No matter how much hope we place in our kings, or leaders, or institutions, they always fail in the end, because the people always fail.
King Saul started off well, but he sinned against God's commandments, and the people sinned, and together they dragged each other down to destruction.
Saul disobeyed God, he catered to the people's carnal desires, and then began the long descent into paranoia, delusion, and madness.
God took away the Holy Ghost from Saul, and tormented him with an evil spirit from the Lord. This was a part of God's judgment against Saul for his sin.
When Goliath challenged the army of Israel, Saul was full of fear. Gone was his holy boldness when his people were threatened.
When David presented himself to fight against Goliath, Saul scoffed at the lad. But God prevailed through David, and he slew Goliath, and wrought a great victory over the Philistines.
But the women of Israel began to sing David's praises, and Saul was very angry because David was getting better "PR" than he was!
Saul became very envious of David's popularity, because he knew that the Spirit of God had departed from him, and now rested upon David.
Saul tried to murder David on several occasions, and attempted to orchestrate David's death on the battlefield at the hand of the Philistines.
Before it was over with, Saul was trying to track David down across the countryside, and it descended into a farce when Saul began to prophesy and lay all night on the ground naked.
Saul exploded against his own son Jonathan, cursing him, slandering his mother, and declaring that as long as David lives, the kingdom itself was insecure and might be wrested away from Saul and his house. |
