Saul – Before He Was King

Saul would eventually be anointed by Samuel as the first king of Israel(I Sam. 10:1).  But before that, he was just a guy.  His father was a man of standing, and Saul was described as being handsome and a head taller than anyone else(I Sam. 9:1).  And when his father’s donkeys went missing, it was up to Saul to find them(I Sam. 9:3).  Other than being tall and handsome, he was like a lot of people.  When something needed to be done, he was tasked with the endeavor.  He was not above being tasked with finding missing donkeys.  But when the people of Israel demanded to have a king so they could be like the surrounding nations(I Sam. 8:4-5), God obliged.  And He gave them a man to be king who embodied what most people would think a good king would look like:  tall and handsome.  But was that all that was needed?

Saul – As King

Saul’s reign as king started a little uncertain when not everyone in Israel lined up behind him to lead them(I Sam. 11:1-11) . .  . including into battle.  But after a brief, rocky start, things improved quickly and the people were soon behind Saul as their first king(I Sam. 11:12-15).  He was victorious over the enemies of Israel.  By all accounts, his kingship would appear to be headed for greatness, but not everything was good.  Saul experienced fear, and worse yet, he allowed that fear to control his actions.  It eventually led to his downfall, but let’s see just how pervasive and destructive his fear really was.

Saul And Fear

Here are some of the times during Saul’s reign as the first king of Israel where he allowed his fear to dictate his actions, and his actions drove him away from the leadership position he had been given by God.

• Saul is with the supplies? – After previously being anointed by Samuel as king privately, Samuel brings Israel together to publicly choose anoint Saul as king. When he is called for, no one knew where he was.  The Lord told Samuel that Saul was hiding himself among the supplies.  Saul already knew he was king(previously being anointed by Samuel), but it was his fear that caused him to try to hide.  This would be a harbinger of more fear to come.
• Saul offers a sacrifice – Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin, not a Levite or priest, so he did not have the authority under the Law of Moses to offer a sacrifice. He could provide the sacrifice, but not sacrifice the animal.  While waiting for Samuel, who could make the sacrifice, Saul witnessed many of his troops give in to fear and even leave and hide from the upcoming battle.  Saul’s fear that he would lose too many soldiers drove him to make the sacrifice himself(I Sam. 13:1-12).  As a result of Saul’s sin, Samuel tells him that the kingship would be taken from him and given to another.
• Saul and the Amalekites – The Lord tells Saul to completely destroy the Amalekites as well as all their animals. However, after a great victory, the people spared the king and many animals(for sacrifice).  Samuel tells Saul that in doing so, he did not follow the Lord’s command.  Saul agrees, but states that he did so out of fear of the people, the same people he was supposed to be leading as king(I Sam. 15:24).
• Saul and Goliath – In I Sam. 17, the Philistines are again ready for battle with Israel. However, this time instead of having both armies fight, Goliath, a giant of a man, challenges Israel’s best to one-on-one combat.  The loser’s side would then become servants of the winner’s side.  This was a time for Saul to shine.  He was a head taller than anyone else, but not Goliath.  Goliath was probably at least two feet taller than even Saul.  And it was Saul’s fear of one-one-one combat with Goliath that kept him from entering the field of battle as Israel’s champion.
• Saul and David – After David defeated Goliath, the people of Israel shouted David’s praise above that of Saul. Now Saul had someone closer to him to fear . . . David.  In I Sam. 18:10, Saul tried to kill David with his spear(he did this again in I Sam. 19:10 and 20:33).
• Saul Fears Losing His Kingship – In Sam. 20:31, Saul tells his son Jonathan that as long as David is alive, Sauls’ kingship, which would naturally transfer to Jonathan, would never go to Jonathan. Saul knew this because he had been told by Samuel that the kingdom would be taken away from him because of his sin.

The above and other situations in Saul’s life demonstrate the destruction effect that fear had in Saul’s life.  Had he followed God and trusted in God, as his successor David did(see David’s reliance on God against Goliath – I Sam. 17), Saul could have maintained his kingship and passed it on to his son, Jonathan.  But his fear in critical moments of his life caused Saul to be derailed.  He had everything, and yet he still gave in to fear.  That is how powerful, and destructive, fear can be.

How To Overcome Fear

A testament to overcoming fear can actually be found in Saul’s successor, David.  When David was presented with impossible odds when fighting Goliath, David did not rely on himself.  Goliath came at David with a spear and shield and sword, but David relied on God(I Sam. 17:45-46).  And when David was constantly being pursued by Saul, there were times when David could have killed Saul(I Sam. 24:1-22; 26:1-25), but David deferred to God, stating that Saul was the Lord’s anointed.  If God wanted Saul dead, God could do it, but David would not raise his hand against Saul, the Lord’s anointed.

What Can We Learn About Fear?

Fear can destroy our lives.  Some fear is good, like the fear of polar bears.  That preserves your life.  But much of our fear can be destructive, not beneficial.  It is times just such as these that we need to put our trust in God(Ps. 20:7; 25:1; 31:14; 40:3;-4; 52:8; 56:4; 62:8; 91:2).  He will be there for us.  This is not to say that everything will turn out the way we want it to.  God is not a genie in the bottle to be summoned and used at our whim.  He will help us to get through the difficult times, even if the outcome is not want we desire.

Instead of allowing our fear to drive us away from God, like Saul did, let’s allow our fear to drive us toward God.  Let’s rely on Him to get us through our fear and to get us through difficult times.  This can demonstrate our trust in God to God, but more importantly to ourselves.  And when we get in the habit of doing this, it will become easier as life goes on to continue to rely on Him when things are bad.  Your faith will grow stronger.  Your love for God will grow stronger.  Go back and read the Psalms reference in the previous paragraph.  The Psalmist clearly has a great deal of faith in God.  We all should.  Let’s work on that.  Today.  And the next today(we call that tomorrow).  And every today after that.