The story of Saul—of his elevation to the kingship followed by his long, slow demise—occupies some 25 chapters of 1 and 2 Samuel. Few people in the Bible have their life recounted in more detail. It has been observed that the disproportionate amount of space devoted to Saul in Scripture …
Where did Saul go wrong? A good starting place is the divine criteria for successful kingship in the law in Deuteronomy 17:14-20. Saul’s failure is not immediately obvious from the prohibitions there. Saul was chosen by the Lord and was not a foreigner. He did not multiply horses as mentio…
Saul’s second test concerning the Amalekites has been likened to a ‘final exam’ that would determine his fate once and for all.1 The Task given to Saul was to ‘devote to destruction’ the Amalekites and all they had. ‘Haram’ against Amalek had to be specifically commanded, as it no…
