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Saul, the First King of Israel
This chapter is based on 1 Samuel 8 to 12.
The government of Israel was administered in the name of God.
The work of Moses, of the seventy elders, of the rulers and judges,
was simply to enforce the laws that God had given—they had no
authority to make laws for the nation. This was the condition on
which Israel was to exist as a nation.
The Lord saw ahead that Israel would want a king, but He did
not change the principles on which the state was founded. The king
was to be the deputy of the Most High. God was the head of the
nation. (See Appendix, Note 7.)
When the Israelites first settled in Canaan, the nation prospered
under the rule of Joshua. But interaction with other nations brought
a change. The people adopted many of the customs of their heathen
neighbors and no longer appreciated the honor of being God’s chosen
people. Attracted by the pomp and display of heathen kings, they
became tired of their own simplicity. Jealousy sprang up between the
tribes and internal quarreling made them weak. They had to deal with
invasion by heathen enemies, and the people were starting to believe
that the tribes must be united under a strong central government.
They wanted to be free from the rule of their divine Sovereign—the
demand for a king became widespread throughout Israel.
Under Samuel’s administration the nation had prospered, order
had been restored, godliness promoted, and the spirit of discontent
held back for the time. But when he got older, the prophet appointed
his two sons to act as his assistants. The young men were stationed at
Beersheba to administer justice among the people near the southern
border of the land.
They did not turn out to be worthy but “turned aside after dis-
honest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.” They had not copied
the pure, unselfish life of their father. To some extent he had been
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