Bible Timeline · About 1050 to 1010 BC
Saul: Israel's First King
Saul was a tall, handsome Benjaminite whom Samuel anointed as Israel's first king about 1050 BC. He started humble and strong but kept disobeying God, so God rejected him and chose David. Saul died in battle on Mount Gilboa about 1010 BC.
Read it in the Bible: 1 Samuel 9:1-10:27 1 Samuel 13:1-14 1 Samuel 15:1-35 1 Samuel 18:6-16 1 Samuel 31:1-13 2 Samuel 1:17-27
Saul was the first king of Israel. He came from the small tribe of Benjamin, stood a head taller than everyone else, and was anointed by the prophet Samuel about 1050 BC, after the people demanded a king. He began well, but he disobeyed God more than once, and God rejected him as king and chose David instead. Saul spent his last years jealous and hunting David, and he died in battle against the Philistines on Mount Gilboa about 1010 BC. His story is a warning that looking the part is not the same as having a heart for God.
Who Was King Saul?
And he had a son named Saul, choice and handsome, without equal among the Israelites … a head taller than any of the people. 1 Samuel 9:2
If Israel had held auditions for king, Saul would have won. His father Kish was a wealthy man from Benjamin. Saul's story begins with a very ordinary chore. His father's donkeys wandered off, and Saul went looking for them. After days of searching, his servant suggested they ask the local seer. That seer was Samuel, and God had already told him that a man from Benjamin was coming. Saul went looking for donkeys and came home with a crown.
Then Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “Has not Yahweh anointed you ruler over His inheritance? 1 Samuel 10:1
How Did Saul Become King?
First the anointing was private. Then Samuel gathered the tribes at Mizpah and chose the king by lot in front of everyone. The lot fell on Benjamin, then on Saul's clan, then on Saul. And Saul was nowhere to be found.
So again they inquired of Yahweh, “Has the man come here yet?” And Yahweh replied, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.” 1 Samuel 10:22
Israel's first king was crowned after being pulled out from behind the luggage. At this point his humility was real. Samuel later reminded him that he was once small in his own eyes, 1 Samuel 15:17.
Saul proved himself when the Ammonites besieged the town of Jabesh Gilead. The Spirit of God rushed upon him, he rallied the tribes and won a great victory, 1 Samuel 11. The nation confirmed him as king at Gilgal. Paul says Saul ruled forty years, Acts 13:21, though the Hebrew text of 1 Samuel 13:1 has a gap and the exact length is debated.
Why Did God Reject Saul as King?
The trouble came in two big moments.
The Unlawful Sacrifice
The Philistines gathered a huge army at Michmash. Samuel told Saul to wait seven days at Gilgal until he came to offer sacrifices. On the seventh day, with soldiers slipping away, Saul got impatient and offered the burnt offering himself. Samuel arrived just as he finished.
“You have acted foolishly,” Samuel declared. “You have not kept the command that Yahweh your God gave you; if you had, Yahweh would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. 1 Samuel 13:13
Samuel said God had already found a man after His own heart to replace him, 1 Samuel 13:14.
The Amalekites
Later God told Saul to destroy the Amalekites completely, as judgment for their attacks on Israel since the Exodus. Saul won the battle but spared King Agag and kept the best sheep and cattle. Then he set up a monument to himself, 1 Samuel 15:12. When Samuel confronted him, Saul claimed he saved the animals to sacrifice to God. Samuel's answer is one of the key verses in the Old Testament.
But Samuel declared: “Does Yahweh delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams. 1 Samuel 15:22
For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance is like the wickedness of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of Yahweh, He has rejected you as king.” 1 Samuel 15:23
As Samuel turned to go, Saul grabbed his robe and it tore. Samuel said God had torn the kingdom from Saul that day. Samuel never went to see Saul again, 1 Samuel 15:35. Saul's problem was not one bad day. It was a pattern of partial obedience, excuses and caring more about how he looked to people than what God said.
Why Was Saul Jealous of David?
