Some will be aware that I am now on sabbatical! This gives me the opportunity to get to things which easily get crowded out by the urgent. I look forward to rest, refreshment and exercise, but also time to read and study. In particular, I am returning to the life of David for which there is a rich source of material throughout the whole of the Bible. I intend to blog some of my reflections. I have recently been reading in 1 Samuel and I have been very struck by the contrast between King Saul and the young David who God chooses to succeed Saul as King. The following verses are really the key turning point:

¹³ “You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. ¹⁴ But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”

1 Samuel 13:13-14

Leaving the context aside for now, I am immediately struck by this idea that God has sought out a man after His own heart. For a variety of reasons, Saul was not someone who could be described as a man after God’s own heart. Even today, God is still seeking men and women after His own heart. Understanding what that means will help as we also seek to live godly lives. Here are two reflections on what it means to be a man or woman after God’s own heart.

1. The Importance of the Heart (1 Samuel 16):

In ch.16 God commissions Samuel to go and anoint a new King who would, in time, replace Saul. God is very specific in saying that He had chosen one of the sons of Jesse (of Bethlehem) to be King. Samuel is initially cautious because he fears for Saul, but God has a cover story lined up for him. He was to take a heifer and say that he had come to sacrifice to the Lord. Samuel was to then invite Jesse to the sacrifice and anoint the one that God indicated. When Samuel saw Eliab, Jesse’s firstborn he thought “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord” (v6b), but God then spells out what He was to look for:

⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:7

God’s words here imply that Samuel really was looking at Eliab’s appearance and his height. God, however, was concerned primarily about his heart. Its a really interesting verse that tells us so much about what God values highest. How often do we make snap judgements about people based on first impressions or outward appearances? 

David certainly didn’t look the part. He was the eighth, and final, son of Jesse who was out shepherding the flock. It seems that even Jesse had not considered him and when Samuel enquired as to whether Jesse had any further sons, they had to send for him! At this point David may have been as young as 13 years old. He was but a boy, though we are old in v12b that “He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.”

Saul on the other hand, look very the part and was everything the people of God had in mind when they asked for a King “like the other nations” (8:19-20). When Saul is introduced in ch.9 he is described “as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else” (9:1-2). Then in ch.10 Samuel describes Saul as being “a head taller than any of the others (10:23b). He was clearly quite a formidable guy, but he wasn’t a man after God’s own heart and that is where things started to go wrong. 

2. Honouring God’s Will (1 Samuel 13-15):

The second thing is well described by the Apostle Paul. When invited to speak in the Synagogue in Pisidian Antioch, Paul reminds them of how God had been at work through their history. When he comes to the monarchy it is very interesting how Paul draws from what we’ve read in 1 Samuel 13 about how David was a man after God’s own heart. But notice the final part of v22:    

²¹ Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. ²² After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’

Acts 13:21-22

Fulfilling the will of God is a major part of what it means to be a man or woman after God’s own heart. David’s heart was deeply concerned with honouring God. Sure, David didn’t always get it right. In fact, he often got it very wrong especially during his latter years. But the overwhelming direction of his life was given towards honouring God. When he did get it wrong he came back to God repeatedly in confession and repentance. But the same cannot be said of Saul who as we shall see, did not appear to share the same concern to see God’s will done. This is seen in two occurrences in 1 Samuel 13 and 15:   

(a) Sacrificing to the Lord (1 Samuel 13): Saul said that Saul had been foolish in not keeping the command God had given to him. This happened when both Israel and Philistines were encamped ready for battle. Samuel had instructed Saul to wait 7 days for him to arrive so that he could offer sacrifices and make them ready for battle. When the 7 days were up Saul couldn’t wait any longer. He thought he knew better and that they needed to get on with it and so he made the sacrifices himself. Perhaps this doesn’t immediately seem like a big deal, but it really was. The duties of Kings and Priests were deliberately quite different – it was not Saul’s place to offer sacrifices.    

As soon as the sacrifices have been offered, Samuel finally arrives. His opening words say it all; “What have you done” (v11a). Saul then starts sharing excuses in v11b-12. It seems to have been everyone’s fault except his own! First, it was then men’s fault for scattering and he needed to do something to draw them back. Second, it was Samuel’s fault for arriving late. If he had of arrived on time, then Saul feels that he wouldn’t have had to do it. Thirdly, it was the Philistines fault for coming down on him when he had not sought God’s favour. Therefore, Saul says that he felt “compelled to offer the burnt offering” (v12b). But in all this he had failed to trust and obey God who surely had all of this under control.

b) Failure to destroy the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15): God then called Saul to completely destroy the Amalekites. This God says was punishment for what they did to waylay God’s people as they came out of Egypt. Nothing was to be spared – no men, women, children, infants, cattle, sheep, camels or donkeys. I don’t know about you, but this idea of total annihilation is not easy to stomach. And yet it was what God said He would do to the Amalekites back in Exodus 17:14-16 and Deuteronomy 25:17-19.

Suffice to say that Saul failed in this task. He spared King Agag and also the best of the sheep, cattle, calves and lambs. We are told that they were “unwilling to destroy completely” (v9).  So God spoke to Samuel saying:

¹¹ “I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions.” Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the Lord all that night.

1 Samuel 15:11 

Its a pretty damning statement. God regrets making Saul King. Why? Because He had turned away from Him and failed to carry out His will. In response Samuel too was angry and cried out to the Lord all that night.  Saul’s half-hearted obedience was not good enough. He thought he knew better and perhaps only killed off the weaker livestock and people because they would have caused them more trouble. 

Samuel set out to confront Saul only to find that he had gone to Carmel where he had “set up a monument in his own honour” (v12b). A man after God’s own heart is concerned not with his own glory but with God’s glory. When Samuel did catch up with Saul, he proudly claimed to have obeyed the Lord’s instructions. But why then could Samuel hearing the bleating of sheep and the lowing of cattle. Queue more excuses before Samuel says:

²² But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. ²³ For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”

1 Samuel 15:22-23

It’s only after hearing this that Saul finally admits that he has sinned by violating God’s commands. He admits that he had given into the men because he was afraid of them. He begs forgiveness for his sin and pleads with Samuel to come back to him and worship God. But Samuel is having none of it, and he repeats that Saul had “rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel!” (v26).

Drawing it together

So we’ve seen see quite a contrast between these two Kings. Outwardly, Saul really looked the part, he was the champion the people thought they needed. But when it came down to it, his heart turned away from God and He was not intent on doing with the will of the Lord no matter what. When he did mess up he followed it up with a raft of excuses, and only once they were exhausted, did he finally confess his sin. Though he started well, his reign soon turned sour and God took away His spirit from him. His latter years were wracked with fear, anxiety and insecurities. 

David on the other hand was merely a boy and he was completely overlooked by everyone because he did not have the stature of his brothers. And yet, he really was a man after God’s own heart. He was the King that Israel really needed and God promised that his house and his Kingdom would last forever. Indeed, God’s own Son, Jesus Christ, came into the world through the lineage of David. He was the greater David who was a man after God’s own heart in everything He did and everything He said. He willingly followed the will of God as He went to the Cross to die the death that each of us deserved. Through His resurrection, He made it possible for each of us to find new life and one day enjoy eternity with Him. In the Life of David we therefore have much to learn so tat we too can be men and women after God’s own heart.

Cover Photo by Alex Moliski on Unsplash