A Negative History

1. Saul had attractive appearance and natural talents (1 Samuel 9:1-2). (1) Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, … a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. (2) And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he…

2. Saul had some successes and attracted some followers (1 Samuel 14:52). And there was sore war against the Philistines all the days of Saul: and when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he took him unto him.

3. Saul was selfish, competitive and ambitious (1 Samuel 20:30-31).
(30) Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother's nakedness? (31) For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die.

4. Saul was controlling (1 Samuel 22:7).
Then Saul said unto his servants that stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds;

5. Saul was rebellious toward God (1 Samuel 15:22-23).
(22) And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. (23) For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

6. Samuel rejected Saul because God has rejected Saul (1 Samuel 15:35). And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.

7. Jonathan knew in his heart that Saul was creating his own kingdom and that David was chosen by Jehovah. However, he continued to follow Saul due to the natural relationship. The ending was sad. (1 Samuel 31:1-13).
8. Conclusion: We should take this failure seriously. Don't repeat the same mistake.