Saul the first king of Israel
Saul the first king of Israel
(I Kings IX, 2), son of Kish from the tribe of Benjamin.
Saul's father was a noble man among the Israelites, and his son Saul was distinguished by his beauty and height. There was no one more beautiful than him among Israel - from his shoulders he was taller than all the people. Around this time, the Israelites, hitherto ruled by God himself, wished, following the example of the pagan peoples surrounding them, to have a king, and God showed the prophet Saul. It happened one day that some of his father’s donkeys were missing, and so Saul took one of his servants and went to look for them. While traveling on the third day, they came to the place where the seer Samuel lived, and the servant suggested that Saul turn to the prophet to find out about them. Saul did so and went, at the direction of the servant, to the prophet.
Samuel, having received a revelation from above about the approach of Saul and instructions on how to act, invited him to his house for a feast, offered him the first place at it and a special treat, and the next day, seeing him off, being left alone with him, poured water on his head. vessel of oil, kissed it and said: Behold, the Lord anoints you to be the ruler of His inheritance. You will reign over the Lord's people and save them from the hand of their enemies.
To convince Saul that this was the work of God, Samuel predicted to him everything that he would meet on his way home; and these were events that Samuel could not know personally, but only by revelation of God (I Sam. X, 2-6).
A few days after this, Samuel went to Mizpah and gathered all the people there to elect a king. Lots were cast first by tribe, then by tribe, and finally by name. The lot fell on Saul, the son of Kish, and the people, seeing his majestic growth, immediately exclaimed: Long live the king!
At the very beginning of his reign, Saul gained the complete favor and devotion of all Israel by his brilliant victory over Nahash and the Ammonite army during the siege of Jabesh-gilead. Immediately after this, the people gathered at Gilgal and celebrated his accession to the throne with peace offerings with joy and triumph. After a series of military exploits, Saul received a command from God to punish the Amalekites for the insults they caused to Israel during his journey from Egypt, but Saul did not fulfill the will of God: he spared the king of the Amalekites and drove from the Amalekites a lot of livestock, the best oxen and sheep, under the pretext of bringing them as a sacrifice to God. Etc. Samuel told the king that obedience to God is better than sacrifice and obedience is better than the fat of rams, and declared to him the will of God that he would no longer be king.
From that time on, Saul lost heart and became a slave to jealousy, wickedness and malice; an evil spirit took possession of him; royal honors no longer consoled him. Saul's conduct during all this time towards David shows that he has now lost all generosity and nobility. Shortly before his death, war broke out again with the Philistines. Saul timidly prepared for this war and saw himself completely abandoned by God, not receiving any revelation from Him either in dreams, or through the lips of the high priests, or through the prophets. Then he turned to superstition and asked his servants to look for a sorceress for him. They pointed out to him the sorceress in Endor. Having changed his clothes, he went to her at night and asked her to bring Samuel to him (Samuel was no longer alive at that time).
What the woman’s sorcery consisted of is unknown; As soon as she saw Samuel, she cried out loudly and, turning to Saul, said: Why have you deceived me? you are Saul. “And the king said to her: Do not be afraid; tell me what do you see? - The woman answered: I see, as it were, God emerging from the earth. -What does he look like?
asked Saul.
The woman answered: an elderly man comes out of the ground, dressed in a long robe.
Saul realized that it was Samuel, fell face down to the ground and bowed to him.
The one who appeared asked Saul: Why did you disturb me and force me to come out?
Saul answered:
It is very hard for me;
The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has retreated from me and no longer answers me, either through the prophets, or in a dream, or in a vision; That's why I called you to teach me what should I do? The one who appeared said: if the Lord has already left you, then why are you asking me? The Lord fulfills on you what He said through me; He will take the kingdom out of your hands and give it to your neighbor, David, because you did not obey the command of the Lord and did not fulfill His will over Amalek. And so He will deliver Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. These words struck Saul so strongly that he suddenly fell with his whole body to the ground and there was no strength in him, for he had been without food for a whole day. Then the woman, coming up and seeing him in such a terrible situation, begged him to take food to strengthen himself. At first he refused, but then he obeyed, got up from the ground and sat down on the bed. She killed the calf and baked unleavened bread, and brought all this and offered it to Saul and his servants; and they fortified themselves with this food and went back that same night.
