Interview with Old Testament Figures – King Saul

The Bible depicts the world in its truest form. People are diverse, unique creatures. Their Creator wired their temperaments and physiologies in unique ways before satan entered the Garden of Eden and destabilised everything. One of the characters in the Bible who exemplified the uniqueness of human nature is Saul, the first king of ancient Israel. He started as a humble young man, and ended up as a proud and vengeful king, as well as a patron of the witch of Endor.

Shepherd Heart: Thank you for honouring our invitation Sir.

King Saul: Thank you for having me. Although your introduction sounds offensive, it truly captures the essence of my person. I am not offended at all.

Shepherd Heart: Thank you Sir. We try to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. Kindly give our readers a brief introduction about yourself.

King Saul: By the grace of God, I ruled Israel after Prophet Samuel, the last of the judges. My father’s name was Kish, the son of Abiel, of the tribe of Benjamin.

Shepherd Heart: Can you share snippets from your early years, tending your father’s sheep?

King Saul: Hmmm. I am sure some of your readers expect me to regale them with stories of bravery, in the mould of David, another shepherd. Tending to sheep was not an enjoyable experience on my part. It was just something I needed to do to support my family financially.

Shepherd Heart: Funny that you reminded us that you were a shepherd just like David. What other profession was available to men in Israel at this time?

King Saul: Farming was more prominent. Even those engaged in animal husbandry farmed on the sides. In most cases, younger children tend the animals, while older ones engage primarily in farming. Of course, all adults were trained for war.

Shepherd Heart: Did you have any awareness of the Person of God before you were appointed king?

King Saul: None whatsoever. People of your generation are so blessed to encounter God individually in both nature and the Bible. In our times, we were at the mercy of judges like Samuel. Being at the mercy of an intermediary puts you at risk of missing God. If your priest or any other intermediary falls from the grace of God, he may not even realise it. That is exactly what happened to Samson.

Shepherd Heart: I understand that Israel lost much of its spiritual moorings during the reign of the judges. All through time, God has always interacted with people who sought Him with the whole heart, regardless of the spiritual temperature of their societies. Were there no godly persons in your community who modelled God for you? How about your parents?

King Saul: Israel has always been a very religious community. Even when we fell into idolatry, we were still pursuing our religious activities. In my younger years, what I was familiar with was the religious activity centred round the priesthood and the judges. I did not have any concept of God as a father that I could interact with in any form of shape. Of course, I knew that He did speak to people like the seer my companion told me about, as recorded in 1 Samuel 9:5-17. Samuel was that seer. After I was anointed king, I was content to let God speak to me through Samuel. I did not make any effort to get to know Him myself.

Shepherd Heart: Would the trajectory of your reign as king have been different if you had an intimate relationship with God?

King Saul: I would assume so. For one, God would have guided me by His Spirit to walk in His way and to obey Him in all things. To be candid, my undoing was pride. I had pride in my looks. I also had pride in the fact that I was taller than other young in the entire nation. To crown it all, I was king!

Shepherd Heart: What role did your parents play in your life at this time?

King Saul: Under ancient monarchies like the one in Israel, there was not much parents could do to influence decisions of their children who were kings or queens. In rare cases, parents were made part of the court, thus giving them opportunity to deliberate in state matters. In my own case, my parents trusted my judgement and kept away from my administration.

Shepherd Heart: Did this not bother you?

King Saul: It did not cross my thoughts at all. Samuel was practically in charge of affairs at the early stage of my administration. I had good success for as long as I listened to his guidance.

Shepherd Heart: At what point did you decide that you did not need Samuel’s tutelage anymore?

King Saul: As I observed earlier, pride was my undoing. Sometimes we believe that we could do without godly wisdom. Sometimes we feel that God should only handle the tough cases and allow us to deal with the seemingly easy ones. The perception that we do not need God all the time allows pride to creep in and take over our heart. Once the devil sneaks into our hearts, our fall from grace is certain.

Shepherd Heart? Is this the backdrop to your unpleasant encounter with Samuel at Gilgal?

King Saul: Looking back at the situation, my major challenge was lack of trust and confidence in God’s timing. That is the mistake most people make in life which brings them into confrontation with God. Humans always forget that God does not live in time; He lives in eternity. Therefore, when God makes a promise, He does not look at our own clock, but His own which is timeless. When we do not appreciate this fact, we end up running ahead of Him in our quest for instant results.

Shepherd Heart: I can relate King Saul. Running ahead of God is a serious malaise of the human soul. What is the antidote?

King Saul: Firstly, believe that God exists, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Secondly, know that God is faithful to fulfil all His promises. Lastly, do not try to fathom Him with your human mind. Only the Holy Spirit knows the deep things of God and can reveal them to us at His own time.

Shepherd Heart: You have emphasised the seriousness of the sin of pride. What remedy can you proffer for people that may find themselves in similar position?

King Saul: Remembering that we are God’s battle axe would keep us from pride. Everyone knows that an axe is useless except it is wielded by someone. Before I was anointed king by God, I was ordinary Saul; a young man with no ambition whatsoever. After I was made king, I saw myself through the lens of the pomp and pageantry of royalty. My advisers, especially Samuel became mere humans whose wisdom became inferior to mine, the royalty.

Shepherd Heart: Scripture records one of your encounters with David where you eventually acknowledged that God was with him. You said in 1 Samuel 26:25, “Blessed are you, my son David. You will do great things, and you will surely prevail.” It is safe to say that you knew at this point that David would succeed you. Why did you not make peace with him on that spot and restore him to his position in the army?

King Saul: Power might be transient, but it is also intoxicating my child. I had no idea that death was beckoning on me. I was not that old, neither had my fighting strength diminished. Thank God that I left the way I did, at least David could start his reign on a clean slate.

Shepherd Heart: What is your worse regret as a king?

King Saul: I regret not seeking God when I had the opportunity to know the King of the universe.

Shepherd Heart: Many Christians have fallen from grace and are propagating false gospel. It is interesting to note that most of these backslidden brethren were once on fire for Jesus Christ. What advice do you have for such people?

King Saul: Let us start with our general attitude to the word of God. Do all Christians believe that the Bible is God’s immutable written word? If they do, then it will not be difficult for them to understand that God would definitely judge all humanity; and that those who rebel against Him will end up in the lake of fire with the devil. If we understand that God’s judgement is certain, we should make every effort to yield to the leading of His Spirit. This is the only sure route to salvation. Only those who are led by the Holy Spirit are the sons and daughters of God. You can find this in Romans chapter 8, verse 14. In a nutshell, living and walking in the Spirit is the only remedy to pride.

Shepherd Heart: Thank you very much. We appreciate your kind counsel.

King Saul: The pleasure is mine.