SAUL BECOMES ISRAEL’S FIRST KING ( 1050 BC)

People were not happy with prophet Samuel. ” Give us a king!”  they demanded.    “Everyone else has a king”!

Israel was  a theocratic nation ( lead by God through judges and prophets). The people  wanted a king for several reasons: (1) Samuel ‘s  sons  were not fit to lead. (2) The 12 tribes of Israel continually had problems working together. It was hoped that a king would unite the tribes into one nation and one army. (3) The people wanted to be like the neighboring nations. This is exactly what God didn’t want.  Having a king would make it easy to forget that God was their leader. In reality, the people were rejecting God as their leader. Israel  wanted laws, an army, and a human monarch in place of God, to run the nation through human strength. But because their basic problem was disobedience to God, their own problems will only continue under the new administration.

So God told his prophet, Samuel, where to find a man to be king of Israel. His name was Saul. Samuel poured oil on Saul’s head; this showed everyone that God had chosen him to become king. At  first Saul ruled well, leading his armies against many enemies.( 1 Samuel).  But later, after 40 years in power,  Saul disobeyed God.

So God sent Samuel to find a new king for Israel.