Big Idea: The Lord decides the form of leadership for his covenant community, yet he sometimes gives his people a taste of what they want as a form of discipline.

Understanding the Text

In response to the people’s request, the Lord decided to give them a king, but he reserved the right to set the pattern for kingship. Recognizing the people’s need for security, he chose and commissioned a ruler to deliver them from their enemies. The plot tension of chapter 8 appears to be resolved, but new plot tensions appear in the story. Though Samuel presents Saul to the people as a qualified king based on superficial physical appearances (10:23–24; see 9:2), the narrator’s presentation of Saul reveals a serious character flaw that was foreshadowed in deficient leaders of the judges’ period. Despite…