Saul

705 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The importance of God's kingdom

Saul had a remarkable gift at administration, strategy, and government. His imperfection was that he underrated himself. God had given him an incredible victory over Israel’s adversaries, yet he had trouble believing God to liberate him and the nation from opposition. Therefore, this caused Saul to be incompetent because he failed in administering the church (1 Sam. 13), family (1 Sam. 14), and state (1 Sam. 15). God soon disregarded him as king because he failed in his judicial capacity and abused his civil power.
God gave Saul a specific command to destroy the Amalekites and everything that belonged to them (1 Sam. 15:3). The reason for this command stems from payback for what the Amalekites had done from the Israelites after they had left Egypt (Ex. 17:8-16). Saul did not follow through with the instructions he was given. “And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and devoted to the destruction all the people with the edge of the sword.” (1 Sam. 15:8 ESV) Saul permitted some of the people to live and transported the best of the animal and livestock (1 Sam 15:9). God presents that the certainty of judgment is approaching. “The Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” (1 Sam. 15:26b) Saul pays a hefty price for discreetly saying that he was wiser than God.
Samuel explains to Saul that God has shown him grace. “And Samuel said, “Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel.” (1 Sam. 15:17 ESV) God privileged Saul in anointing him king, but he entrusted him to cancel previous business dating back to Moses (Deut. 25:17-19). Saul’s claim was that he fulfilled God’s instructions (1 Sam. 15:15). Saul initially took this campaign serious...

... middle of paper ...

...h me, that I may bow before the LORD your God.” (1 Sam. 15:30) Saul’s concern was to be honored as king and forgiven of his transgression. Samuel made Saul look bad by executing Agag in public (1 Sam. 15:32-33) How humiliating it must have been for Saul to watch Samuel complete God’s mission publically before the elders. Samuel finally accepts Saul’s request and Saul fell prostrate before the Lord.
Saul felt God’s rejection as a leader. He was impulsive, defensive, angry, demanding. God was displeased with his actions. With this revelation Saul asked Samuel and God to forgive him. He remained broken seeking repentance, but never restored to his place of honor. It was a turning point for Saul when he realized the reality of God’s reaction towards his disobedience. Saul did what he believed was right in serving the people and remaining faithful to Samuel and his God.

Show More
Related

  • Saul Indian Horse Analysis

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    I became a brother”(86) is a clear confession of found identity which accompanies him throughout the book. Saul not only desires to find himself, but also tries to preserve his culture and stick to his true roots by calling himself an “Ojibway”. His remarkable hockey abilities allowed him to receive better opportunities which consequently led him into achieving a better lifestyle. We can say, at this point, that hockey involuntarily improved Saul’s independence and connection with the outside society as well as with members of his own culture, but despite the obvious benefit of freedom, his mental well being was continuously hindered by other hockey players since the beginning of his

    Read More

  • Alcoholism In Richard Wagamese's Indian Horse

    1464 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Kellys are not only Saul’s adoptive family but are also a source of support. When Saul lives with the Kellys, the importance of having a support system like them does not dawn upon him because of his fear of forming relationships. Consequently, Saul decides to leave the Kellys because he believes that his self-imposed exile can be beneficial for him. Saul believes that if he detaches himself from human interaction, it will impede any further suffering. Saul states, “feels like I’ve had enough noise and people for a while” (Wagamese 178). Delving into his past is mandatory for Saul to write his story because in order for readers to understand his present state, they must know the events that have transpired beforehand. When Saul looks back on the past he is able to see what decisions and actions have benefited him and which have not. For example, Saul is able to realize that every time he distanced himself from others, he only suffered more. This revelation makes Saul understand that despite his past negative experiences with individuals whom he trusted in the past, he should not completely deprive himself of human interaction. Saul returns to the Kelly’s and no longer fears to show his vulnerable side with them. Saul’s return is proof of him understanding that giving his pain a voice and having other people listen is what will allow him to trek through the pain of the past and the pain that future adversities could cause. Writing his story not only serves Saul to consider the lesson he can learn from living in isolation but also provides First Nations individuals with a lesson on how to deal with

    Read More

  • The Book Of 1 Samuel In The Old Testament Of The Bible

    1838 Words  | 4 Pages

    The people wanted a man to rule them instead of God; they could not see him and they wanted a leader that everyone could see (Pocock, 2002). God chose Saul to be the king and He was initially happy with the decision. God later regretted the decision regarding choosing Saul to be king, because of Saul’s disobedient ways. Saul wasn’t chosen because God thought it would be a wonderful idea; Saul was chosen because of the demands of the people. “And when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! This same shall reign over my people” (KJV, 1 Samuel 9:17). God knew in advance what would happen, and He expresses His feelings in Scripture using human language so we can try to understand Him. God knows the end from the beginning, and is not caught unexpectedly by surprise because of the way things work out here on the planet

    Read More

  • The Book of Judges: Humanity’s Recurrent Nature Exemplified

    642 Words  | 2 Pages

    They were set apart; they had no earthly king and their history was one filled with miracles and impossible victories. Yet Israel’s people were still human; their failures were nearly equal to their victories, and their frequent disobedience towards God had cost them greatly. They were hardly a unified nation, and despite a history rich in God’s provision, they were rebellious. Throughout the book of Judges, Israel falls away from worshipping their God no fewer than six times. Each time, they are invaded by neighboring nations and eventually forced into war.