The next day a battle took place on Mount Gilboa. The Jews were defeated and driven away. Saul's three sons were killed before his eyes. He himself, wounded by arrows, fearing that the uncircumcised would mock him, asked the squire to end his life, and when he did not agree to this, he fell on his sword and died. The next day, the Philistines found the corpse of Saul and the corpses of his sons, cut off Saul's head and stuck it in the temple of Dagon, put his weapons in the temple of Asherah, and hung his corpse and the corpses of his sons on the walls of Bethsan. Having learned about this, the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead, who had once been blessed by Saul, came at night, took the corpses from the walls of Bethsan, burned them and buried their remains near their city under an oak tree, honoring the memory of their benefactor with a seven-day fast (I Kings XXXI; I Chronicles X).
The State of Israelite Society in the Time of Saul
Based on Book I Sam. we can conclude that an orderly administrative system had not yet developed in Saul's time. Saul's energy was primarily directed toward consolidating the monarchy. Apparently, a significant part of the nascent administration were members of Saul's family.
Thus, his son Jonathan stood at the head of one of the contingents of the standing army, Abner ben Ner, also a relative of Saul, was the head of the king's army; Most of the military leaders were members of the tribe of Benjamin, who received land plots and vineyards from the king. At the time of Saul, the tribal organization had not yet ceased to exist - Saul was considered the head of the tribes of Israel, and monarchical institutions similar to those that existed in other countries of the ancient Near East had not yet been formed.
The symbol of Saul's royal power was, apparently, his spear, and also, possibly, a crown and bracelet (II Sam. 1:10). Under Saul, a standing army numbering 3,000 was created for the first time (I Sam. 13:1-2), but tribal militias continued to exist, constituting the bulk of the troops mobilized by royal order.
Saul's accession marked the beginning of a centuries-long conflict between the power of priests and kings. From the point of view of the priests, the appearance of the king is a rejection of God's direct power over the people. Not long before this, when Gideon was offered to become king, he replied that the people have no other king but God. From that moment on, the so-called “prophetic revolution” began - constant criticism by the prophets of the decisions of the kings. Another consequence was the centralization of the cult, which had not been required before. Since the time of King Shlomo, the only legal place where sacrifices could be made was the Temple in Jerusalem (although other sanctuaries continued to operate for centuries).
The anti-monarchical tendency of the book of Shmuel I and the comparison of Saul’s activities with the activities of his successor, David, creates the impression of complete failure. But his military achievements were great. Without completely solving the problem of the conflict with the Philistines, he removed Israel from submission to them and stopped their advance into the interior of the country. David understood this best of all, who composed a song about him, beginning with the words “Your glory, O Israel, is slain on your heights! How the mighty have fallen!
David and his son Solomon brought prosperity to Israel
David, fleeing the persecution of Saul, went over to the Philistines, who later defeated Saul. In the resulting power vacuum, David came with his followers to the city of Hebron, where the Jews proclaimed him king. This is how two kingdoms were formed - Israel and Judah. The first was headed by Jephostheus (son of Saul), the second by David. These two states fought among themselves for about two years (Jephostheus ruled for so long), after which the victorious David was elected ruler of all Israel at the request of the Israeli elders. Subsequently, he conquered Jerusalem, Moab, some territories of Syria and the banks of the Euphrates, etc., subordinated spiritual power to secular power, placed the Ark of the Covenant on Mount Zion, and composed psalms. In old age, he transferred power to his son Solomon, born from a relationship with Bathsheba, who was the wife of another man.
Historians believe that the rulers of Ancient Israel and Judah, David and his son Solomon, brought a “golden age” to the people of Israel. The son of David managed to develop the domestic and foreign policy achievements of his father. According to religious sources, he received a prosperous reign, great wisdom and patience for not deviating from serving the Almighty. Under Solomon, the Temple of Jerusalem was built, united Israel and Judea did not suffer due to the trade route from Damascus to Egypt, wars with the Egyptians stopped, since the daughter of Pharaoh became the first royal wife. The annual income of the kingdom under Solomon was estimated at more than 600 talents of gold (a talent is about 26 liters). But by the end of the reign, the state treasury was empty due to large expenses for the temple and palace, which led to the need to increase taxes, against which the subordinate tribes rebelled. The single state again split into Judea and Israel.
The prophet's choice fell on a blond young man
Samuel, heeding the voice of the Most High, went to Bethlehem, where he chose and anointed David from the tribe of Judah as king. It is interesting that, according to historical data, David did not have a Middle Eastern appearance. He had a pleasant face, handsome eyes and had blond hair, which was not usually typical for the inhabitants of this region. In addition, he was distinguished by physical strength (he defeated a bear and a lion) and meekness. And he sang and played the harp so well that the official King Saul lost his depressive mood to the sounds of his music.
