Saul and David

Have you ever been in a place where you have this question on your mind, and have just been waiting and waiting for the Lord to make things clear? Well, I think I am the verge of having one of my long time questions clarified.

I have wondered for months in the back of my mind about King Saul. It is not that this has been an overwhelming priority to figure out, but it has just lingered in the background of my thoughts everytime I have read, heard, or spoken anything related to Samuel, Saul, or David. Today, while sitting at lunch, eating a turkey and ham sandwich, it started to click.......

Saul was the first king of Israel, and yet, he just seemed to meet such a less than honorable ending. Then his successor, David, who was alive in his reign and even served Saul, was honored. My question has been, why did God allow Saul to be king in the first place? Now, besides the answer in which I have told myself for a while: Because He is God, and He can do that......, I think I have begun to get a glimpse into part of the reason.

We start our adventure into the word at 1 Samuel 9:2, describing Saul's physical appearance. ".....a hansome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people" Obviously, Saul was not your average Israelite. Bottom line, the guy was very unique. He was a towering man, who probably was respected for the shear fact that he was so big. I can just see other men in Israel looking up to him (literally and figuratively) all because He was much taller and more handsome than they were. It seems that today our culture echoes much of this same mentality; respect is garnished from appearance, without much else needed.

Now lets contrast this with a description of David. In 1 Samuel Ch. 16 verse 11, Jesse refers to David as "the youngest", in my translation it also shows a substitute for smallest. Then, in verse 12 "...Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome." Okay, now the first question that popped into my mind, is; what is ruddy? From what I can track down, this is referring to his complexion, He was dark, and this can be inferred was from sitting out in the sun all day with the sheep that he was shepherding. So in all honesty he was an above average looking working class guy.

The beginnings of a contrast are forming here. Saul was the towering intimidating figure, that I bet many people picture in their mind when thinking of David. But, David was the youngest of his brothers, and I have a feeling was not near as imposing of a figure as Saul was.

Now, digging deeper, lets look as some other contrast with the first two kings of Israel. First, if there is one thing that I always remember about King Saul it is that He was disobedient to the Lord. In two specific circumstances the Lord tells Saul exactly what to do, and Saul doesn't fully obey. Notice I said fully obey, because in Saul's mind, he had complied with the majority of the request, and therefore that was good enough. See 1 Samuel Ch. 13 v:1-15 and 1 Samuel 15 v:1-35. David on the other hand, was devoted to trying to follow the Lord as closely and directly as possible. He was constantly inquiring of the Lord's will, See 1 Samuel Ch.22-Ch.23 v.1-14 for one example of this.

So now, we have three major contrast between the first kings. 1. how they are known, (Saul lost God's annointing, and David is blessed) 2. From outward appearances Saul seems to be the perfect choice for a king, while David is somewhat ordinary. 3. Saul was disobedient, and David diligently tried to seek the Lord's will (not to say that David was perfect, but that he honestly wanted to be obedient). What does all this mean?

The conclusion of all this was shown to me in a verse that is also in Samuel, although it is referring to the choice of Jesse's sons as king. To me it sums up the answer to the question Why was Saul ever made king?

1 Samuel 16: 7 "..."Do not look on his appearance or the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as a man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."

So without giving the answer away, and actually letting you think a little deeper on this. What is the lesson to be learned about Saul? And figuring this out will answer the original question of: why was he King in the first place?