“Give us a king!” the people told Samuel. “You’re too old. Your two sons are too wicked. Appoint a king to rule over us just like all the other nations!” (see 1 Sam. 8:5). Samuel felt rejected. He also thought a king was a bad idea. So he brought the matter to God in prayer. (Always a good thing to do!) “They have not rejected you,” God said, “but me from being their king. Go and warn them that having a king like the nations is a bad idea” (see 8:7–9).

Samuel warned them that having a king would cost them, but the people wouldn’t listen. They “refused to obey” Samuel, and they said to him: “No! But there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go before us and fight our battles” (8:19–20). God gave them what they wanted. He picked a king whom the people would have picked. Saul was a “handsome young man” and “he was taller” than anyone in all of Israel (9:2). He was also a strong warrior. Samuel poured oil over Saul’s head, and said, “The Lord anoints you king. You will rule over my people and save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies” (see 10:1). For a time, that is exactly what happened. Saul led Israel’s army and they defeated their enemies. Israel was so happy. “Long live the king!” (10:24), they shouted.

God promised them that if they followed his good commandments, then everything would go well with them. But if they disobeyed, “the hand of the Lord” would “be against” them and their king (12:15). Well, it didn’t take long for tall Saul to break a big rule. After a victory, he offered sacrifices to God. He was only a king, not a priest! He wasn’t supposed to do this, but he gave in to what the people wanted. Samuel said to him, “What have you done? You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God” (13:11, 13). Sadly, this was not the only time Saul obeyed the voice of the crowd instead of obeying the voice of God. And because he “rejected the word of the Lord” over and over, the Lord finally “rejected” him “from being king over Israel” (15:26).