    Read More

  • Title

    596 Words  | 2 Pages

    One huge difference between Saul and Creon is Saul is obviously more easily convinced of holding a poor opinion than Creon. When Saul declares that his son Jonathan is going to die because he didn’t follow Saul’s command of not eating until they defeated the Philistines, but the Israelites quickly come to Saul’s defense, calling him the hero of Israel. The people argued that since Jonathan has delivered the people from the Philistines on that day, Jonathan was surely working by God’s side, regardless of breaking his father's command, as the Scripture says “But the men said to Saul, ‘Should Jonathan die—he who has brought about this great deliverance in Israel? Never! As surely as the Lord lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for he did this today with God’s help.’ So the men rescued Jonathan, and he was n...

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Richard Wagamese's 'Indian Horse'

    2006 Words  | 5 Pages

    Both Saul Indian Horse and Winston Smith use writing as a means of survival from repression. In Indian Horse, Saul uses writing as a means of seeing what made him turn away from the pain of his rape and cease repressing its happening; for him survive and live on with his life. Saul writes memoirs to find the hidden answers of why he turned to violence and alcoholism and using them to break free of the cycle. From pages two to three Saul says “They say I can’t understand where I’m going if I don’t understand where I’ve been. The answers are within me, according to them. By telling our stories, hardcore drunks like me can set ourselves free from the bottle and the life that took us there …. So Moses gave me permission to write things down. So

    Read More

  • Samuel 24

    1941 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...passage but at the root of it all is David's humanity. Though David was anointed and a “man after God's own heart”, he made many mistakes. This passage shows that David was not perfectly in tune with God's voice at all times. David did something God clearly did not want him to do, and did not realize the consequences until after the sin had already been committed. However, even though David did sin, and his sin was punished, he had a heart of repentance when he realized what he had done and was willing to make things right at all costs. Theologically, the lesson that should be drawn from this is that it was not David's actions which made him great, but his heart to please God, and even greater, God's heart of mercy towards him. If it had not been for God's intervention, David would have been nothing more but another man.

    Read More

  • The Book of 1 Samuel

    893 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1 Samuel 28: 1-25 Yahweh guides Saul to his death because he has outright deceived and disobeyed God. This passage sets an example to obey Yahweh; otherwise he will inflict punishment upon the disobedient. It portrays that Yahweh's love, power, and covenant should never be taken for granted. Saul is, in essence, a pawn in an overall lesson and story by God. It is quite possible that the disobedience of God and punishment inflicted upon him was his very fate that only God could control.

    Read More

  • David Essay

    1025 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...hasizing God played an essential role in his battle with Goliath. The artist wanted to show that in spite of his fragility David managed to defeat someone who was far superior to him when considering each individual’s physical abilities (Adams).

    Read More

  • The Person and Work of Our Lord Jesus Christ- The Atonement

    2935 Words  | 6 Pages

    As we have seen before in Galatians 4 v4, his humiliation was made under the law, even as the Law giver.

    Read More

  • Was Socrates Wise?

    587 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... an opportunity to escape his unjust conviction. He tells his would be saviors what we call today a social contract. A social contract states, simply, that you must obey all laws, no matter if they cause you an injustice because it is the same laws that protect the citizens. There would be no point of laws if people could ignore the ones that they felt were unjust or inconvenient.

    Read More

  • Deuteronomistic View Of King David

    1740 Words  | 4 Pages

    “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in their own sight” (Judg. 21:25). This quote at the end of Judges sets up an optimistic view of kings for the rest of the Deuteronomistic History. King David is considered perhaps the greatest king over all of Israel, whereas King Hezekiah is praised for never turning away from God and being the greatest king among all the kings of Judah (2 Kgs. 5). However, despite the high need for a praise of kings throughout the Deuteronomistic history, Solomon is viewed with a skeptical eye and is the cause of the demise of Israel. Unlike the positive view of kings portrayed throughout the Deuteronomistic history, King Solomon is framed in a negative light in 1 Kings 11: 1-13, which

    Read More

  • Prophet Exegesis: Habakkuk

    1421 Words  | 3 Pages

    After conquering northern Israel in 722 B.C.E., the Assyrians engendered centuries of political intrigue and laid the foundation for future unscrupulous kingdoms and idolatrous people.1 Once the Babylonian empire overthrew Josiah, the King of Judah, Habakkuk began to compose a prophetic book, questioning the ways of God. Above all, Habakkuk could not comprehend why “the evil circumvented the just”2; he thought that the impiety of the world did not correlate with a supposedly just God.3 Throughout his narrative, this biblical prophet came to understand that “the just man, because of his faith, shall live” (Hb 2,4). Eventually discovering that righteousness and faith in God lead to justice, Habakkuk cried out to the people of Judah through his prophetic words, assuring that divine intervention would eradicate the wickedness and oppression.

    Read More

  • Nat Turner Essay Outline

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    He kept saying that it had to do with what he felt the Lord wanted him to do for his fellow slave friends, but I do not feel like he was completely right in the head and I feel like he needed to do what he did for his own well-being. He obviously thought he was serving the Lord by doing so, but when you think about it logically you cannot declare someone right in the mind after something like this. Committing horrendous murders as an act to show the Lord how you think you have to serve him is completely contradictory. He could have used the whole “Lord’s will” as an excuse for his wrongful actions, but why else would he have any reason to kill these people if they had not done him

    Read More

  • King David Analysis

    817 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Bible takes a unique turn in the book of 1 Samuel, when Israel requests the appointment of an earthly king. The prophet Samuel warned them against trading their Divine King for an earthly one. In Matthew 7:13 Jesus told us, “..For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction..,” cautioning believers not to long to be like everyone else. First Samuel 8:5; 19-20 records Israel’s request for a king developed out of their desire to be like the nations around them, thus placing them on the “broad road.” They desired a king to fight their battles, to establish a government, and to rule over them.

    Read More

More about Saul

Open Document