had no idea
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Speaker 1: was about to happen. After the meal and a conversation
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Speaker 1: on the house's terrace the next morning, Samuel called Saul
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Speaker 1: to accompany him to the city's exit. There, he asked
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Speaker 1: the servant to go ahead, and, remaining alone with Saul,
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Speaker 1: performed an act that would forever change the history of Israel. Then,
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Speaker 1: Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on
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Speaker 1: Saul's head and kissed him, saying, has not the Lord
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Speaker 1: anointed you ruler over his inheritance the people of Israel. Thus,
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Speaker 1: in an apparently casual man meeting originating from the search
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Speaker 1: for lost donkeys, the first King of Israel was anointed
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Speaker 1: by the prophet of God. After anointing Saul as the
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Speaker 1: future king of Israel, Samuel gave him three specific signs
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Speaker 1: that would confirm the divine calling, all of which were
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Speaker 1: to occur on the same day. These signs would serve
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Speaker 1: to affirm to Saul that his anointing was not a
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Speaker 1: coincidence or mistake, but truly the will of God. The
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Speaker 1: first sign would be the encounter with two men near
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Speaker 1: Rachel's tomb in Zelza in the territory of Benjamin. These
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Speaker 1: men would confirm to Saul that the donkeys he was
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Speaker 1: searching for had been found, and that his father was
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Speaker 1: now worried about him. Exactly as Samuel had predicted, Saul
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Speaker 1: met the men and received the message. The second sign
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Speaker 1: would be meeting three men going up to God at Bethel.
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Speaker 1: One of them would be carrying three young goats, another
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Speaker 1: three loaves of bread, and the third a skin of wine.
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Speaker 1: They would greet Saul and offer him two loaves, which
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Speaker 1: he should accept. This sign also happened precisely as foretold.
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Speaker 1: The third and most significant sign would occur upon arriving
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Speaker 1: at Gibeah of God, where there was a Philistine garrison.
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Speaker 1: Upon entering the city, Saul would encounter a group of
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Speaker 1: prophets coming down from the high place, preceded by musical
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Speaker 1: instruments prophesying. Samuel said, the spirit of the Lord will
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Speaker 1: come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them,
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Speaker 1: and you will be changed into a different person. This
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Speaker 1: third sign had a particularly profound impact. When Saul met
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Speaker 1: the prophets, the spirit of God came powerfully upon him
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Speaker 1: and he began to prophesy among them. The change was
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Speaker 1: so dramatic that those who knew him previously were astonished
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Speaker 1: to see him prophesying. People began to ask each other,
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Speaker 1: what is this that has happened to the Son of
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Speaker 1: kish is Saul all so among the prophets. This question
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Speaker 1: became a saying in Israel, highlighting the unexpected transformation of
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Speaker 1: an ordinary young man into someone visibly touched by divine power.
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Speaker 1: The experience marked the beginning of a spiritual transformation in Saul,
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Speaker 1: which Samuel had described as becoming a different person. After
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Speaker 1: these events, when Saul arrived at Gibea, his uncle asked
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Speaker 1: him where he had been. Interestingly, although Saul mentioned the
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Speaker 1: search for the donkeys and the meeting with Samuel, he
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Speaker 1: revealed nothing about his anointing as the future king. This
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Speaker 1: reticence may reflect humility, prudence, or perhaps Samuel's instruction to
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Speaker 1: keep the anointing a secret until the appropriate time for
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Speaker 1: public revelation. These three confirming signs served several important purposes
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Speaker 1: for Saul. They were a powerful confirmation that his anointing
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Speaker 1: was not a human work, but truly a divine designation.
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Speaker 1: The experiences of the Spirit of God and the prophecy
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Speaker 1: also served as spiritual preparation for the responsibility he was
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Speaker 1: about to take on. And for those around Saul, especially
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Speaker 1: those who witnessed his prophecy, it was a visible sign
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Speaker 1: that something extraordinary was happening in the life of this
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Speaker 1: young benjaminat Samuel concluded his instructions to Saul with an
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Speaker 1: important order, go down ahead of me to Gilgal. I
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Speaker 1: will surely come down to you to sacrifice burnt offerings
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Speaker 1: and fellowship offerings, but you must wait seven days until
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Speaker 1: I come to you and tell you what you are
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Speaker 1: to do. This seemingly simple instruction would later become the
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Speaker 1: setting for one of Saul's first serious mistakes as king.
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Speaker 1: After the private anointing and the confirming signs given to Saul,
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Speaker 1: the time came to present him publicly to Israel as
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Speaker 1: their chosen king. Samuel called all the people to gather
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Speaker 1: at Mispah, a historically significant place where Israel had obtained
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Speaker 1: a great victory over the Philistines years earlier under Samuel's
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Speaker 1: own leadership. Before all of Israel gathered, Samuel first reminded
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Speaker 1: the people how God had delivered them from Egypt and
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Speaker 1: from all their oppressors. Then he confronted them directly, but
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Speaker 1: you have now rejected your God, who saves you out
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Speaker 1: of all your disasters and calamities, and you have said
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Speaker 1: appoint a king over us. To publicly select the king
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Speaker 1: already chosen by God. Samuel used a method that would
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Speaker 1: clearly demonstrate divine sovereignty in the process selection by lot.
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Speaker 1: This method, likely using the Urim and Thummim instruments of
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Speaker 1: consultation with God used by the priests, would ensure that
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Speaker 1: everyone saw the choice as divine and not as a
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Speaker 1: personal preference of Samuel. The process took place in stages. First,
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Speaker 1: the tribe of Benjamin was selected from all the tribes
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Speaker 1: of Israel. Then among the clans of Benjamin, the family
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Speaker 1: of Matri was chosen. Finally, among the men of the
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Speaker 1: Matri family, Saul, son of Kish was selected. The public
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Speaker 1: selection process confirmed exactly what God had already revealed to
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Speaker 1: Samuel in private. When the time came to present Saul
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Speaker 1: to the people, he could not be found. The Bible
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Speaker 1: recounts that they sought him, but he was not found.
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Speaker 1: An additional inquiry to the Lord was necessary, which revealed, behold,
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Speaker 1: he has hidden himself among the baggage. This detail reveals
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Speaker 1: a lot about Saul's initial character. Despite his impressive stature
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Speaker 1: and the divine confirmation through signs, he exhibited a shyness
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Speaker 1: or hesitation to assume the position to which he had
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Speaker 1: been called. Some scholars see this as a sign of
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Speaker 1: commend humility, Others interpret it as an early indication of
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Speaker 1: his future insecurity in office. When Saul was finally brought
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Speaker 1: out from among the baggage, his physical appearance made a
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Speaker 1: strong impression. From his shoulders upward, he was taller than
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Speaker 1: any of the people. Samuel seized the moment to declare,
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Speaker 1: do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? Surely
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Speaker 1: there is no one like him among all the people.
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Speaker 1: The people's response was enthusiastic, long live the King. Saul
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Speaker 1: possessed the external characteristics the people desired in a king.
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Speaker 1: He was tall, handsome, and impressive. He seemed to fulfill
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Speaker 1: the popular wish for a leader like the other nations.
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Speaker 1: Samuel then explained to the people the rights of the kingship,
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Speaker 1: likely a set of laws and limitations that would govern
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Speaker 1: royal power, and wrote everything in a book that he
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Speaker 1: placed before the Lord, thus establishing the constitutional foundations for
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Speaker 1: the new monarchy. After the ceremony, Samuel sent the people
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Speaker 1: back to their homes. Saul also returned to Gibeah, accompanied
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Speaker 1: by valiant men whose hearts God had touched, possibly the
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Speaker 1: beginnings of his royal guard or war council. However, not
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Speaker 1: everyone was convinced. The Bible mentions that some worthless men,
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Speaker 1: a term meaning men of no value or rebels, despised Saul,
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Speaker 1: saying how can this man save us? They did not
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Speaker 1: bring him gifts, showing their lack of acceptance of the
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Speaker 1: new king. Saul, for his part, kept silent, a response
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Speaker 1: that at that moment, seemed to demonstrate wisdom and restraint.
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Speaker 1: This public presentation at Mispah established Saul as the chosen king,
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Speaker 1: but he would still need to prove his worth as
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Speaker 1: a military and political leader to consolidate his reign over Israel.
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Speaker 1: The opportunity for Saul to demonstrate his leadership ability came quickly.
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Speaker 1: Approximately a month after his public presentation at Mispah, a
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Speaker 1: severe crisis arose when Nahash, the king of the Ammonites,
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Speaker 1: besieged the city of Jabesh Gilead, located east of the
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Speaker 1: Jordan River. The Ammonites were ancient enemies of Israel, descendants
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Speaker 1: of Lot, Abraham's nephew. Nahash demanded humiliating conditions to spare
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Speaker 1: the city. On this condition, will I make a treaty
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Speaker 1: with you that I gouge out all your right eyes
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Speaker 1: and bring disgrace on all Israel. The men of Jabesh
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Speaker 1: asked for seven days to seek help, with the promise
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Speaker 1: to surrender if no one came to their rescue. Messengers
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Speaker 1: from Jabesh Giliad reached Gibeah Saul city and reported the
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Speaker 1: desperate situation. When the people heard this, they broke into weeping. Saul,
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Speaker 1: who at that moment was returning from the field with
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Speaker 1: his oxen, a detailed showing that he still lived as
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Speaker 1: a common farmer despite being designated king, asked about the
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Speaker 1: cause of the lament. Upon hearing about the threat against
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Speaker 1: Jabesh Gilead, a dramatic transformation occurred in Saul. The spirit
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Speaker 1: of God came upon Saul in power, and his anger
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Speaker 1: was greatly kindled. Taken by this divine power, Saul took
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Speaker 1: a pair of oxen, cut them in two pieces, and
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Speaker 1: sent them throughout the territory of Israel by messengers with
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Speaker 1: an ultimatum, whoever does not follow Saul and Samuel, so
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Speaker 1: shall it be done to his oxen. This dramatic and
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Speaker 1: symbolic act had the desired effect. The fear of the
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Speaker 1: Lord fell on the people, and they gathered as one.
