Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

Saul was a member of the Israelite tribe of Benjamin. After Israel conquered Canaan following the exodus from Egypt, there was a long period of Israel being governed by a succession of judges whom God raised up to save the nation when it was threatened by adversaries. 

Eventually, the people demanded of Samuel (the last of the judges) that he appoint a king to rule over them, so that Israel could be like all the other nations (rather than being ruled directly by God), and Saul was the individual who was chosen as king.

His reign started well, but he soon fell out of favor with God by disobeying God's command to destroy the pagan Amalekites, along with all their flocks and herds. The Israelites killed the Amalekite men and women, but saved the livestock for themselves. As a result of his disobedience, God rejected Saul as king, and instructed Samuel to anoint David (who was described as a man after God's own heart) to reign in Saul's place.

This resulted in a long conflict between Saul and David (in which Saul tried unsuccessfully to kill David on multiple occasions) until Saul finally killed himself after being wounded while fighting against the Philistines, making David the undisputed king.

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