The Age of the Judges of Israel
The power of the judges was primarily based on moral authority and had no executive branch, no regular army, and no general taxation. The founder and first ruler of the Kingdom of Israel, Samuel, who became a reformer for his people, tried to correct these “shortcomings.” Attacked and defeated by the Philistines (the Ark of the Covenant was taken as a trophy by the Philistines), the Israelite tribes were united by Samuel and called to repentance at Mizpah. Here the prophet managed to lift the spirit of his people so much that the people were able to throw off the yoke of the Philistines and get back their shrine (according to legend, the taken Ark brought so much misfortune to the new owners that they chose to return it back).
Before the wedding of David and Saul's daughter, many Philistines were killed
After David's victory and his musical successes at the royal court, Saul made him his son-in-law, marrying his youngest daughter to him. At the same time, David exceeded the royal condition for the wedding - he took the lives of not one hundred, but two hundred Philistines with the help of troops in the next battle. David's popularity irritated the suspicious king, and he tried to kill him, after which the young man went to the prophet, who then lived in Rama. Saul pursued his son-in-law everywhere, killed almost all the priests who helped him escape, and gave his wife to another man as his wife. In this process, David did not reciprocate his feelings and many times spared Saul at moments when he could have killed him. King Saul committed suicide when, in another battle with the Philistines, he was surrounded and lost three sons. Before this, he turned to the famous sorceress of Endor to find out his fate. And, as expected, for this conversion he was left by the mercy of the Almighty.
The people asked the prophet for a king
The formation of the Israeli kingdom under the leadership of Samuel was accompanied by the creation of prophetic schools, through which patriotism and public education spread. The prophet was a ruler until his old age and significantly improved the situation of his subjects, but his sons Abij and Joel turned out to be bribe-takers, so the Israelites asked to install a king “from among the people” over them. Samuel, having warned those asking about the possibility of despotism, chose for them the son of Kish, Saul, as king.
Royal dynasty
Despite the long persecution of Shaul, who considered him a rival, and a difficult fate, David’s faith in God helped him overcome difficult times and influenced the already sensitive soul of the author of the book of Tehillim. Having built his own royal palace, David sought to create a magnificent house for God in Jerusalem to replace the tent in which the Ark of the Covenant was kept at that time. God promised David that, although he himself would not be able to begin the construction, his son Solomon, who would inherit the throne, would be honored to build the Temple, and his descendants would rule Israel forever.
Shlomo's reign is considered Israel's golden years. He was endowed by the Almighty with extraordinary wisdom, and his fame reached the most remote corners of the earth. As God promised his father, King Shlomo actually built a house for the Most High in Jerusalem where He could dwell - the First Holy Temple.
Why did the Kingdom of Judah last longer than the Kingdom of Israel?
Who was the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel? This territory was larger than the separated Judean south; up to two-thirds of the entire population of the former unified state lived here, and the most fertile lands were located here. But in the south, among the Jews, Jerusalem remained with the main temple and national shrines. Therefore, the Jewish formation lasted longer, despite the worse economic situation. While the Northern Kingdom of Israel, led in the early years of its existence by Jeroboam, was on the political map of that time for about 250 years, where the Age of Kings was established for this period. The kings of Israel from Jeroboam to Hosea retreated, as a rule, from serving the One God of Israel, erected a number of temples with golden calves or worshiped the deities of the Phoenician cult. The country suffered greatly from many coups d'etat and was conquered by Sargon the Second, king of Assyria, in 722 BC.
How the king quarreled with the prophet
The first ruler of the kingdom of Israel, Saul, remained in office for about 20 years. He created a regular army of 3,000 people, successfully fought against the Philistines (one of the battles of this period is famous for the confrontation between Goliath and David), and was initially a very religious person (he wanted to execute his own son for breaking his fast once). However, before the battle in Gilgal, he personally made sacrifices, without waiting for Samuel (such actions were the duties of the prophet himself), and then refused to carry out Samuel’s order to completely destroy the Amalekites. The angry prophet announced the deprivation of Saul's royal title and the possible death of all his descendants. The king, deprived of the support of the prophet, lost heart, an evil spirit possessed him, and he lost interest in autocratic activities.