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Speaker 1: Saul managed to mobilize an impressive army three hundred thousand
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Speaker 1: men from Israel and thirty thousand from Judah assembled at Bazek.
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Speaker 1: Saul sent a message to the besieged people of Jabesh Gilead,
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Speaker 1: to morrow, by the time the sun is hot, you
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Speaker 1: shall have deliverance. When the men of Jabesh received this promise,
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Speaker 1: they were glad and sent a misleading message to the Ammonites.
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Speaker 1: To morrow, we will surrender to you, and you may
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Speaker 1: do to us whatever seems good to you. The next morning,
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Speaker 1: Saul organized the army into three companies and attacked the
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Speaker 1: Ammonite camp during the morning watch, catching them by surprise.
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Speaker 1: The attack continued until the heat of the day, and
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Speaker 1: the survivors were so completely scattered that no two of
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Speaker 1: them were left together. This decisive victory had important consequences
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Speaker 1: for the consolidation of Saul's leadership. The people, excited by
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Speaker 1: the military success, proposed, who is it that said, shall
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Speaker 1: Saul reign over us? Bring those men that we may
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Speaker 1: put them to death. They were referring to the worthless
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Speaker 1: men who had despised Saul after his selection at Misbah. However,
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Speaker 1: Saul showed magnanimity and wisdom. Not a man shall be
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Speaker 1: put to death this day, for today the Lord has
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Speaker 1: worked salvation in Israel. This response revealed a noble aspect
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Speaker 1: of his initial character as king, the ability to avoid
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Speaker 1: personal vengeance at a moment of national triumph. The victory
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Speaker 1: over the Ammonites was a turning point in the acceptance
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Speaker 1: of Saul as king. Samuel took advantage of the moment
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Speaker 1: to call the people to Gilgal, a place of great
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Speaker 1: historical and spiritual significance for Israel, to renew the kingdom.
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Speaker 1: There in Gilgal, they held a formal coronation ceremony with
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Speaker 1: sacrifices of peace offerings, where Saul and all the men
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Speaker 1: of Israel rejoiced greatly. The impressive victory over the Ammonites
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Speaker 1: provided the perfect moment to formalize and consolidate Saul's reign.
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Speaker 1: Samuel summoned all the people to Gilgal, of the most
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Speaker 1: significant locations in Israel's history. It was in Gilgal that
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Speaker 1: Joshua had placed the twelve stones taken from the Jordan River,
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Speaker 1: marking the entry into the Promised Land, and there the
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Speaker 1: people had renewed their covenant with God through circumcision. After
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Speaker 1: forty years in the wilderness in Gilgal. They made Saul
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Speaker 1: king before the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings before the Lord.
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Speaker 1: This ceremony represented an official coronation, more elaborate and solemn
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Speaker 1: than the previous public presentation at Misbah. The sacrifices of
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Speaker 1: peace offerings were particularly significant as they symbolized communion and
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Speaker 1: peace between God, the King, and the people. The Bible
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Speaker 1: records that Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced
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Speaker 1: greatly a moment of national unity and celebration. After the coronation,
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Speaker 1: Samuel took the opportunity to deliver a profound and moving
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Speaker 1: speech to the people. This speech served as a formal
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Speaker 1: transfer of authority from Samuel to Saul, but it also
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Speaker 1: functioned as a solemn warning about the responsibilities of both
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Speaker 1: the king and the people before God. Samuel began by
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Speaker 1: affirming his integrity before Israel. Behold, I have listened to
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Speaker 1: your voice in all that you said to me, and
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Speaker 1: have set a king over you. Now behold, the king
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Speaker 1: walks before you. But I am old and gray. Here
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Speaker 1: I am testify against me before the Lord and before
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Speaker 1: his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have
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Speaker 1: I taken, whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed?
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Speaker 1: The people unanimously confirmed Samuel's integrity, acknowledging that he had
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Speaker 1: never oppressed or defrauded them during his long period of leadership.
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Speaker 1: This recognition set a high standard of conduct for the
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Speaker 1: new king and highlighted the contrast between the theocratic government
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Speaker 1: under the judges and the monarchical system they were adopting.
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Speaker 1: Samuel then reminded the people of how God had cared
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Speaker 1: for them throughout history, from Egypt to the present. He
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Speaker 1: mentioned the deliverers God had sent in times of oppression, Moses, Aaron, Jerubal, Gideon, Barak, Jephtha,
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Speaker 1: and Samuel himself. He recalled how, despite this divine care,
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Speaker 1: when they saw Nahash, king of the Ammonites, coming against them,
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Speaker 1: they said, no, but a king shall reign over us,
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Speaker 1: even though the Lord, your God, was your king. To
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Speaker 1: emphasize the seriousness of his words and to confirm that
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Speaker 1: everything he said was authorized by God, Samuel proposed an
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Speaker 1: extraordinary sign, Is it not wheat harvest to day I
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Speaker 1: will call upon the Lord, and he will send thunder
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Speaker 1: and reign. No then, and see that your wickedness is
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Speaker 1: great which you have done in the sight of the
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Speaker 1: Lord by asking for yourselves a king. What made this
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Speaker 1: sign particularly impressive was the fact that during the wheat
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Speaker 1: harvest season in Israel May June, rains and storms were
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Speaker 1: extremely rare. When Samuel called upon the Lord, and thunder
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Speaker 1: and rain came at that very moment, the impact on
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Speaker 1: the people was profound. All the people greatly feared the
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Speaker 1: Lord and Samuel. Confronted with this divine sign and Samuel's words,
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Speaker 1: the people acknowledged their error. Pray for your servants to
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Speaker 1: the Lord, your God, so that we do not die,
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Speaker 1: for we have added to all our sins this evil
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Speaker 1: of asking for ourselves a king. Though Samuel sternly warned
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Speaker 1: the people, he also offered words of hope and guidance
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Speaker 1: for the future. Do not fear you have indeed committed
23:52
Speaker 1: all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following
23:55
Speaker 1: the Lord. But serve the Lord with all your heart.
23:59
Speaker 1: For the Lord, for the sake of his great name,
24:02
Speaker 1: will not abandon his people. Samuel promised that he would
24:05
Speaker 1: continue to intercede for the people and instruct them in
24:09
Speaker 1: the good and right way. He concluded his speech with
24:13
Speaker 1: a fundamental exhortation for both the king and the people.
24:17
Speaker 1: Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all
24:20
Speaker 1: your heart. But if you still do wickedly, you shall
24:23
Speaker 1: be swept away, both you and your king. Thus, Saul's
24:28
Speaker 1: reign officially began with a great military victory, a solemn
24:32
Speaker 1: coronation ceremony, and a profound prophetic speech that clearly established
24:37
Speaker 1: the spiritual and moral foundations for Israel's first king. After
24:42
Speaker 1: the official coronation in Gilgal, Saul began his reign facing
24:46
Speaker 1: one of Israel's most persistent and powerful enemies, the Philistines.
24:52
Speaker 1: This people, who had migrated from the Aegean Sea to
24:56
Speaker 1: the coast of Canaan, possessed superior military technology, including knowledge
25:02
Speaker 1: of iron metallurgy, which gave them a significant advantage over
25:06
Speaker 1: the Israelites. The Bible records that Saul chose for himself
25:10
Speaker 1: three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand stayed with him
25:14
Speaker 1: in Micmash and the mountains of Bethel, and one thousand
25:17
Speaker 1: stayed with his son Jonathan in Gibeer of Benjamin. The
25:21
Speaker 1: rest of the people were sent back to their tents.
25:23
Speaker 1: This strategy suggests that Saul was forming a permanent army,
25:28
Speaker 1: something new for Israel, which traditionally called upon militias only
25:32
Speaker 1: in times of crisis. The situation was extremely difficult for
25:36
Speaker 1: the Israelites. The Philistines maintained such an oppressive occupation that
25:41
Speaker 1: they had prohibited the Israelites from having blacksmiths to prevent
25:46
Speaker 1: the manufacture of swords and spears. As a result, the
25:50
Speaker 1: Bible states that throughout Israel, not a sword or spear
25:54
Speaker 1: was to be found in the hands of any of
25:56
Speaker 1: the people, except in the hands of Saul and his son,
25:59
Speaker 1: jo Jonathan. The Israelites had to resort to the Philistines
26:04
Speaker 1: even to sharpen their farming tools. It was in this
26:07
Speaker 1: challenging context that Jonathan, Saul's son, took a bold initiative.
