The Fall of King Saul

Robert Wurtz II

 

“And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’”  (Acts 13:22 ESV)

 

In 1996, a popular contemporary Christian song was released that turned the phrase “a man after my heart” and was entitled “A Man After Your Own Heart.” It spoke of a man who was a confessed prodigal, driven by rivers of pride, wandering away so far, yet is still “a man after your own heart.” The lyric begs God to still be used of Him, even though they are a prodigal child that He knows them to be. I need to ask, what sense does this make?

 

I suggest that the theology in this song is more deception and wishful thinking than sound doctrine. Nevertheless, it became the anthem of a deceived generation that believed that as long as a person could identify with David as a worshipper, they were still a man or a woman after God’s own heart. In reality, they, like deceived and disobedient King Saul, were often people after their own hearts, not God’s.

 

Anointed for Service

 

From the beginning, God’s will was for Himself to be the King of Israel, but the people insisted on having a king like the rest of the nations. God knew that fallen men, when given authority, are generally proud in heart and would seek to dominate His people rather than lead them with a tender and understanding heart.

 

God gave Israel a king as they wanted. He gave them Saul of Benjamin, which is significant because Jacob (Israel) referred to Benjamin as a ravenous wolf who would devour the prey by day and divide the spoil at night (Genesis 49:27). Saul of Tarsus was also from Benjamin, and prior to his conversion, he devoured the churches and made waste of them (Acts 8:3).

 

God anointed Saul to be king and His Spirit came upon him. He even prophesied and gave people the impression he was a spiritual man (1 Samuel 10:11). God enabled Saul with grace to be king and gave him a heart to lead. Yet he was committed to doing his own will rather than God’s. He hardened his heart and stiffened his neck in rebellion, which God called witchcraft. His ways were reflective of the witchery that seeks to dominate people rather than lead and love them.

 

Whose Heart is One After?

 

Saul was rejected and removed from being king because he ruled Israel after his own heart and not God’s. When God called David to be king in Israel, he did so because Saul was rebellious and wouldn’t follow His direction. He disobeyed God more than once, but the situation with Agag was against a direct order (I Samuel 15:1-11). Samuel called it rebellion, the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness, iniquity, and idolatry.

 

Understand that the Amalekites were Israel’s enemies who were known to attack them when they were vulnerable. King Saul was charged with protecting Israel from its enemies, but when given the opportunity, he let them off the hook for his own gain. His actions were those of a hireling and not a real shepherd. He didn’t care about God’s people. He cared about himself.

 

God never wanted Israel to have a king in the first place, but if they insisted on having one, He wanted one in place who would be “after His own heart” — a man ready to do whatever God desired. The phrase could better be translated, “A man who is all that my heart could desire.” [The words “a man who is all that my heart could desire” (ἄνδρα κατὰ τὴν καρδίαν μου) are taken from 1 Sam. (LXX 1 Kms.) 1Sa 13:14 (ἄνθρωπον κατὰ τὴν καρδίαν ἀυτοῦ,) ἄνδρα (om B) is a more precise equivalent of Heb. ʾîš than is LXX ἄνθρωπον. (New International Commentary on Acts 13:22)].

 

The Rejection of King Saul

 

When God withdrew his Spirit from Saul and sent him an evil spirit instead, he became extremely distrustful and began attacking everyone who challenged his power and ambitions. David was the primary threat to the demon-possessed Saul, and hence everyone associated with David came under suspicion and was targeted. Even Jonathan, Saul’s son, came under suspicion.

 

In I Samuel 22:6-8, Saul, the master manipulator, used his witchcraft to cast suspicion on everyone. He was too arrogant and deceived to see that his own actions led God to reject him. He saw David’s successes and favor in battle and hated him, fabricating conspiracies to frame him as a traitor and threat to the throne. Though it had not yet been written, Proverbs 18:17 tells us that the first person to tell their side of a story seems right until cross-examination begins. Maybe Solomon had King Saul’s lies against his father, David, in view when he penned that proverb?

