Saul Grants Mercy


1 Samuel 11:12-15
12Then the people said to Samuel, “Who is it that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Bring the men, that we may put them to death.” 13But Saul said, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has worked salvation in Israel.” 14Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom.” 15So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the Lord, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

Saul’s beginnings as the king of Israel have been rough. He hides among the baggage when Samuel wants to introduce him as the anointed king, he doesn’t deal at all with the Philistines garrisoned in Gibeah and he’s clearly more interested in being a farmer than a king. But he does muster an army to beat the Ammonites and because of that, those who previously were against him change their tune. But that isn’t enough for some. Saul's new loyal followers want the naysayers killed.

This prompts Saul’s next act as king; he grants those naysayers mercy. He refuses those who want these men killed, and thus shows what could be a very positive trait for the new king. Would that this had lasted throughout his reign. It does not.

But this act of mercy is indeed Saul’s finest hour. He finally emerges as a solid leader and even gives the glory to God, recognizing that the victory over the Ammonites was the work of God. Things don’t look too bad for Israel. It would be great at this point to say that Saul had a long, godly, glorious reign. He doesn’t. It is long – 40+ years. But he quickly loses sight of God and things will slip away. But for the moment, he’s getting it right.

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