26:12
Speaker 1: Without informing his father, he attacked and defeated the Philistine
26:17
Speaker 1: garrison in Gebe. This act of courage triggered an immediate
26:21
Speaker 1: response from the Philistines, who assembled to fight against Israel
26:25
Speaker 1: thirty thousand chariots, six thousand horsemen, and troops as numerous
26:30
Speaker 1: as the sand on the sea shore. Faced with this
26:34
Speaker 1: overwhelming threat, many Israelites panicked. Some hid in caves, thickets,
26:40
Speaker 1: among rocks, in holes and insistents. Others fled beyond the
26:44
Speaker 1: Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Those who
26:47
Speaker 1: remained with Saul followed him, trembling. The fear was understandable.
26:53
Speaker 1: The Philistines had a professional, well equipped, and numerous army,
26:58
Speaker 1: while the Israelites had men practically without weapons. Saul was
27:03
Speaker 1: in Gilgal and the people with him were trembling with fear.
27:08
Speaker 1: At this critical moment, he remembered the instruction Samuel had
27:12
Speaker 1: given him, You shall go down before me to Gilgal.
27:16
Speaker 1: Wait seven days until I come to you and show
27:19
Speaker 1: you what you shall do. With the Philistine army advancing
27:22
Speaker 1: in great numbers and his own army shrinking from fear
27:25
Speaker 1: and desertion, Saul waited in Gilgal for the seven days
27:30
Speaker 1: appointed for Samuel's arrival. The situation became increasingly tense as
27:35
Speaker 1: the deadline approached and Samuel had not yet arrived. The
27:39
Speaker 1: Bible records that he waited seven days the time set
27:44
Speaker 1: by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and
27:48
Speaker 1: the people were scattering from him, seeing his army diminish
27:52
Speaker 1: and fearing facing the Philistines without first seeking divine favor
27:56
Speaker 1: through sacrifices. Saul made a decision that would change the
28:00
Speaker 1: course of his reign. Bring me the burnt offering and
28:05
Speaker 1: the peace offerings, and he offered the burnt offering. This
28:09
Speaker 1: act represented a grave transgression of the religious and political
28:13
Speaker 1: boundaries in Israel. As king, Saul had civil and military authority,
28:18
Speaker 1: but not priestly authority. Offering sacrifices was an exclusive duty
28:23
Speaker 1: of the priests, and in this specific case, Samuel, as
28:27
Speaker 1: a prophet and judge, had the prerogative to perform the
28:30
Speaker 1: rituals that would precede the battle. Saul had barely finished
28:34
Speaker 1: offering the burnt offering when Samuel arrived. The king went
28:38
Speaker 1: out to meet him and greet him, but Samuel went
28:41
Speaker 1: straight to the point, what have you done? Saul tried
28:45
Speaker 1: to explain his actions, presenting three justifications, the people's dispersion,
28:51
Speaker 1: Samuel's delay, and the imminent Philistine threat. He concluded by saying,
28:57
Speaker 1: so I felt compelled and offered the burn offering. Samuel's
29:01
Speaker 1: response was harsh and definitive. You have done foolishly. You
29:06
Speaker 1: have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God,
29:09
Speaker 1: which he commanded you. This simple instruction to wait seven
29:14
Speaker 1: days had been a test of obedience and trust, and
29:17
Speaker 1: Saul failed, revealing problematic traits impatience under pressure, a willingness
29:23
Speaker 1: to break religious boundaries when convenient, and confidence in his
29:27
Speaker 1: own judgment over divine instructions. The consequence of this disobedience
29:31
Speaker 1: was immediately announced by Samuel. Now your kingdom shall not continue.
29:37
Speaker 1: The Lord has sought for himself a man after his
29:40
Speaker 1: own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be
29:43
Speaker 1: commander over his people. Because you have not kept what
29:46
Speaker 1: the Lord commanded you, this episode marked the first major
29:50
Speaker 1: turning point in Saul's reign. Although he remained king for
29:54
Speaker 1: many years, from this moment it was clear that his
29:57
Speaker 1: dynasty would not be established. God had already chosen another
30:02
Speaker 1: man to succeed him, though the identity of this man
30:07
Speaker 1: after God's own heart had not yet been revealed. After
30:10
Speaker 1: this rebuke, Samuel departed to Gibea, and Saul counted the
30:15
Speaker 1: men who were still with him only six hundred. With
30:18
Speaker 1: a drastically reduced army and facing an overwhelming Philistine force,
30:23
Speaker 1: Israel's military situation seemed desperate. Saul's disobedience at Gilgal had
30:28
Speaker 1: immediate consequences. Besides the divine rejection of his dynasty, the
30:34
Speaker 1: military situation became extremely precarious. Samuel left for Gibea of Benjamin,
30:40
Speaker 1: leaving Saul to face the Philistines with only six hundred
30:44
Speaker 1: poorly equipped men. The Philistines, taking advantage of their military superiority,
30:51
Speaker 1: sent three raiding parties from their camp at mcmash. One
30:55
Speaker 1: group went to Ophra, another to beth Horn, and the
30:58
Speaker 1: third toward the border over looking the Valley of Zeboim.
31:02
Speaker 1: This strategy not only devastated Israelite territory, but also isolated
31:07
Speaker 1: Saul and his men. The situation was so dire that
31:11
Speaker 1: the Bible describes Saul's soldiers as unarmed. Now there was
31:15
Speaker 1: no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel,
31:19
Speaker 1: for the Philistine said, lest the Hebrews make swords or spears.
31:24
Speaker 1: The Philistines dominated iron technology and had prohibited blacksmith's in
31:28
Speaker 1: Israel precisely to maintain this military advantage. Saul and his
31:34
Speaker 1: men were camped at Geba while the Philistines were at Micmash.
31:38
Speaker 1: This moment represented perhaps the most desperate situation Israel had
31:42
Speaker 1: faced since the beginning of Saul's reign. The army was
31:46
Speaker 1: reduced poorly equipped, and the prophetic word had just declared
31:51
Speaker 1: that the kingdom would not be established in Saul's lineage.
31:54
Speaker 1: Samuel's declaration that God had already found a man after
31:59
Speaker 1: his own heart to replace Saul as prince over Israel
32:02
Speaker 1: must have been particularly disturbing for the king. Although at
32:06
Speaker 1: this moment no one knew the identity of this future successor,
32:10
Speaker 1: the mere existence of such a divine choice cast a
32:13
Speaker 1: shadow over Saul's reign. From its inception, this phrase a
32:18
Speaker 1: man after God's own heart became one of the most
32:21
Speaker 1: important prophetic descriptions in Biblical history. It would later become
32:26
Speaker 1: clear that it referred to David, who would not only
32:29
Speaker 1: become Israel's greatest king, but also an ancestor of the
32:33
Speaker 1: future Messiah. The contrast between Saul, chosen partly for his
32:38
Speaker 1: impressive appearance, and this future king chosen for his heart,
32:43
Speaker 1: established a fundamental principle in the Biblical vision of leadership.
32:47
Speaker 1: Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks
32:51
Speaker 1: at the heart. The drastic reduction of Saul's army to
32:55
Speaker 1: only six hundred men also represented a significant setback to
33:00
Speaker 1: his authority as a military leader, which was precisely the
33:04
Speaker 1: role the people most desired in a king. The phrase
33:08
Speaker 1: that our king may govern us and go out before
33:12
Speaker 1: us and fight our battles had been central to the
33:14
Speaker 1: original request for a monarch. At this point in the narrative,
33:18
Speaker 1: the future of Israel and its first king seemed bleak.
33:22
Speaker 1: Militarily surrounded, spiritually compromised by royal disobedience, and with the
33:27
Speaker 1: royal lineage already rejected, the Israelites with Saul, faced a
33:32
Speaker 1: moment of deep crisis. It would take an extraordinary act
33:36
Speaker 1: of courage and faith to reverse this situation, and this
33:40
Speaker 1: act would not come from the king but from his son.
33:45
Speaker 1: While the situation seemed increasingly desperate for Israel, an unexpected
33:49
Speaker 1: initiative completely changed the course of events. Jonathan, Saul's son,
33:55
Speaker 1: without informing his father, said to his armor bearer, come,
33:59
Speaker 1: let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised.
34:02
Speaker 1: It may be that the Lord will work for us,
34:05
Speaker 1: for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many
34:09
Speaker 1: or by few. In contrast to his father's anxiety and disobedience,
34:14
Speaker 1: Jonathan demonstrated an unwavering faith in God. For the Lord,
34:18
Speaker 1: there is no restraint to save by many or by few.
34:23
Speaker 1: He proposed a sign to confirm divine direction. If the
34:27
Speaker 1: Philistines said, come up to us, it would be a
34:30
Speaker 1: sign that the Lord had delivered them into their hands.
34:34
Speaker 1: When Jonathan and his armor bearer revealed themselves to the Philistines,
34:38
Speaker 1: they mocked, Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the
34:41
Speaker 1: holes where they have hidden, and they called out, come
34:44
Speaker 1: up to us, and we will show you something. Jonathan,
34:48
Speaker 1: recognizing the confirming sign, said to his armor bearer, come
34:53
Speaker 1: up after me, for the Lord has delivered them into
34:56
Speaker 1: the hand of Israel. What followed was extraordinary. Jonathan, followed
35:01
Speaker 1: by his armor bearer, climbed the rock on his hands
35:04
Speaker 1: and knees and began to defeat the Philistines. In this
35:07
Speaker 1: initial attack, about twenty men fell within an area of
35:11
Speaker 1: approximately half an acre a by small plot of land
35:15
Speaker 1: that a team of oxen could plow in half a day.
