The Bible is a book full of stories that we are always surprised by, happy with, sad with, and generally learn from. What I am here to share with you today is one of the most surprising and saddening people of all time. This man was a king. Not just a king, but Israel’s first king. I would like to write about the king named Saul, who was anointed by the prophet Samuel after the Israelites demanded that they be lead by human kings like the foreign countries around them. Saul had a good start. But the longer his reign goes on, whether it is pride or forgetting the place he rose from, we notice that he is trying to get ahead of God. In the meantime, even though the decision Israel made against God becoming their king was not pleasing to him, he had mercy on them and once again sent the Prophet Samuel to anoint a new king. At this time, David, the little boy of Jesse, who is not considered to be better than Saul in terms of height and knowledge, found favor in the eyes of God. God chose him and gave him success in everything he did. David loved and feared God. Even though we find out throughout the bible that he made mistakes in some places, his heart was close to God. As a result, David was popular and accepted by the people. The Bible tells us more than once that King Saul’s Son Jonathan was his dearest friend. But although he was accepted by many people, he also had enemies, one of whom was the former king Saul. (The full story is found in 1 Samuel)

First Lesson – Do Not Forget

According to the brief analysis of the Bible that I wrote above, Saul represents those who are among the many believers who were once used by God but are now replaced by the new generation. And David represents the new generation. What will be our answer when we sometimes fall short of the level of fearing and honoring God with the responsibility that God the Father has given us in our time? Because he is God, his purpose is for his generation to know him, so he has many faithful children who do his work for him. Therefore, unlike Saul, the call that God placed on us should never be forgotten! We must never forget where God took us from, why He has called us, and where He is taking us. Let this be the first lesson from Saul. Let us not forget the purpose of being chosen by God the Father.

Second Lesson – Obey

Let us always be careful to Listen to the voice of God carefully and make sure to act on it the way he told us to do it. Let us not try to go ahead and do what might seem pleasing to him and let us take the time to go in his presence and seek his face to know what his good and perfect will is. “Obedience is better than sacrifice.” -1Samuel 15:22

Third Lesson – Sow Good Seeds Upon the Next Generation

This is one of the points that makes me sad when I think about Saul. David always thought good of him and did not hesitate to do good for him. But as I mentioned in the first and second points, Saul forgot what God had told him to do and because he was in a hurry and did not obey, he went against God’s plan and this put him in danger. He feared that David would take the kingship and because of this self-inflicted fear, he sought after David to harm him many times. May God protect us from this kind of life. To avoid such a pitiful life like saul’s, Let us be trustworthy and serve God in our time so that we may be able to support the next generation with the right heart and help them avoid the mistakes we have made and pursue what is the will of God.

So, I would like to conclude by saying this. Let’s be trustworthy with the ministry that God has given us so that we can pass on the good experiences when God raises a new generation and we can benefit from their fruit as well. If we can be trustworthy in what has been given to us, we have nothing to fear. Instead, we will work hard to make sure the coming generation does better than us and goes further with much speed for the expansion of the Kingdom of the one true God. May God always renew the righteous spirit in us.

I am glad to see you have made it this far! What are some things you have learned from the story of Saul? Feel free to share in the comment section! I look forward to reading and learning from it. Grace and Peace to you and yours! In Jesus Christ, Amen.