Special Saturday Edition
Ethan Barton, Pastoral Resident, Tallowood Baptist Church
The tradition of evaluating U.S. presidents on their first 100 days in office began with Franklin D. Roosevelt, and since him, every president has tried to open his term with as much ambitious success as possible. This is Saul’s first 100 days, and he knocked it out of the park. With the Ammonites attacking and threatening to disgrace Israel, Saul burned with Godly wrath, rallied hundreds of thousands of men, obliterated the Ammonites, commanded grace and reconciliation, and essentially united the kingdom. He dramatically established himself as a mighty warrior, a good leader, and a just king—what better first 100 days could you ask for?
It's interesting for us to read this already knowing the pathetic end of Saul’s story. God’s Spirit eventually departs from him, and he grows hubristic and deranged until he dies in battle with little honor. Not to mention, Israel was never supposed to have a king besides the Lord in the first place. Yet despite all that, Saul is still God’s anointed king. His Spirit was with Saul at the beginning of his reign, and he was working through Saul to strengthen his holy nation whom he had promised to strengthen. Some time later, a young man named David would refuse to kill Saul, even though Saul was trying to kill David, because he recognized this and refused to dishonor God’s anointed.
For a few wonderful years, Saul was the quintessential mighty king. But he was by no means perfect. And neither would be David, or Solomon, or any king that followed. This people was desperate for a king that conquered enemies with a mighty hand but also dealt with justice, mercy, and wisdom, but no such king took ever took the throne. That is, not until about a millennium later. The only perfect, mighty, just, righteous king to ever rule on earth—the king Israel long awaited—would be born in a stable in Bethlehem.
Every passage in the Old Testament points to Jesus, either by foreshadowing his gospel or showing how badly the world needed it. Saul is no exception—here at the beginning of his reign, he ruled with Christlike power and Christlike justice, and yet he still went off the rails later, because only Christ himself is a perfect king. Praise God we live under the authority of such a king! Our Jesus rules with a mighty fist, conquers the terrible enemies of sin and death, and deals justly and mercifully with us his people. Saul was the picture of what a great king could be; we have a king who is truly great indeed.