35:18
Speaker 1: The impact of this attack was amplified by divine intervention.
35:22
Speaker 1: Then panic struck the whole army, those in the camp
35:26
Speaker 1: and field and those in the outposts and raiding parties,
35:29
Speaker 1: and the ground shook. It was a panic sent by God.
35:34
Speaker 1: The confusion among the Philistines was so great that every
35:38
Speaker 1: man's sword was against his fellow, and there was very
35:40
Speaker 1: great confusion. Saul's sentries in Gibeah observed that the multitude
35:45
Speaker 1: of the Philistines was melting away in all directions. When
35:51
Speaker 1: Saul checked who was missing among his men, he discovered
35:54
Speaker 1: the absence of Jonathan and his armor bearer. Quickly, the
35:58
Speaker 1: king ordered the priest Ahija to bring the Ark of
36:02
Speaker 1: God to consult the Lord. However, seeing the growing chaos
36:06
Speaker 1: in the Philistine camp, Saul became impatient once again and
36:10
Speaker 1: said to the priest, withdraw your hand once more. Saul
36:15
Speaker 1: hastily interrupted a religious procedure, revealing his tendency toward impatience
36:20
Speaker 1: in spiritual matters. Saul and his men hurried to the battle,
36:24
Speaker 1: and when they arrived they found something surprising. Every man's
36:28
Speaker 1: sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion. Additionally,
36:35
Speaker 1: the Hebrews, who had previously been with the Philistines also
36:39
Speaker 1: joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. The
36:42
Speaker 1: rebellion against the oppressor gained strength, and all the men
36:46
Speaker 1: of Israel who had hidden in the hill country of
36:48
Speaker 1: Ephraim also joined the attack. When they heard that the
36:52
Speaker 1: Philistines were fleeing. The Bible sums up this moment with
36:56
Speaker 1: a significant phrase, So the Lord saved Israel that day. Clearly,
37:02
Speaker 1: the victory was not attributed to Saul's leadership, but to
37:06
Speaker 1: Jonathan's faithful initiative and divine intervention. In the midst of
37:11
Speaker 1: the battle, however, Saul made another judgment error that almost
37:16
Speaker 1: had tragic consequences. He pronounced a reckless oath, cursed be
37:21
Speaker 1: anyone who eats food before evening comes before I have
37:24
Speaker 1: avenged myself on my enemies. This oath, made without considering
37:30
Speaker 1: the practical needs of soldiers in combat, reflected Saul's tendency
37:34
Speaker 1: to make impulsive decisions based on his emotions of the moment.
37:39
Speaker 1: The result was that all the people went without food,
37:42
Speaker 1: weakening during the pursuit of the Philistines. Jonathan, who had
37:46
Speaker 1: not heard his father's oath, ate some honey he found
37:50
Speaker 1: in a forest. When informed about the oath, he commented,
37:54
Speaker 1: my father has troubled the land. See how my eyes
37:57
Speaker 1: brightened because I tasted a little of this honey. How
38:00
Speaker 1: much better if the men had eaten freely to day
38:03
Speaker 1: of the spoil of their enemies that they found for now,
38:07
Speaker 1: the slaughter among the Philistines has not been great. This
38:11
Speaker 1: comment revealed the contrast between Jonathan's practical wisdom and his
38:16
Speaker 1: father's impulsive leadership. By evening, exhausted and hungry, the soldiers
38:21
Speaker 1: rushed upon the plunder, slaughtering animals and eating meat with blood,
38:26
Speaker 1: a violation of Mosaic law. When Saul was informed, he
38:31
Speaker 1: ordered a large stone to be rolled to him so
38:34
Speaker 1: that the animals could be slaughtered properly. He also built
38:37
Speaker 1: his first altar to the Lord. Saul wanted to continue
38:41
Speaker 1: the pursuit during the night, but when he consulted God
38:44
Speaker 1: through the priest, he received no answer. Interpreting this silence
38:48
Speaker 1: as a sign that a sin had been committed, Saul vowed,
38:52
Speaker 1: as surely as the Lord who saves Israel lives, even
38:55
Speaker 1: if it lies with my son Jonathan, he must die
38:58
Speaker 1: by casting lots. Jonathan was identified as guilty and confessed
39:02
Speaker 1: to eating the honey. Saul, unwavering, declared, may God deal
39:07
Speaker 1: with me, be it ever so severely if you do
39:10
Speaker 1: not die, Jonathan. But the people, recognizing Jonathan's crucial role
39:16
Speaker 1: in the victory, intervened, shall Jonathan die, who has worked
39:20
Speaker 1: this great salvation in Israel. Far from it. As the
39:24
Speaker 1: Lord lives, not one hair of his head shall fall
39:27
Speaker 1: to the ground. Thus the people rescued Jonathan so that
39:31
Speaker 1: he did not die. This episode revealed several problematic aspects
39:36
Speaker 1: of Saul's leadership, a tendency toward impulsive and impractical oaths,
39:42
Speaker 1: rigidity in enforcing his own orders even when counterproductive, and
39:47
Speaker 1: a willingness to sacrifice even his own son over a
39:50
Speaker 1: poorly conceived principle. In contrast, Jonathan emerged as a figure
39:55
Speaker 1: of authentic faith, courage, and practical good sense is increasingly
40:01
Speaker 1: lacking in his father. After the victory over the Philistines,
40:05
Speaker 1: Saul consolidated his rule, waging wars against various enemies of Israel,
40:11
Speaker 1: the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, the kings of Zoba, and the
40:15
Speaker 1: Philistines themselves. The Bible reports that wherever he turned, he
40:20
Speaker 1: was victorious, indicating a period of expansion and security for
40:25
Speaker 1: Israel under his military leadership. Amid these successes, Samuel came
40:30
Speaker 1: to Saul with a specific mission from God, go attack
40:35
Speaker 1: the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them.
40:39
Speaker 1: Do not spare them. Put to death men and women,
40:42
Speaker 1: children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys. The
40:46
Speaker 1: Amalekites were ancient enemies of Israel, having been the first
40:50
Speaker 1: to attack them after leaving Egypt when they were still
40:53
Speaker 1: vulnerable in the desert. God had declared a special sentence
40:58
Speaker 1: against them Exodus seventeen fourteen sixteen, and now the time
41:03
Speaker 1: had come to execute it. While this order of total
41:06
Speaker 1: destruction may seem extremely severe to modern eyes, in the
41:10
Speaker 1: context of ancient wars in the Middle East, it represented
41:14
Speaker 1: an act of delayed divine justice against a nation that
41:17
Speaker 1: had repeatedly attacked Israel without provocation. Saul gathered a large
41:23
Speaker 1: army two hundred thousand foot soldiers plus ten thousand men
41:27
Speaker 1: of Judah and set an ambush in a valley. Before attacking,
41:32
Speaker 1: he warned the Kenites to move away from the Amalekites
41:36
Speaker 1: so that I do not destroy you along with them,
41:39
Speaker 1: for you showed kindness to all the Israelites. The Kenites
41:43
Speaker 1: were descendants of Moses father in law, and had been
41:46
Speaker 1: friendly to Israel. Saul defeated the Amalekites from Havilah to Shur,
41:52
Speaker 1: near the border of Egypt. However, instead of fully obeying
41:55
Speaker 1: the divine command, Saul and the people spared a gag
42:00
Speaker 1: the Amalekite king and the best of the sheep cattle,
42:03
Speaker 1: fattened animal's lambs and everything that was good they were
42:07
Speaker 1: unwilling to completely destroy them, But everything that was despised
42:12
Speaker 1: and worthless they totally destroyed. This selective obedience revealed the
42:18
Speaker 1: real issue. Saul and the people considered their own judgment
42:23
Speaker 1: superior to the divine command. They decided on their own
42:27
Speaker 1: what was valuable and should be spared, and what was
42:30
Speaker 1: despicable and could be destroyed as ordered. God spoke to
42:35
Speaker 1: Samuel about Saul's disobedience. I regret that I have made
42:39
Speaker 1: Saul king because he has turned away from me and
42:42
Speaker 1: has not carried out my instructions. Samuel, deeply troubled, cried
42:47
Speaker 1: out to the Lord all night, showing his anguish over
42:50
Speaker 1: the failure of the king he had anointed. When Samuel
42:53
Speaker 1: went to meet Saul the next morning, the king greeted
42:56
Speaker 1: him with a deceptively confident salutation, the eye Lord bless you.
43:02
Speaker 1: I have carried out the Lord's instructions. Saul's self deception
43:06
Speaker 1: was so profound that he genuinely believed he had been obedient.
43:10
Speaker 1: Despite his blatant disobedience, Samuel responded with a straightforward question,
43:16
Speaker 1: what then, is this bleating of sheep in my ears?
