Saul, David, and the Two Ways to Live

1 Samuel 31 lands with no real surprise. God said Saul would die, and God does exactly what he said. Saul’s death feels like a downer at the end of the book, but 1 and 2 Samuel belong together as one story, so this ending is really the halfway point. 1 Samuel gives a clear little picture of the gospel, almost like a microcosm of the whole Bible’s story.

Hannah’s prayer puts God in his right place. God rules the world. God gives life and brings death. God humbles and exalts. God raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap. Hannah sees that “it is not by strength that one prevails,” and Samuel’s leadership does the same thing. Samuel does not point Israel to himself. When the Philistines come, Samuel cries out to the Lord, and the Lord thunders against the enemy.

Israel then rejects God as king. The people ask for a king like the nations around them, and God says plainly that they have rejected him. Saul is exactly the kind of king they think they need: tall, strong, impressive, good looking, a head taller than everyone else. But Saul’s story becomes a trail of damage. Saul serves himself, seeks his own glory, and pulls others away from God. When Samuel confronts him, the bleating sheep and lowing cattle expose the truth. Saul says he obeyed, but God says rebellion is like divination and arrogance like idolatry. Because Saul rejects the word of the Lord, God rejects Saul as king.

Saul’s death is the warning. God does not let rebellion go on forever. A good and righteous judge will not let sin carry on and rule the world. Saul’s life shows what happens when a person lives with the crown on the wrong head.

David stands in contrast, though David is not Jesus and David is not perfect. David is God’s chosen king, the one who seeks God’s glory. Against Goliath, David does not make his own name big. He says the battle is the Lord’s. David points forward to Jesus, God’s forever king. God promises David a throne that will be established forever, and that promise finds its fulfilment in Christ. Saul and David show two ways to live: Saul’s way leads to death, but the way of God’s chosen king leads to life. The real difference is repentance. David sins badly, but David turns back to God. Jesus, the forever king, welcomes all who turn to him.

##

---

Key Takeaways

• 1. God stays king, not background. Hannah’s prayer does not treat God as a helper on the edge of life. God is the one who brings down and raises up, who judges the ends of the earth, and who gives strength to his king. Faith begins by putting God in his right place, not by asking God to bless a life already ruled by something else. [29:14]
• 2. Rejection can sound very reasonable. Israel’s request for a king comes with practical reasons: Samuel is old, his sons are not faithful, and the nations have kings. Yet God names the deeper issue as rejection of him as king. Sin often dresses itself up as sensible planning, while quietly asking for visible control instead of trusting the unseen Lord. [32:57]
• 3. Strength cannot outrun God’s judgment. Saul is tall, impressive, and exactly what the people think power should look like. But the bleating sheep expose the hollowness of his obedience, and his own strength cannot save him from the word of the Lord. A crown worn in rebellion becomes a warning, not a refuge. [37:30]
• 4. Repentance separates flawed kings. David is not set apart because he is sinless, because his own failure is deep and ugly. David is set apart because, when confronted, he turns back to God and asks for a clean heart. The difference between Saul and David is not perfection, but whether sin becomes a hiding place or the place where a person returns to the Lord. [51:18]
• 5. Jesus is God’s forever king. David begins a line of kings, but God promises a throne that will last forever. That promise stretches beyond David and beyond every failing human king until it lands on Jesus, the ruler and judge who has conquered death. Forgiveness and new life are found not by keeping the crown, but by turning to the king whose throne cannot fall. [48:44]
  ## [48:44]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [24:23] - Saul’s End and 1 Samuel’s Shape
• [26:08] - Two Ways to Live in 1 Samuel
• [26:59] - Hannah Sees God as King
• [30:15] - Samuel Points Israel to God
• [32:03] - Israel Rejects God’s Rule
• [33:47] - Saul, the King Israel Wanted
• [36:03] - Obedience Is Better Than Sacrifice
• [38:12] - Judgment Comes for Saul
• [41:33] - David Foreshadows God’s True King
• [46:32] - The Forever Throne Promise
• [49:56] - Saul and David: Two Ways
• [53:33] - Jesus Welcomes Those Who Turn

Bible Reading

1) 1 Samuel 31:1-13
Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers. Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together. And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. And the Philistines came and lived in them. The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, to carry the good news to the house of their idols and to the people. They put his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men arose and went all night and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and burned them there. And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days. [24:23]

2) 1 Samuel 15:22-23
And Samuel said, “Has 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 listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king.” [37:30]

3) 1 Samuel 8:4-7
Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for 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 to the LORD. And the LORD said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.” [32:57]

4) 1 Samuel 2:1-10
And Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the LORD; my horn is exalted in the LORD. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation. There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God. Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength. Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn. The LORD kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up. The LORD makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he exalts. He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s, and on them he has set the world. He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail. The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.” [29:14]

Observation questions

1. In Hannah’s prayer, what are the different things the Lord is said to do—especially in verses 6-10—and what picture of God does that create? [29:14]
2. In 1 Samuel 8:4-7, what reasons do the elders give for wanting a king, and what deeper issue does the Lord say is really going on? [32:57]
3. In 1 Samuel 15:22-23, what words does Samuel use to describe Saul’s sin, and what does he say matters more than sacrifice? [37:30]
4. In 1 Samuel 31:1-13, what happens not only to Saul, but also to his sons, his army, and the cities of Israel after the battle is lost? [24:23]

Interpretation questions

1. Israel’s request for a king sounds practical and even sensible on the surface. Why does God still call it a rejection of his kingship, and what does that show about how unbelief can hide behind reasonable-sounding choices? [32:57]
2. Samuel says, “to obey is better than sacrifice.” Why is outward religious action not enough when the heart is set on self-rule? How does Saul show that a person can sound spiritual while still resisting God? [37:30]
3. Saul and David are both flawed men. If the real difference is repentance rather than perfection, what does that teach about the kind of heart God is looking for in his people? [51:18]
4. David is not Jesus, but he points forward to God’s true king. In what ways does David foreshadow Jesus, and why does the promise of an everlasting throne matter for understanding who Jesus is? [48:44]

Application questions

1. Hannah’s prayer puts God at the center, not at the edge. In day-to-day life, where is there a tendency to treat God more like a helper than a king? What would it look like to put him back in his right place this week? [29:14]
2. Israel wanted visible control and a king like the nations. Where is there a pull to look for security in what seems impressive, strong, or manageable instead of trusting the Lord? [33:47]
3. Saul’s disobedience was exposed by the “bleating sheep” he could not explain away. What might be the equivalent in someone’s life today—places where words say, “I obeyed,” but the evidence tells a different story? [36:03]
4. Saul’s life is a warning about living with the crown on the wrong head. Where might self-rule be showing up right now—in plans, relationships, ambitions, money, or the need to be in control? [40:36]
5. David’s way is marked by repentance. When sin is exposed, is the first instinct usually to defend, minimise, blame, or return to God? What helps a person move toward honest repentance? [51:18]
6. Jesus is the forever king whose throne cannot fall. How does that change the way a Christian faces guilt, failure, or fear about the future? [49:35]
7. Jesus welcomes all who turn to him. Is there any area of sin, shame, or stubbornness that has been kept from him? What would it look like to bring that into the open and turn to him honestly? [53:33]