He was like a meteor. He blazed brightly and briefly across the skies of Israel before burning out and falling to the ground. You can sum up the life of the first king of Israel in just such words. The priests who wrote about him rejected him outright. But then, they had a special reason for doing that. Saul did not always see things their way. Most of the people he led followed him to the end. Perhaps theirs is the better testimony.

You will find Saul's story in the first book of Samuel. It is quite a readable book containing thirty-one fast-paced chapters. It is also a baffling book. There are repetitions and contradictions. Those occur because 1 Samuel is not the work of just one writer. The editors have woven together at least two sources that cover the same period of history. Each so…