43:20
Speaker 1: What is this lowing of cattle that I hear? The
43:24
Speaker 1: evidence of disobedience was both audible and undeniable. Saul immediately
43:29
Speaker 1: shifted the blame to the people. The soldiers brought them
43:32
Speaker 1: from the Amalekites. They spared the best of the sheep
43:35
Speaker 1: and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord, your God, but
43:38
Speaker 1: we totally destroyed the rest. This justification exposed too serious issues.
43:45
Speaker 1: Saul was avoiding responsibility as a leader and using religion
43:49
Speaker 1: sacrifices to the Lord to justify his disobedience. Samuel interrupted, Saul, stop,
43:56
Speaker 1: let me tell you what the Lord said to me
43:58
Speaker 1: last night. When reminded Saul of his humble beginnings and
44:03
Speaker 1: how God had elevated him to be king of Israel,
44:05
Speaker 1: sending him on a specific mission against the Amalekites, the
44:09
Speaker 1: implicit question was clear, How could someone so blessed and
44:13
Speaker 1: elevated by God disobey so flagrantly? Saul insisted, but I
44:19
Speaker 1: did obey the Lord. I went on the mission the
44:22
Speaker 1: Lord assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought
44:26
Speaker 1: back a gag their king. The soldiers took sheep and
44:29
Speaker 1: cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted
44:32
Speaker 1: to God, in order to sacrifice them to the Lord
44:35
Speaker 1: your God. At Gilgal. Samuel's response became one of the
44:40
Speaker 1: most memorable prophetic statements in scripture. Does the Lord delight
44:45
Speaker 1: in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying
44:49
Speaker 1: the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to
44:53
Speaker 1: heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion
44:56
Speaker 1: is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the
45:00
Speaker 1: evil of idolatry. Samuel then delivered the divine judgment. Because
45:05
Speaker 1: you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has
45:07
Speaker 1: rejected you as king. This second rejection was more severe
45:12
Speaker 1: than the first. In Gilgal, Previously, only Saul's dynasty had
45:16
Speaker 1: been rejected. Now he himself was rejected as king. Faced
45:22
Speaker 1: with this condemnation, Saul finally admitted, I have sinned. I
45:27
Speaker 1: violated the Lord's command and your instructions. I was afraid
45:31
Speaker 1: of the men, and so I gave in to them. Ju.
45:35
Speaker 1: Although he confessed his wrongdoing, Saul continued to shift part
45:39
Speaker 1: of the blame to the people, and more importantly, showed
45:42
Speaker 1: no genuine understanding of the gravity of his disobedience. His
45:48
Speaker 1: primary concern became preserving his public image. Now I beg
45:52
Speaker 1: you forgive my sin and come back with me so
45:55
Speaker 1: that I may worship the Lord. Samuel initially refused, and
45:59
Speaker 1: as he turned and to leave, Saul grabbed his robe,
46:02
Speaker 1: which tore. Samuel used this incident as a powerful metaphor,
46:07
Speaker 1: the Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you
46:10
Speaker 1: today and has given it to one of your neighbors,
46:13
Speaker 1: to one better than you. Under pressure, Samuel finally agreed
46:18
Speaker 1: to go back with Saul so that he could publicly
46:21
Speaker 1: worship the Lord, maintaining the appearance of unity between the
46:25
Speaker 1: king and the prophet before the people. After this, Samuel
46:30
Speaker 1: ordered a gag the Amalekite king, whom Saul had spared,
46:34
Speaker 1: to be brought to him with a solemn declaration, as
46:38
Speaker 1: your sword has made women childless, so will your mother
46:41
Speaker 1: be childless among women. Samuel personally executed divine judgment, killing
46:47
Speaker 1: a gag before the Lord at Gilgal. After this episode,
46:53
Speaker 1: Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of
46:57
Speaker 1: his death. Though Samuel mourned for him, and the Lord
47:00
Speaker 1: regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel. This
47:04
Speaker 1: separation between the prophet and the king symbolized the broken
47:08
Speaker 1: relationship between God and Saul. Although Samuel's mourning showed his
47:13
Speaker 1: continued compassion for the man he had anointed, God's rejection
47:17
Speaker 1: of Saul as king marked a point of no return
47:21
Speaker 1: in his story. Although he continued to occupy the throne
47:24
Speaker 1: for many years, he had lost the spiritual legitimacy that
47:28
Speaker 1: was fundamental to the Israelite concept of monarchy. A king
47:32
Speaker 1: in Israel was not just a political leader. He was
47:36
Speaker 1: also a representative of God's sovereignty, the true king of Israel.
47:42
Speaker 1: Samuel's statement rebellion is like the sin of divination, and
47:47
Speaker 1: arrogance like the evil of idolatry, placed Saul's disobedience in
47:51
Speaker 1: a shockingly theological perspective. In Israelite law, both witchcraft and
47:57
Speaker 1: idolatry were punishable by death. Thus, Samuel was conveying that
48:02
Speaker 1: from a spiritual viewpoint, Saul's sin was equivalent to the
48:06
Speaker 1: gravest possible transgressions of the Covenant. The proclamation to obey
48:12
Speaker 1: is better than sacrifice established a lasting principle in Biblical tradition,
48:17
Speaker 1: sincere obedience is more important than outward religious rituals. This
48:22
Speaker 1: principle would later be reaffirmed by prophets like Isaiah, who
48:26
Speaker 1: strongly criticized empty religious formalism, and by Jesus himself, who
48:31
Speaker 1: frequently confronted the external religiosity of the Pharisees. When Samuel
48:37
Speaker 1: tore his robe while attempting to leave, the symbolism was powerful.
48:41
Speaker 1: In ancient Near Eastern culture, tearing one's garments was a
48:45
Speaker 1: gesture of deep mourning or despair, but in this case
48:49
Speaker 1: it served as a prophetic sign. The Lord has torn
48:53
Speaker 1: the kingdom of Israel from you to day and has
48:56
Speaker 1: given it to your neighbor, who is better than you.
48:59
Speaker 1: This declaration not only indicated that Saul had lost the kingdom,
49:03
Speaker 1: but also that his successor had already been chosen, although
49:08
Speaker 1: not yet publicly identified. The addition of who is better
49:12
Speaker 1: than you is significant. It did not necessarily refer to
49:18
Speaker 1: external qualities or abilities, but to the essential quality that
49:22
Speaker 1: Saul had demonstrated, a lack of the willingness to obey
49:27
Speaker 1: God completely. This would be the fundamental contrast between Saul
49:31
Speaker 1: and his successor David. While Saul was partially obedient and
49:35
Speaker 1: justified his failures, David, despite his own grave sins, would
49:40
Speaker 1: demonstrate a genuinely repentant heart and a willingness to fully
49:44
Speaker 1: submit to the divine will. Saul's repentance, I have sinned,
49:49
Speaker 1: for I have transgressed the Lord's command, seemed more concerned
49:53
Speaker 1: with the consequences of his actions than with the offense
49:56
Speaker 1: against God. His insistence that Samuel returned with him to
50:00
Speaker 1: worship the Lord revealed a greater concern for public appearances
50:05
Speaker 1: than for his relationship with God. As one commentator noted,
50:10
Speaker 1: Saul feared the people more than God, and now he
50:14
Speaker 1: feared losing his honor before the people more than losing
50:17
Speaker 1: his soul before God. Samuel's execution of a gag demonstrated
50:23
Speaker 1: the seriousness of divine judgment and the prophets determination to
50:27
Speaker 1: fulfill the command that Saul had neglected. The statement before
50:31
Speaker 1: the execution, as your sword has made women childless, so
50:36
Speaker 1: will your mother be childless among women suggested that a
50:40
Speaker 1: gag had been responsible for atrocities against Israelites, possibly further
50:45
Speaker 1: justifying the severity of the sentence against him and his people.
50:49
Speaker 1: Samuel's final lament for Saul is touching. Even after pronouncing
50:53
Speaker 1: divine judgment, the prophet mourned for Saul. This reflects both
50:58
Speaker 1: the prophet's human compassion and possibly his disappointment in seeing
51:02
Speaker 1: the failure of Israel's first monarchical experiment. The man he
51:06
Speaker 1: had anointed with hope was now rejected and the nation's
51:11
Speaker 1: future was once again uncertain. The Lord's regret for making
51:15
Speaker 1: Saul king does not imply error or change on God's part,
51:19
Speaker 1: but expresses divine sorrow over human failure. God had given
51:26
Speaker 1: Saul every opportunity to be a successful king, including anointing,
51:31
Speaker 1: spiritual power, military victories, and prophetic guidance, but Saul repeatedly
51:37
Speaker 1: chose his own way. The separation between Samuel and Saul
51:42
Speaker 1: Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of
51:45
Speaker 1: his death, signified the removal of Saul's direct access to
51:50
Speaker 1: prophetic guidance. While he remained king in the political sense,
51:55
Speaker 1: he had lost the vital connection to the divine will
51:58
Speaker 1: that should guide an i Israelite king. This rupture between
52:02
Speaker 1: the monarchy and prophecy would foreshadow future challenges in the kingdom,
52:07
Speaker 1: when kings would often clash with prophets for deviating from
52:10
Speaker 1: God's will. Thus ended not the political reign of Saul,
52:15
Speaker 1: but his legitimacy as gods anointed. From this point, the
52:20
Speaker 1: biblical narrative would increasingly focus on the neighbor whom God
52:25
Speaker 1: had chosen to replace Saul, a young shepherd from Bethlehem
52:29
Speaker 1: who would become Israel's greatest king and the ancestor of
52:33
Speaker 1: the future Messiah. After rejecting Saul as king, God did
52:37
Speaker 1: not leave Israel's throne vacant. The Lord said to Samuel,
52:41
Speaker 1: how long will you mourn for Saul since I have
52:44
Speaker 1: rejected him as king over Israel. Fill your horn with
52:47
Speaker 1: oil and be on your way. I am sending you
52:50
Speaker 1: to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his
52:53
Speaker 1: sons to be king. Samuel, fearing for his own life
52:58
Speaker 1: if Saul discovered his mission, was instructed by God to
53:02
Speaker 1: say he was going to offer a sacrifice in Bethlehem.
