King Saul by John C. HolbertDescription: King Saul is based on the Biblical story of the first king of Israel. It retells the story in a fresh way, offering new looks at the three major characters--Saul, Samuel, and David--and the events that brought them together at the very foundation of the nation of Israel three millennia ago. Holberts retelling reveals how this old story is surprisingly modern as it turns its gaze on power politics, personal rivalries, and religious use and abuse as the life of early Israel unfolds.
King Saul had the honor of being Israel's first king, but his life turned into a tragedy for one reason. Saul did not trust in God. Saul looked like royalty: tall, handsome, noble. He became king when he was 30 years old and reigned over Israel for 42 years. Early in his career, Saul made a fatal mistake. He disobeyed God by failing to completely destroy the Amalekites and all their possessions, as God had commanded. A key part of the conditional covenant between God and Israel was obedience.
According to the biblical account found mainly in I Samuel, Saul was chosen king both by the judge Samuel and by public acclamation. Saul was similar to the charismatic judges who preceded him in the role of governing; his chief contribution, however, was to defend Israel against its many enemies, especially the Philistines. The son of Kish, a well-to-do member of the tribe of Benjamin , he was made king by the league of 12 Israelite tribes in a desperate effort to strengthen Hebrew resistance to the growing Philistine threat. For roughly two centuries, Israel had existed as a loose confederation of tribes, dependent for their unity upon bonds of religious faith and covenant that were renewed periodically in cultic ceremonies at the central shrine at Shiloh. Two literary strands are discernible in the accounts in I Samuel involving Saul. One of these — , reflecting a favourable attitude toward the monarchy, relates how the tall, handsome son of Kish was initially selected by Samuel, the seer, in a private encounter between the two men. Although in this account he anoints Saul as a concession to popular pressure, Samuel warns of the loss of personal and tribal freedom that will follow and interprets the action as tantamount to a rejection of God.
The biography of King Saul is a tragic story of a good peasant corrupted by having great power thrust upon him, against his own and the L ORD 's wishes. Though Saul didn't want the job and hid, he was quickly found, and a ceremony of anointing was observed. Then Saul, still avoiding the kingship, returned to his father's farm. But a crisis arose when the Israelite city of Jabesh came under severe attack. Reasoning that national security was a king's job, Saul rose to the occasion and used an ingenious public relations campaign to assemble an army, and Jabesh was rescued.
He became the first King of Israel circa BC where he united tribes and defeated enemies such as the Ammonites, Philistines, Moabites, and Amalekites.
just me and you and you and me
The first king of Israel, Saul reigned ca. The youngest son of Kish of the tribe of Benjamin, Saul was a modest shepherd boy, a resident of Gibeah, when the prophet Samuel, after a chance meeting, secretly chose and anointed him king of Israel. It was a period of national humiliation, for the Philistines had defeated the Israelites at Shiloh and captured the Ark of the Covenant, which symbolized the presence of God in their midst. This calamity convinced the Israelites that they must either strive for national unity with a king as leader or face complete and permanent subjugation. Saul succeeded in freeing Israel of its enemies and extending its boundaries. He also succeeded in drawing the tribes of Israel into a closer unity.