 

King Saul’s Wickedness

 

Saul’s wickedness came to a head when he began attacking God’s servants. Ahimelech the priest and others who helped David suffered Saul’s wrath.

 

And the king said unto the footmen that stood about him, Turn, and slay the priests of the LORD; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled, and did not shew it to me. But the servants of the king would not put forth their hand to fall upon the priests of the LORD. And the king said to Doeg, Turn thou, and fall upon the priests. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell upon the priests, and slew on that day fourscore and five persons that did wear a linen ephod. (1 Samuel 22:17-18)

 

King Saul’s Hatred

King Saul’s hatred for David manifested as madness and savagery and spared no one, including the priests of God. Let this be a warning to the ambitious man and woman drunk on pride and rebellion. Do you see what people are capable of once the Spirit of God is withdrawn from them, and an evil spirit is sent to take His place? Saul hated David from the first day David embarrassed him over Goliath (1 Samuel 18:7-8). And all it took was for the women to praise David more than Saul, claiming, “Saul has killed his thousands, but David has killed his tens of thousands.”

 

King Saul made it his life-long mission to destroy David at all costs. His hatred sprang from jealousy, similar to the story of Cain and Abel. Cain murdered Abel because God showed favor to Abel’s obedience and faith and rejected Cain’s self-willed offering. Nothing has changed since. Men still hate their fellow man when God shows them more favor. Both Cain and Saul could have been blessed, as were Abel and David, but they both rejected God’s will and did their own, suffering the inevitable consequences.

 

God chooses David

 

Clearly, God chose David because he would do God’s will and emulate His personality. This is what it means to be “all that God’s heart could desire” in a man or woman. When David placed himself between a sheep and a lion or a bear, he was imitating God’s heart. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He protects them from the enemy. They are not wolves that prey on the flock; they risk their lives to protect the sheep from wolves. The metaphor is that of a pastor who protects the sheep (God’s own possession) from the trappings of sin, Satan, and anyone else who would seek their destruction.

 

Saul never tended sheep, so he didn’t have a clue what it meant to be a shepherd. He wanted the title, but not the heart to do God’s will. He saw the throne as an opportunity to assert his own will and not God’s. What a dangerous man! In I Samuel 20:30-33, Saul threw a javelin at his own son Jonathan. This is how vicious the man became while demon-possessed and drunk on hatred and jealousy. He even began to consult with the demonic through the witch at Endor. (1 Samuel 28:7)

 

Life Lessons

 

Like King Saul, whose heart was drunk on pride, envy, and hatred, people may plot in shadows to silence their rivals, but the truth—like the light of morning—always finds a way to expose the darkness of their intent as their actions become more and more brazen and public. Soon, everyone knew, whether they had the courage to admit it or not, that King Saul hated the future King David.

 

Many people were abused by Saul and had nowhere to turn but to God. He didn’t have enough sense to know that David was just as dependent on God against him as he was with the lion, bear, and Goliath. The same God who heals the sick, stills the storms, and raises the dead also moves in miracles of justice (Psalm 146:7-9). David cried out to God and wrote many Psalms about his abuse at the hands of Saul.

King David’s Response

 

Psalm 142 

1 With my voice I cry out to the LORD;

with my voice I ^plead for mercy to the LORD.

2  I pour out my complaint before him;

I tell my trouble before him.

3  When my spirit faints within me,

you know my way!

In the path where I walk

they have hidden a trap for me.

4  Look to the right and see:

there is none who takes notice of me;

no refuge remains to me;

no one cares for my soul.

5  I cry to you, O LORD;

I say, “You are my refuge,

my portion in the land of the living.”

6  Attend to my cry,

for I am brought very low!

Deliver me from my persecutors,

for they are too strong for me!

7  Bring me out of prison,

that I may give thanks to your name!

The righteous will surround me,

for you will deal bountifully with me. (ESV)

 

Like all the wicked, eventually, King Saul’s opportunity to repent ran out (Revelation 2:21). In the end, he fell not merely by the sword of his enemies, but by the weight of his own rebellion and pride, a tragic reminder that a crown worn for oneself can lead only to a kingdom lost and soul lost forever in Hell.