King David Dragga's 1 Samuel

1 Samuel was written at the beginning of a transition for the people of Israel. Samuel reports the end of the era of judges to the new era involving kingmenship (Dragga,1987). This transition is recorded in 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and then again in 1 and 2 Chronicles through a priestly perspective. Through these books you can read the reasoning for Israel wanting to switch from judges to kings, why Saul was chosen as the first king, the comparison between King David and King Saul, and finally the sin of King Solomon that caused a separation in Israel.

In the first few chapters of 1 Samuel, the author writes of the need for Israel to be under a king’s rule instead of the ruling of the judges (pg 164). The Philistines were greatly oppressing

Israel and they wanted a king who would lead them into battle and help them (pg 161). “In 1 Samuel, God transitions His covenanted nation away from the failing theocratic administration under the tribal judges and toward the theocratic administration through the united monarchy” (pg 162). God could see that as times changed, the type of leadership that governed His people was also in need of change. Another reason that Israel wanted a king is because many other nations were ruled under the power of a monarchy and Israel wanted to be like them (pg 164).
Saul was chosen as the first king of Israel.

In 1 Samuel you can read that he was the people’s choice and not God’s choice. One of the reasons that Saul was chosen as king was because of his appearance. “And he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome 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” ( 1 Samuel 9:2). Unlike God who would have looked at the inside of a person to determine whether or not they were fit to be king, the people of Israel chose to look at how handsome and physically appealing Saul was and based their decision off of that. God warns the people against judging a person based off looks in 1 Samuel. “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart’” ( 1 Samuel 16: 7). Just as good looks don’t last, neither did the peoples’ love for Saul last. Though Saul had a strong beginning as King, his choices quickly became selfish and displeased the people. Saul was making unlawful sacrifices, making rash decisions and simply not doing a good job at representing and protecting the people of Israel ( 1 Samuel

13&14).
Eventually, despite Saul’s antagonism, David became King.

David was God’s choice and the Lord blessed him, “And the spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward” ( 1 Samuel 16:13). Even though David was not perfect, he was much more fit to be king than Saul and that showed in many of David’s characteristics. The main attribute that separated King David from King Saul would be bravery. David was bold where as Saul was often fearful. “David rises to the Philistine’s challenge of a ‘battle by champions’ by separating himself from Saul, standing alone with God and winning a dramatic victory because he believed that ‘the battle is the Lords’” (pg 166). Unlike Saul, David looked to God and called upon His name as a source of hope and guidance. King David is also described in the Bible as a man after God’s own heart; another attributed that sets him apart from Saul (Acts

13:22).
Solomon, David’s son, was the next King of Israel. He became king in 967 BCE at the age of twenty years old (Green, 2014). King Solomon was a great king. He wasn’t great because of his own accomplishments but because of what God accomplished through him. Solomon was a very wise king and the Lord blessed him ( 1 Kings 3: 9-14). Like his father though, Solomon was not perfect. In Chapter 11 of 1 Kings, King Solomon turns away from the Lord and fulfills his own sinful and selfish desires. He loved and married many foreign women of different religions. These women had great influences on King Solomon and turned his heart away from God ( 1 Kings 11: 1-4). Because of Solomon’s sin, the Lord turned his back from Israel and allowed the kingdom to fall into the enemy’s hands and become divided after Solomon’s death (1 Kings 11:11-12).
Overall, the kings made mistakes just as the judges made mistakes. The Lord had His sovereign hand over Israel through the transition of judges to kings and even after the kingdom became divided. Though He may have punished Israel for the sins of their leader, He was merciful and allowed Israel to still have one tribe ( 1 Kings 11:13). In the midst all of these changes of leaders, “ The prophet rises above judges, priests, and kings as the spokesman for God” (pg 171). Ultimately, no matter who is king over Israel, God is the ultimate King over all the Earth.