Now the Spirit of Yahweh departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from Yahweh began to torment him. 1 Samuel 16:14
Saul's servants found a young musician to calm him with the harp. It was David, already secretly anointed by Samuel. After David killed Goliath, Saul made him a commander, and David kept winning. Then the women of Israel wrote a song that did not help.
And as the women danced, they sang out: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” And Saul was furious and resented this song. 1 Samuel 18:7 to 8
From then on Saul watched David with suspicion. He threw a spear at him twice while David played music, and later chased him through the wilderness for years. Saul's own son Jonathan loved David and protected him. Twice David had the chance to kill Saul, once in a cave at En Gedi and once in Saul's sleeping camp. Both times he refused.
So he said to his men, “Yahweh forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, Yahweh’s anointed. May I never lift my hand against him, since he is Yahweh’s anointed.” 1 Samuel 24:6
How Did King Saul Die?
Near the end, with the Philistines gathering again and Samuel dead, Saul was desperate. God would not answer him, so he disguised himself and visited a medium at Endor, the very kind of person he had banned, 1 Samuel 28. Samuel appeared and told him that he and his sons would die the next day.
The battle went badly on Mount Gilboa. Saul's sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malchishua were killed, and Saul was badly wounded by archers. Rather than be captured and tortured, he fell on his own sword, 1 Samuel 31:4. The Philistines hung his body on the wall of Beth Shan. The men of Jabesh Gilead, the town Saul had rescued at the start of his reign, walked all night to bring the bodies home and bury them. Chronicles gives the spiritual reason for his death.
So Saul died for his unfaithfulness to Yahweh, because he did not keep the word of Yahweh and even consulted a medium for guidance, and he failed to inquire of Yahweh. So Yahweh put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse. 1 Chronicles 10:13 to 14
David did not celebrate. He wrote a lament for Saul and Jonathan, 2 Samuel 1, with the famous refrain.
“Your glory, O Israel, lies slain on your heights. How the mighty have fallen! 2 Samuel 1:19
What We Learn From King Saul
Saul is a picture of what Israel asked for, a king like all the nations. He was impressive on the outside, and God did give him gifts, the Spirit and early victories. But he wanted God's blessing without God's lordship. When God spoke, Saul edited.
His story makes David's anointing land even harder. When Samuel went looking for the next king, God told him, man sees the outward appearance, but Yahweh sees the heart, 1 Samuel 16:7. Israel needed a king who would obey God from the heart. David came closer, but he too failed. Only Jesus, the Son of David, obeyed His Father perfectly, even to death on a cross. And here is a hopeful footnote. About a thousand years later another Saul from the tribe of Benjamin, Philippians 3:5, met Jesus on the road to Damascus and became the apostle Paul. God was not finished with the name.
Get Nate's Highlighting Guide Free
Free. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.Something went wrong. Please try again, or email [email protected].
Questions People Ask
Who was the first king of Israel?
Saul son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin, was Israel's first king. Samuel anointed him about 1050 BC after the people demanded a king, 1 Samuel 9 to 10.
Why did God reject Saul?
Saul disobeyed God twice in major ways. He offered a sacrifice himself instead of waiting for Samuel, 1 Samuel 13, and he spared King Agag and the best livestock of the Amalekites against God's command, 1 Samuel 15. Samuel told him that obedience is better than sacrifice.
How did King Saul die?
Saul was badly wounded fighting the Philistines on Mount Gilboa, and three of his sons, including Jonathan, were killed. He fell on his own sword rather than be captured, 1 Samuel 31:4.
How long did Saul reign?
Acts 13:21 says Saul ruled forty years. The Hebrew text of 1 Samuel 13:1 has a gap in its numbers, so scholars debate the exact length. The traditional dates are about 1050 to 1010 BC.
Why was Saul jealous of David?
After David killed Goliath and kept winning battles, the women sang that Saul had slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands, 1 Samuel 18:7. Saul saw David as a threat to his throne and tried to kill him many times.