53:06
Speaker 1: The town's elders received him with fear, asking if he
53:09
Speaker 1: came in peace. Samuel reassured them and invited Jesse and
53:13
Speaker 1: his sons to the sacrifice. When Samuel saw Eliab, Jesse's
53:18
Speaker 1: eldest son, he thought, surely, the Lord's anointed stands here
53:22
Speaker 1: before the Lord. However, God corrected him with words that
53:27
Speaker 1: would become a fundamental biblical principle. Do not consider his
53:31
Speaker 1: appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The
53:35
Speaker 1: Lord does not look at the things people look at.
53:38
Speaker 1: People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks
53:41
Speaker 1: at the heart. One by one, seven of Jesse's sons
53:45
Speaker 1: passed before Samuel, but none were chosen. When Samuel asked
53:49
Speaker 1: if there were any more sons, Jesse mentioned only the youngest,
53:53
Speaker 1: who was tending the sheep. This was David, described as ruddy,
53:57
Speaker 1: with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. As soon as
54:01
Speaker 1: Samuel saw him, the Lord said, rise and anoint him.
54:06
Speaker 1: This is the one. Samuel anointed David in the presence
54:10
Speaker 1: of his brothers, and from that day on the spirit
54:13
Speaker 1: of the Lord came powerfully upon David Hudi. This was
54:17
Speaker 1: a pivotal moment, not only for David, but also for Saul.
54:21
Speaker 1: As the Bible adds, now, the spirit of the Lord
54:24
Speaker 1: had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the
54:27
Speaker 1: Lord tormented him. Saul's servants, noticing the change in his behavior,
54:33
Speaker 1: suggested see an evil spirit from God is tormenting you.
54:38
Speaker 1: Let our Lord command his servants here to search for
54:41
Speaker 1: someone who can play the harp. He will play when
54:44
Speaker 1: the evil spirit from God comes on you, and you
54:47
Speaker 1: will feel better. One of the servants mentioned knowing a
54:51
Speaker 1: son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play
54:54
Speaker 1: the liar. He is a brave man and a warrior.
54:58
Speaker 1: He speaks well and is a fine looking man, and
55:01
Speaker 1: the Lord is with him. Thus David was brought to
55:04
Speaker 1: Saul's court, without the king knowing he was standing before
55:07
Speaker 1: the young man, already anointed to replace him. Saul immediately
55:12
Speaker 1: liked him very much, and David became one of his
55:15
Speaker 1: armor bearers ruder. Whenever the evil spirit tormented Saul, David
55:20
Speaker 1: would play his harp, and Saul would calm down and
55:23
Speaker 1: feel better. Initially, Saul developed great affection for David, even
55:28
Speaker 1: asking Jesse to allow the young man to remain permanently
55:31
Speaker 1: in his service. The irony is profound. The man whom
55:35
Speaker 1: God had rejected now depended for his well being on
55:39
Speaker 1: the man whom God had chosen to replace him. It
55:42
Speaker 1: didn't take long for David to have an opportunity to
55:45
Speaker 1: demonstrate his value beyond music. The Philistines gathered for battle
55:50
Speaker 1: against Israel, and a champion named Goliath, nearly three meters tall,
55:55
Speaker 1: daily challenged the Israelites to send a man to fight
55:58
Speaker 1: him in single combat, with the winner determining the fate
56:01
Speaker 1: of both armies. David, who would go to the camp
56:05
Speaker 1: to bring supplies to his brothers serving in the army,
56:07
Speaker 1: heard Goliath's challenge and volunteered to face him. When brought
56:12
Speaker 1: to Saul, the King doubted, you are not able to
56:15
Speaker 1: go against this philistine to fight with him, for you
56:19
Speaker 1: are but a youth, and he a man of war.
56:21
Speaker 1: From his youth, however, David recounted how he had killed
56:25
Speaker 1: a lion and a bear while protecting his father's sheep,
56:29
Speaker 1: and confidently declared, the Lord who delivered me from the
56:32
Speaker 1: poor of the lion and from the paw of the bear,
56:35
Speaker 1: will deliver me from the hand of this philistine. Refusing
56:39
Speaker 1: Saul's armor, David faced Goliath with only his sling and
56:42
Speaker 1: five smooth stones. Facing the giant's mockery, David replied, you
56:48
Speaker 1: come to me with a sword, with a spear, and
56:51
Speaker 1: with a shield, But I come to you in the
56:53
Speaker 1: name of the Lord of Hosts, though de with precision,
56:57
Speaker 1: he struck Goliath on the forehead with a stove, knocking
57:00
Speaker 1: him down, and then killed him with his own sword.
57:04
Speaker 1: The victory was transformative. The Philistines fled and Israel won
57:09
Speaker 1: a great victory. Saul, impressed but also intrigued, asked Abner,
57:15
Speaker 1: the commander of the army, whose son is this youth.
57:19
Speaker 1: Although David had already served in the court as a musician,
57:23
Speaker 1: this question suggests that Saul had not paid much attention
57:26
Speaker 1: to his identity and lineage until that moment. After the victory,
57:30
Speaker 1: as the soldiers returned, women came out of all the
57:34
Speaker 1: cities of Israel, singing and dancing with tambourines and joy
57:38
Speaker 1: and sang Saul has slain his thousands and David his
57:43
Speaker 1: ten thousands. This comparison struck Saul in his most sensitive spot,
57:49
Speaker 1: his pride and insecurity. Then Saul was very angry, and
57:53
Speaker 1: the saying displeased him, and he said, they have ascribed
57:56
Speaker 1: to David ten thousands and to me only thousands. What
58:00
Speaker 1: more can he have but the kingdom? From that day forward,
58:04
Speaker 1: Saul looked at David with suspicion. Jealousy quickly turned into
58:09
Speaker 1: paranoia and hatred. The next day, a distressing spirit from
58:14
Speaker 1: God came upon Saul, and while David played the harp
58:18
Speaker 1: as usual, Saul tried to kill him by throwing his
58:21
Speaker 1: spear at him. David managed to dodge twice. Realizing that
58:25
Speaker 1: the Lord was with David and had departed from him,
58:29
Speaker 1: Saul began to fear the young man. The king removed
58:32
Speaker 1: David from his immediate presence, making him a commander over
58:36
Speaker 1: a thousand men, But this attempt to diminish David only
58:41
Speaker 1: elevated him further in the eyes of the people, for
58:44
Speaker 1: he behaved wisely in all his ways, and the Lord
58:48
Speaker 1: was with him. Seeing David's growing favor among the people,
58:52
Speaker 1: Saul conceived a plan to eliminate him. He offered his
58:55
Speaker 1: eldest daughter, Morab as a wife to David, thinking let
58:59
Speaker 1: not my hand be against him, but let the hand
59:02
Speaker 1: of the Philistines be against him. However, when the time
59:06
Speaker 1: came for marriage, Saul gave Merab to another man. When
59:10
Speaker 1: Saul learned that his younger daughter, Michal loved David, he
59:14
Speaker 1: saw another opportunity. He demanded as a bride price a
59:18
Speaker 1: hundred foreskins of the Philistines, hoping David would die trying
59:22
Speaker 1: to obtain them. To his dismay, David not only met
59:26
Speaker 1: the requirement but exceeded it, bringing two hundred Philistine foreskins. Thus,
59:32
Speaker 1: Saul had no choice but to give him Michael as
59:35
Speaker 1: his wife. This marriage, far from satisfying, Saul, only intensified
59:42
Speaker 1: his fear and hatred. When Saul saw and knew that
59:45
Speaker 1: the Lord was with David and that Mihal, his daughter,
59:49
Speaker 1: loved him, he was even more afraid of David, and
59:52
Speaker 1: Saul became David's enemy. Continually. Saul's hatred for David reached
59:57
Speaker 1: a critical point when he openly spoke to Jonathan and
1:00:00
Speaker 1: his servants about his intention to kill David. Jonathan, who
1:00:05
Speaker 1: greatly delighted in David, warned him and interceded with his father.
1:00:11
Speaker 1: Let not the King sin against his servant David, because
1:00:16
Speaker 1: he has not sinned against you, and because his works
1:00:19
Speaker 1: have been very good toward you. Why then, will you
1:00:22
Speaker 1: sin against innocent blood to kill David without a cause. Initially,
1:00:27
Speaker 1: Saul listened to Jonathan and swore, as the Lord lives,
1:00:31
Speaker 1: he shall not be killed. David returned to the court,
1:00:35
Speaker 1: but the reconciliation was brief. During a new war against
1:00:40
Speaker 1: the Philistines, David achieved another great victory when he returned
1:00:44
Speaker 1: to Saul's presence, the distressing spirit again came upon the king,
1:00:49
Speaker 1: who once more tried to pin David to the wall
1:00:51
Speaker 1: with his spear while he played. David fled to his house,
1:00:55
Speaker 1: but Saul sent messengers to watch him and kill him.
