'THE MANNER OF THE KING'

191

tines before, who went up with them into the camp; even they also turned to be with the Israelites that were with Saul and Jonathan. Likewise all the men of Israel who had hid themselves in the hill country of Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard after them in the battle. So God saved Israel that day.

Much fighting against the Philistines still continued, and a later notice says that 'there was sore war against the Philistines all the days of Saul,' but the permanent dominion of the Philistines over Israel had passed away.

§ 13. Before continuing the history of Saul we must listen to the second account of the establishment of the monarchy. It is very different from the first. Samuel plays in it a much more important part. It begins in the following way:

And it came to pass when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abijah: they were judges in Beer-sheba. And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgement.

Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah: and they said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto God. And God said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. Now therefore hearken unto their voice: how beit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.

And Samuel told all the words of God unto the people that asked of him a king. And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them over his chariots, and over his horses; and they shall run before his chariots: and he will

appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and he will set them to plough his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be perfumers, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest oxen, and your asses, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your sheep; and ye shall be his servants. And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king whom ye shall have chosen you; and God will not hear you in that day. But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; that we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles. And God said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city.

And Samuel called the people together unto Mizpah; and he said unto the children of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all kingdoms that oppressed you: but ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before God by your tribes and by your thousands. And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken. And when he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of the Matrites was taken. And the family of the Matrites was brought near man by man, and Saul the son of Kish was taken; but when they sought him, he could not be found. Then one said, Behold, he hath hid himself among the stuff. And they ran and fetched him thence; and when he stood among the people, he was higher than any of the people from his shoulders and upward. And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom God hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all

SAMUEL'S CHARGE TO THE PEOPLE

193

the people shouted, and said, God save the king. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house. And Saul also went home to Gibeah; and there went with him the valiant men whose hearts God had touched. But certain base fellows said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no present. But he held his peace.

You will notice that in this version of the story Saul is chosen by lot, to which, just because of its uncertainty, men in ancient times were sometimes wont to ascribe divine power. They believed that God overruled chance, and that through the lot was revealed his will. The only excellence which this story allows to Saul is his height. The teller of it was not partial to Saul. For the choice of the beloved hero David a nobler reason is given. We shall hear it later on.

§ 14. A still later writer puts another set speech into the mouth of Samuel on the subject of the kingdom.

And Samuel said unto all Israel, Behold, I have hearkened unto your voice in all that ye said unto me, and have made a king over you. And now, behold, the king walketh before you: and I am old and greyheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you and I have walked before you from my childhood unto this day. Here I am: witness against me before God, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it you. And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken aught of any man's hand. And he said unto them, God is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that ye have not found aught in my hand. And they answered, He is witness.

And Samuel said unto the people, Let God be witness that appointed Moses and Aaron, and brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. Now therefore stand still, that I may plead with you before God, and relate to you all the righteous acts of God, which he did to you and to your fathers. When Jacob was come into Egypt, the Egyptians oppressed them. And your fathers cried unto God, and God sent Moses and Aaron, who brought forth

your fathers out of Egypt, and God made them to dwell in this place. But they forgat God, and he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Jabin king of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab, and they fought against them. And they cried unto God, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken God: but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve thee. And God sent Gideon and Barak and Jephthah, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies on every side, and ye dwelled safe. And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said unto me, Nay, but a king shall reign over us: when the Lord your God was your king. Now therefore behold the king whom ye have chosen; God hath set a king over you. If ye will fear God, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of God, and both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the Lord your God, well: but if ye will not obey the voice of God, but rebel against the commandment of God, then shall the hand of God be against you, and against your king. Now therefore stand still and see this great thing, which God will do before your eyes. Is it not wheat harvest to-day? I will call unto God to send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of God, in asking you a king. So Samuel called unto God, and God sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared God. And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the Lord thy God, that we die not for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king. And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not : ye have done all this wickedness; yet turn not aside from following God, but serve God with all your heart; and turn ye not aside after the vanities which cannot profit nor deliver, for they are vain. For God will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased God to make you his people. Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against God in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way. Only fear God and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you. But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.

SAUL AND DAVID

195

CHAPTER VIII

§ 1. THE date of Saul's election to the kingship over all Israel has been fixed at about 1037 B. C., that is some 2932 years ago (I am writing in 1895), and he probably reigned about nineteen years, that is till 1018 B.C.

We know hardly anything of what happened during his reign, except at its warlike and prosperous opening and at its tragic and gloomy close. At some point in the course of it dissensions arose between Samuel and Saul. Two different reasons for this dissension are mentioned. Of these two, one seems improbable and rather trivial. The other relates to Saul's conduct in a campaign against the Amalekites. War was carried on in a relentless spirit in those days, and little mercy or quarter was shown by either side to each other. The methods of warfare were no better and no worse among the Hebrews than among their neighbours. But in the Amalekite campaign Saul had saved the life of the king of the Amalekites called Agag, whereas Samuel desired and obtained his execution. Let us hope that this alleged cause of the dissension between Saul and Samuel is not accurate. One does not like to associate the child of Hannah with deeds of vengeance.

§ 2. Whether it was the quarrel with Samuel or the constant wars with the Philistines or other reasons which we know not of, a deep spirit of gloom and melancholy settled upon Saul. As the oldest Hebrew writers refer all things, whether good or bad, to the direct, if inexplicable, agency and will of God, they called Saul's melancholy an evil spirit from God. They also expressed the same thing by saying that God's (good) spirit had left him.

This melancholy of Saul had large and important consequences. Because of it Saul made the acquaintance of the warrior hero David, who was destined to succeed him on the throne.

Of David and of his early fortunes and of his first meeting with Saul there are different accounts in the Bible. One is older and more historical, the other later and less historical. to the older account first.

We will listen