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Sauls Begining

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The first seven chapters of 1 Samuel speak of Samuel’s life from birth through his Judgeship. Samuel was a good Judge and also prophet. The text in (The Essence of the Old Testament: A Survey, pg. 164),” The failures of the judges’ era is illustrated in the rebellious ways of Eli and his sons, which are set in contrast to the successful judgeship of Samuel (1 Samuel 7:3-17 NIV.)”He was used by God because he was obedient when the Lord spoke to him. He led the people to a renewal of covenant at Mizpah, and helped them to claim victory over the Philistines.
However when Samuel grew old and appointed his sons, Joel and Abijah as judges over Israel, they were not the men that Samuel was, they were dishonest and took bribes. (1 Samuel Chapter 8 NIV)
The elders of Israel met with Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, “You are old and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” The Israelites wanted a king, like everyone else. God would tell Samuel to give them the king that they wanted. In verse 9 of Chapter 8, God also told him to warn Israel about a monarchy but, it didn’t matter them.
“The events surrounding the selection of Saul for king (9:1-10:16) demonstrate that he was the people’s choice, more than God’s choice for king. The people seemed to focus on Saul’s outward appearance (9:2) rather than his heart (16:7).
Saul had a strong beginning, even the spirit of God was manifest in him on a few occasions however, he started to make poor decisions and kingdom began a rapid decline. Saul was impatient and did not wait on God’s timing but went by his own when his armies began to scatter and he decided to do the sacrifices without Samuel who did not arrive on time. At this point the Lord said through Samuel that He would remove the kingdom from Saul. The final blow came from the battle with the Amalekites.

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