1:00:58
Speaker 1: In the morning, Michail, David's wife and Saul's daughter, warned him,
1:01:03
Speaker 1: if you do not save your life to night tomorrow,
1:01:05
Speaker 1: you will be killed. She helped him escape through a
1:01:09
Speaker 1: window and placed a statue in the bed with a
1:01:11
Speaker 1: goat's skin on its head to buy time. David fled
1:01:16
Speaker 1: to Rama, where Samuel was, and told him everything Saul
1:01:20
Speaker 1: had done to him. When Zaul learned where David was,
1:01:23
Speaker 1: he sent messengers to capture him. Then an extraordinary event
1:01:27
Speaker 1: occurred as they approached Samuel and a group of prophets
1:01:30
Speaker 1: who were prophesying the spirit of God came upon Saul's
1:01:35
Speaker 1: messengers and they also prophesied. Saul sent two more groups
1:01:39
Speaker 1: of messengers, and the same happened to them. Finally, Saul
1:01:44
Speaker 1: went to Ramah personally. As he approached the spirit of
1:01:48
Speaker 1: God came upon him, and he went on prophesying until
1:01:52
Speaker 1: he came to Nioth in Ramah. There he stripped off
1:01:57
Speaker 1: his clothes and prophesied before Sammle and lay down naked
1:02:01
Speaker 1: all that day and all that night. This episode led
1:02:05
Speaker 1: the people to ask again, is Saul also among the prophets,
1:02:09
Speaker 1: reviving the saying from when Saul had been anointed king.
1:02:14
Speaker 1: This strange incident demonstrated how despite Saul's rejection as king,
1:02:19
Speaker 1: God could still use him for divine purposes and temporarily
1:02:23
Speaker 1: prevent him from harming David. It also suggested the deep
1:02:27
Speaker 1: irony of the situation. The man who had been initially
1:02:31
Speaker 1: chosen for his leadership was now completely out of control,
1:02:35
Speaker 1: stripped of both his dignity and his effective authority. David
1:02:40
Speaker 1: took this opportunity to escape from Ramah and secretly meet
1:02:44
Speaker 1: with Jonathan. They renewed their covenant of friendship, and Jonathan
1:02:48
Speaker 1: promised to find out his father's true intentions. When David
1:02:54
Speaker 1: did not appear at Saul's table for the New Moon feast,
1:02:57
Speaker 1: the king asked about him. Nathan explained that he had
1:03:01
Speaker 1: given David permission to go to Bethlehem for a family sacrifice.
1:03:05
Speaker 1: Saul's reaction was explosive and revealing, You, son of a
1:03:09
Speaker 1: perverse and rebellious woman. Don't I know that you have
1:03:12
Speaker 1: chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and
1:03:16
Speaker 1: to the shame of the nakedness of your mother. Saul
1:03:19
Speaker 1: openly declared that is long as David lived, Jonathan's kingdom
1:03:24
Speaker 1: would not be established, and he ordered that David be
1:03:27
Speaker 1: brought so he could be killed. When Jonathan questioned, why
1:03:32
Speaker 1: should he be put to death? What has he done?
1:03:35
Speaker 1: Saul hurled his spear at his own son. This act
1:03:38
Speaker 1: of extreme violence against his heir showed how deeply hatred
1:03:42
Speaker 1: and madness had consumed Saul. Jonathan, finally understanding that his
1:03:47
Speaker 1: father was determined to kill David, warned his friend to
1:03:51
Speaker 1: flee permanently. David fled to nob where he sought help
1:03:55
Speaker 1: from the priest a Himelech, unaware of the rift between
1:03:59
Speaker 1: Saul and David. Vid A Himelecht provided him with sacred
1:04:02
Speaker 1: bread and the sword of Goliath, which was stored in
1:04:05
Speaker 1: the tabernacle. Unfortunately for the priest, doeg the Edomite, chief
1:04:10
Speaker 1: of Saul's herdsman, was present and witnessed everything. David continued
1:04:16
Speaker 1: his escape, passing through Gath, where he pretended to be
1:04:19
Speaker 1: insane to avoid the Philistine king Akish, and then hid
1:04:23
Speaker 1: in the cave of Adullam. There his family joined him,
1:04:26
Speaker 1: along with all those who were distressed in debt or discontented,
1:04:30
Speaker 1: forming a group of about four hundred men. Meanwhile, Saul
1:04:35
Speaker 1: was in Gibeah, surrounded by his servants, lamenting that no
1:04:39
Speaker 1: one would inform him about his son Jonathan's plans with David.
1:04:43
Speaker 1: It was then that Doeg the Edomite spoke up. I
1:04:48
Speaker 1: saw the son of Jesse come to nob to a
1:04:50
Speaker 1: Himelech's son of Ahitoub. He inquired of the lord for him,
1:04:55
Speaker 1: gave him provisions and the sword of Goliath. The Philistine
1:04:59
Speaker 1: Saul immediately summoned a Himelech and all his father's household,
1:05:04
Speaker 1: the priests who were at nob When questioned, a Himelech
1:05:09
Speaker 1: honestly replied that he had helped David, believing he was
1:05:13
Speaker 1: on an official mission from the king. Who, among all
1:05:17
Speaker 1: your servants, is as loyal as David, the King's son
1:05:20
Speaker 1: in law, captain of your bodyguard, and highly respected in
1:05:24
Speaker 1: your household. Disregarding a Himelech's reasonable explanation, Saul decreed, you
1:05:31
Speaker 1: will surely die a Himelech, you and your whole family.
1:05:35
Speaker 1: He then ordered his guards to kill the priests, but
1:05:38
Speaker 1: they refused to lay their hands on the priests of
1:05:41
Speaker 1: the lord. Saul therefore commanded Dock, who killed eighty five
1:05:46
Speaker 1: men who wore the linen ephord that day. Saul's violence
1:05:50
Speaker 1: did not stop there. He attacked nob the city of
1:05:53
Speaker 1: the priests, putting to the sword men and women, children
1:05:57
Speaker 1: and infants, cattle, monkeys, and sheep. Only Abiathar, one of
1:06:03
Speaker 1: a Himelech's sons, managed to escape and flee to David.
1:06:07
Speaker 1: When he learned of the massacre, David lamented, I knew
1:06:11
Speaker 1: on that day when doing the Edomite was there that
1:06:14
Speaker 1: he would surely tell Saul I am responsible for the
1:06:17
Speaker 1: death of your whole family. David offered Abiathar protection. Stay
1:06:22
Speaker 1: with me. Do not be afraid the man who wants
1:06:25
Speaker 1: to kill you is trying to kill me too. You
1:06:28
Speaker 1: will be safe with me. This brutal act by Saul
1:06:32
Speaker 1: against the Lord's priests revealed how far his moral and
1:06:37
Speaker 1: spiritual decline had gone. Killing priests was considered a terrible sacrilege,
1:06:43
Speaker 1: especially in a theocratic nation like Israel. The massacre at
1:06:47
Speaker 1: nob marked Saul as a king not only rejected by God,
1:06:51
Speaker 1: but also in open rebellion against Israel's sacred institutions. The
1:06:57
Speaker 1: persecution of David continued relentlessly. Saul and his army sought
1:07:02
Speaker 1: him every day, but God did not deliver him into
1:07:05
Speaker 1: his hands. David moved constantly, gathering followers and even protecting
1:07:10
Speaker 1: Israelite cities from Philistine attacks such as Klah. Even when
1:07:15
Speaker 1: David saved his own people, Saul saw it only as
1:07:18
Speaker 1: an opportunity to capture him. During this pursuit, David had
1:07:23
Speaker 1: two remarkable opportunities to kill Saul, but chose to spare him.
1:07:28
Speaker 1: The first occurred in the cave of Engeddi. Saul entered
1:07:31
Speaker 1: alone into the cave where David and his men were hiding.
1:07:35
Speaker 1: David's men urged him, this is the day the Lord
1:07:38
Speaker 1: spoke of when he said to you, I will give
1:07:41
Speaker 1: your enemy into your hands for you to deal with
1:07:44
Speaker 1: as you wish. David only secretly cut off a corner
1:07:48
Speaker 1: of Saul's robe. After Saul left the cave, David called
1:07:53
Speaker 1: out to him and bowed with his face to the ground,
1:07:56
Speaker 1: showing the corner of the robe, and saying, why do
1:07:59
Speaker 1: you listen when men say David is bent on harming you?
1:08:03
Speaker 1: This day? You have seen with your own eyes how
1:08:06
Speaker 1: the Lord delivered you into my hands in the cave.
1:08:09
Speaker 1: I will not lay my hand on my lord, because
1:08:12
Speaker 1: he is the Lord's anointed. Saul, moved by this act
1:08:16
Speaker 1: of mercy, wept and acknowledged you are more righteous than I.
1:08:21
Speaker 1: You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly.
