Story Producer 143-4 - Saul as king

Title options:The Lord takes Saul to be Israel’s king.The Israelites demand that God give them a king.Does God want people to sacrifice to him?

When Samuel grew old, he appointed his own sons to serve as judges [leaders] in Israel. But they were not honest men. They took bribes and ruled unjustly.

One day, all of the tribal leaders in Israel came to see Samuel. They said, “You are old, and your sons are dishonest judges. So we want you to appoint a king who will rule over Israel, as do kings in other countries [lands].

This displeased Samuel, so he prayed, “O Lord! How [What] shall I reply?”The Lord said to him, “They are rejecting me, not you! So do for them as they have asked! Then warn them about the ways in which kings rule over countries!”

So Samuel warned those leaders, “A king will take your livestock and your land for himself, and he will make your children work for him [like slaves]! And when you [will] complain to the Lord, he will not help you!”

But the Israelite leaders insisted, saying, “We still want to have a king to rule over us and to lead us in war, for we want to be like other countries!”

After Samuel listened to all that the leaders wanted to say, he told [recounted] it to the Lord, who replied to Samuel [him], “Do as the Israelite leaders say! Appoint for them a king!”

There was a tall, handsome Israelite man named Saul. Everyone admired him.

One day, some of Saul’s father’s livestock [donkeys] wandered away, so Saul went with a servant to go search for them.

About that time, the Lord said to Samuel, “Tomorrow, you will meet a man whom I shall send to you. You must anoint him [pour (olive) oil on] him to show that [it is] he [who] will lead Israel.”

After searching several days, Saul said, “Let us return home!”But the servant replied, “The prophet [God’s messenger] Samuel resides in a town near here. Let us go ask him where to find your livestock!”

So Saul agreed, “Alright! Let us go hear what that man [prophet] will say to us!”

As they came near to the town, a woman going to draw water told them, “The prophet has come to town to offer a sacrifice and to attend a feast!”So Saul and the servant met with Samuel.

When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said, “This is the man about whom I told you. He is the man who will rule over my people [Israel]!”

Samuel said to Saul, “Other men have found your father’s livestock, so do not worry about them [it]!”

Samuel then said to Saul, “I have come here today to tell you that it is you in whom all Israel have put their hope!”

Saul asked, “What do your words mean?”Samuel replied, “I shall explain [tell you] everything tomorrow morning!”

Next morning, when Saul wanted to leave [go / return home], Samuel anointed him [poured] (olive) oil on Saul’s head, saying, “­The Lord chooses [has chosen] you to become king over his people Israel!”

Later, Samuel called together all the [tribal] leaders in Israel, and said to them, “The Lord says, “[Although] it was I who rescued your ancestors from Egypt [country] [some hundred years ago], you have rejected me by asking for a king to rule over you!­ So every tribal leader must now walk [pass by] in front of me!”

So all the tribal leaders stood and walked in front of [passed by] Samuel.

When the men from Saul’s tribe [presented themselves] walked in front of Samuel, he said [loudly] so everybody could hear, “This man named Saul, it is he [he is the one] whom the Lord has chosen to become your king!”

Then all the people there shouted together, “Long live the king!”

After Saul became king, he led the Israelites’ army in many battles against their enemies, and they were always victorious.

One day, Samuel came to see Saul and said, “The Lord wants you to go punish [defeat] the Amalekites [the tribe/descendants of Amalek]!

“The Lord commands you to attack the Amalekites, and to destroy all of them. Also destroy all of their livestock!”

So Saul and his army went and attacked the Amalekites, and defeated them. They killed everyone except their king. They killed most of the livestock but kept the best ones alive.

Afterwards, the Lord said to Samuel, “I regret that I made Saul to become king, because he has disobeyed me!”Samuel was grieved [sad; sorry], so he went to see Saul. When they met, Saul said to Samuel, “Look! I have done what the Lord told me to do!”

Then Samuel replied, “If that is so, then why do I hear sheep bleating and cattle lowing? [If that is true, I should not be hearing the sounds/voices of sheep and cows!]

[Samuel continued rebuking Saul,] “The Lord anointed you to become king, and you are now the leader over Israel! He ordered you to destroy all of the Amalekites! But you did not obey his order [completely]!”

Saul replied, “But I did obey the Lord’s order. My army killed all the Amalekites, and I captured their king. My soldiers only brought here the best from the Amalekites’ herds [livestock], to sacrifice them to the Lord!”

Samuel said, “To obey [God] is better than giving sacrifices to him; [to listen [to God] is better than offering him the fat from rams (male sheep / livestock)]!You rejected the Lord’s order, so he has rejected you from being king!”

Samuel himself then killed the Amalekite king.After that day, Samuel never met with Saul again. Samuel often grieved [felt sad or sorry] about Saul, and the Lord regretted [was displeased] that he had made Saul king over Israel.