1:08:25
Speaker 1: He admitted that he knew David would be king and
1:08:28
Speaker 1: asked him to swear not to destroy his descendants. David swore, but,
1:08:33
Speaker 1: knowing Saul's instability, did not return with him, preferring to
1:08:38
Speaker 1: keep his distance. The second opportunity came when David and
1:08:42
Speaker 1: Abeshi stealthily entered Saul's camp at night and found the
1:08:46
Speaker 1: king sleeping with his spear stuck in the ground next
1:08:50
Speaker 1: to his head. Abeshi suggested, to day, God has delivered
1:08:55
Speaker 1: your enemy into your hands. Now let me pin him
1:08:58
Speaker 1: to the ground with one thrust of the spear. Once again,
1:09:02
Speaker 1: David refused to harm the Lord's anointed, only taking the
1:09:06
Speaker 1: spear and the water jug from Saul's head. From a
1:09:09
Speaker 1: safe place, David called out to the army and Abner,
1:09:13
Speaker 1: rebuking them for not properly protecting their king, and showing
1:09:16
Speaker 1: the spear and jug as proof that he could have
1:09:19
Speaker 1: killed Saul. Again, Saul recognized his mistake. I have sinned.
1:09:25
Speaker 1: Come back, my son, David, because you considered my life
1:09:28
Speaker 1: precious to day. I have acted foolishly and have made
1:09:32
Speaker 1: a great mistake. These brief moments of lucidity and remorse
1:09:36
Speaker 1: from Saul are moving, revealing that on some level he
1:09:40
Speaker 1: could still recognize David's righteousness and his own madness. However,
1:09:45
Speaker 1: these moments never lasted, and the pursuit always resumed. Eventually, David,
1:09:51
Speaker 1: despairing of finding safety in Israel while Saul lived, made
1:09:55
Speaker 1: a radical decision to flee to Philistine territory with six
1:10:00
Speaker 1: hundred men and their families. He settled in Ziklag, in
1:10:04
Speaker 1: the land of Akish, king of goth When Saul learned
1:10:07
Speaker 1: that David had fled to the land of the Philistines,
1:10:11
Speaker 1: he no longer sought him. This period brought some peace
1:10:14
Speaker 1: to David, but Saul's downward spiral continued. With Samuel dead,
1:10:19
Speaker 1: the Philistines gathered for a new war against Israel, and
1:10:23
Speaker 1: Saul was afraid, and his heart was greatly troubled. When
1:10:28
Speaker 1: he inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him,
1:10:32
Speaker 1: neither by dreams, nor by urim, nor by prophets. In
1:10:37
Speaker 1: his desperation, Saul made a decision that marked his final
1:10:41
Speaker 1: break with the principles he had sworn to uphold as
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Speaker 1: king of Israel. He ordered his servants, seek me a
1:10:48
Speaker 1: woman who has a familiar spirit, so that I may
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Speaker 1: go to her and inquire of her. Though he himself
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Speaker 1: had expelled mediums and spiritists from Israel according to Moses law,
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Speaker 1: he now sought the very help he had forbidden. Disguised,
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Speaker 1: Saul visited the medium of Endor by night. When she
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Speaker 1: asked whom she should bring up, Saul replied, bring up
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Speaker 1: Samuel for me. To the surprise and terror of the
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Speaker 1: medium herself, Samuel indeed appeared, not by her power, but
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Speaker 1: by divine permission. Samuel's apparition brought no comfort to Saul,
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Speaker 1: only confirmation of his fate. Why have you disturbed me
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Speaker 1: by bringing me up? Since the Lord has departed from
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Speaker 1: you and has become your enemy. The Lord has torn
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Speaker 1: the kingdom out of your hand and given it to
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Speaker 1: your neighbor, to David. To morrow, you and your sons
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Speaker 1: will be with me in the realm of the dead.
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Speaker 1: This revelation that not only he but also his sons
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Speaker 1: would die in battle was devastating for Saul. He fell
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Speaker 1: full length on the ground and was exceedingly afraid, initially
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Speaker 1: refusing to eat. Only after much urging from the medium
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Speaker 1: and his servants did Saul eat a little and depart
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Speaker 1: into the darkness to face his last day as king
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Speaker 1: of Israel. Saul's end came exactly as Samuel had predicted.
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Speaker 1: The next day, Israel faced the Philistines in a battle
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Speaker 1: on Mount Gilboa. The Israelite forces were defeated and fled
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Speaker 1: before the Philistines. The enemy archers overtook Saul and his sons,
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Speaker 1: killing Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malkishwa, the king's sons. The battle
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Speaker 1: grew fierce around Saul, and he was severely wounded by
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Speaker 1: the archers. In his final desperation, Saul said to his
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Speaker 1: armor bearer, draw your sword and thrust me through with it,
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Speaker 1: lest these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and
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Speaker 1: abuse me. The armor bearer, fearing to harm. The king refused,
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Speaker 1: so Saul took his own sword, fell upon it, and died.
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Speaker 1: Seeing this, his armor bearer also so fell on his
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Speaker 1: sword and died with him. The next day, when the
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Speaker 1: Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and
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Speaker 1: his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. They cut off
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Speaker 1: Saul's head, took his armor, and sent messengers throughout the
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Speaker 1: land of the Philistines to proclaim it in the temple
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Speaker 1: of their idols and among the people. They placed Saul's
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Speaker 1: armor in the temple of Ashtaroth and fastened his body
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Speaker 1: and those of his sons to the wall of beth Shahan.
1:13:30
Speaker 1: When the inhabitants of Jabesh Giliad heard what the Philistines
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Speaker 1: had done to Saul, all the valiant men arose, traveled
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Speaker 1: all night and took the body of Saul and the
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Speaker 1: bodies of his sons from the wall of beth Shan.
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Speaker 1: They returned to Jabesh, burned them there, took their bones
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Speaker 1: and buried them under a tree in Jabesh, and fasted
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Speaker 1: seven days. This final act of loyalty and respect by
1:13:58
Speaker 1: the men of Jabesh Gileadad was a tribute to the
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Speaker 1: king who early in his reign, had saved them from
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Speaker 1: Nahash the Ammonite. David, who had returned to Ziklag after
1:14:08
Speaker 1: being dismissed by the Philistines, learned of Saul's death through
1:14:12
Speaker 1: an Amalekite who claimed to have delivered the final blow
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Speaker 1: to the king at his own request. Instead of rewarding
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Speaker 1: the man, David executed him for killing the lords anointed,
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Speaker 1: once again demonstrating his profound respect for Saul's position regardless
1:14:30
Speaker 1: of their personal conflicts. David's lament for the death of
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Speaker 1: Saul and Jonathan is one of the most beautiful elegies
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Speaker 1: in Biblical literature, known as the Song of the Bow.
1:14:42
Speaker 1: In it, David commands tell it not in Gath, proclaim
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Speaker 1: it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters
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Speaker 1: of the Philistines rejoice. He calls upon the mountains of
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Speaker 1: Gilboa to receive neither deew nor reign, lamenting, how the
1:14:58
Speaker 1: mighty have fallen in the midst of battle. Jonathan lies
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Speaker 1: slain on your high places. I am distressed for you,
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Speaker 1: my brother, Jonathan. Your love to me was more wonderful
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Speaker 1: than the love of women. How the mighty have fallen,
1:15:12
Speaker 1: and the weapons of war perished. Notably, in David's lament,
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Speaker 1: there is no mention of Saul's failures. He honors him
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Speaker 1: as the shield of the Mighty and recalls how Saul
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Speaker 1: and Jonathan were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions, and
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Speaker 1: after years of persecution and threats to his life, David
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Speaker 1: chose to remember and celebrate the best of Saul, not
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Speaker 1: the worst. Saul's legacy is complex and tragic. He began
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Speaker 1: with promise and divine anointing, but ended in disobedience, rejection,
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Speaker 1: and death by suicide. His reign, which lasted approximately forty years,
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Speaker 1: saw Israel transform from a tribal confederation into a unified kingdom,
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Speaker 1: but it also witnessed some of the archist episodes in
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Speaker 1: biblical history. Saul's life remains a powerful warning about the
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Speaker 1: dangers of pride, disobedience, and envy. His gradual decline shows
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Speaker 1: how small compromises in matters of obedience can eventually lead
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Speaker 1: to acts of blatant rebellion. His inability to recognize his
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Speaker 1: mistakes and genuinely repent stands in stark contrast to his successor, David, who,
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Speaker 1: despite committing serious sins, demonstrated a truly penitent heart. The
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Speaker 1: story of Israel's first King teaches us that God values
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Speaker 1: obedience over sacrifice, humility over appearance, and a submissive heart
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Speaker 1: over external abilities. As Samuel warned, the Lord does not
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Speaker 1: see as man sees. Man looks at the outward appearance,
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Speaker 1: but the Lord looks at the heart. Saul, the man
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Speaker 1: who stood physically above all Israelites, ultimately proved unfit to
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Speaker 1: lead God's people because he failed the fundamental test of
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Speaker 1: spiritual leadership, complete submission to the divine will. If this
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Speaker 1: story touched your heart and brought new perspectives on obedience, leadership,
1:17:14
Speaker 1: and the danger of pride, don't keep this message to yourself.
1:17:18
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1:17:23
Speaker 1: stories that still have so much to teach us to day.
1:17:27
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1:17:30
Speaker 1: benefit from this reflection on the life of Israel's first king. Together,
1:17:35
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1:17:39
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