The message contrasts the leadership and character of King Saul and King David, using their biblical narratives to illustrate why David was the superior leader. Saul, chosen for his outward qualities—his family, appearance, and height—was plagued by fear, disobedience, jealousy, and impatience, ultimately prioritizing people’s approval over God’s will. In contrast, David, chosen by God for his heart, exemplified courage, obedience, loyalty, repentance, and patience. Though imperfect, David trusted God and modeled qualities that believers can aspire to embody. His kingship points to God’s promise of an eternal kingdom through a perfect, future king, fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

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David 

You may have noticed that I recently began using reading glasses, which I have never done before in my life. I had an appointment with an eye doctor for the first time in decades, and he spent a considerable amount of time putting various lenses over my eyes and asking, “Which is better – A or B?” He did this because one setting by itself, or one prescription, might look fine but turn out to be not so good when compared to something superior. It’s like what happens when you put Green Bay up next to Detroit – or Iowa State up next to Arizona State.

Today we’ll use comparison to show how King David (the most frequently mentioned human in the entire Bible other than Jesus) is the ideal king. To help us see that more clearly, we will compare David with the first king of Israel, King Saul. We’ll go to the book of 1 Samuel, right where we left off last week, and look at this Tale of Two Kings and then we’ll decide which is better: A or B.

Saul’s Selection and Legacy

Last week we left off at the end of 1 Samuel chapter 8, in which God instructed the prophet Samuel to give the Israelites a king, just as they demanded. Today we move on into Chapter 9.

1 Samuel 9:1-2 – ¹There was a Benjamite, a man of standing, whose name was Kish .²Kish had a son named Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else.

Three important facts about Saul made him the ideal king in the people’s minds

• He’s from a good family. His father, Kish, is a man of standing.
• He’s incredibly handsome.
• He is very tall.

Not much has changed in the past 3000 years! Women still try to find husbands who fit these character traits. To this day, believe it or not, taller people, on average, make more money than shorter people. A huge study in America showed that for each inch taller a person is, they make 2% more than the average wage in America.

In the rest of chapter 9 and the beginning of chapter 10, God directs Saul to cross paths with Samuel, very much like what we saw happening in the book of Esther in our last series. God tells Samuel to anoint Saul to be the future king of Israel! Then it is time to announce this event publicly.

1 Samuel 10:17-19 – ¹⁷Samuel summoned the people of Israel to the Lord at Mizpah ¹⁸and said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says, ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the power of Egypt and all the kingdoms that oppressed you.’ ¹⁹But you have now rejected your God, who saves you out of all your disasters and calamities. And you have said, ‘No, appoint a king over us.’ So now present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and clans.”

God reminds them again that He isn’t giving them a human king because He thinks it best. Moving from a divine King to a human king will be a major step down for the people. However, God will do this to appease them. He will give them exactly what they want, whether that is best for the people or not.

1 Samuel 10:20-21a – ²⁰When Samuel had all Israel come forward by tribes, the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. ^21aThen he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, and Matri’s clan was taken. Finally Saul son of Kish was taken.

Side Note: Just as in the story of Esther, “lots” were used. All through the Old Testament, you see this is a common way for the people to try to determine what God wanted for them. However, this is a bad way for us to make decisions in the New Testament era since we now have the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

1 Samuel 10:21b-22 – ^21bBut when they looked for him, he was not to be found. ²²So they inquired further of the Lord, “Has the man come here yet?” And the Lord said, “Yes, he has hidden himself among the supplies.”

Being chosen by lot to be king should not have come as a scary surprise to Saul. Earlier in the chapter, the prophet Samuel has anointed Saul’s head with oil and told him God would make him the king of Israel.

Saul’s response is one of total fear! He’s hiding from God’s act of making him the king. This isn’t the only time we will see Saul being a fraidy-cat! Remember the story of David and Goliath? Well, it should have been called ”Saul and Goliath,” because as the king and the tallest person around, Saul should have been fighting the giant. However, he was a fearful man – not exactly an ideal trait for a king.

1 Samuel 10:23-24 – ²³They ran and brought him out, and as he stood among the people he was a head taller than any of the others. ²⁴Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the man the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” Then the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

You know why the people are so excited about God choosing Saul – because he LOOKS like a king! He APPEARS to be everything they asked for: good family, handsome, and tall. Those are their primary criteria for the important position.

Unfortunately, as you walk through the story of Saul in 1 Samuel you find that his character doesn’t measure up to his position or stature. He is limited by the following negative traits:

• Fear. We already talked about this aspect, but it shows up several times.
• Disobedience. At multiple points he disobeys God’s instruction and does what he decides is right rather than what he is instructed to do.
• People Pleasing. At one point, when he is called out for his bad behavior, he says to Samuel, “I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel; come back with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God (1 Samuel 15:30).
• Jealousy. Even as a successful king who led Israel to defeat their enemies on many occasions, the fact that people praised David’s success in battle more than his own drove Saul to try to kill his best warrior
• Impatience. In one of the stories of Saul’s disobedience, he was told to wait for Samuel to make an offering to God before going to battle the Philistines. Samuel was late, though, and Saul decided to just do the offering himself. He had no patience to wait for God’s timing in the battle.

That’s a brief summary of the selection and character of Saul. Now let’s compare his legacy to that of the king who followed him, David.

Selection and Legacy of David

In 1 Samuel chapter 16, after God has rejected Saul as king because he disobeyed and failed to kill King Agag (so many ties to our last series in Esther), the prophet Samuel is sent by God to Bethlehem to anoint one of the sons of Jesse to be the next king.

1 Samuel 16: 6-7 – ⁶When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” ⁷But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

This right here is the key to everything we are learning today. Saul had the right look. He had the height. But he didn’t have the right heart. He wasn’t obedient; he didn’t trust God; he was impatient and jealous and fearful; and he cared too much about what other people thought.

Even though Samuel saw how the Saul experiment turned out, when he saw the first of Jesse’s boys he immediately thought, “He’s tall. Let’s put him in charge.” God, however, is not like us. He sees what we cannot. He can see a person’s heart. He sees YOUR heart, and what’s in your heart matters to God. Also: what’s in your heart usually comes out of your mouth. Eventually others will see it for themselves.

Since God could see the heart of each of these sons of Jesse, He knew what type of king any one of them would make. He knew what words and actions would sprout from each of their hearts, and that was what separated the ideal future king from the rest.

1 Samuel 16:10-12 – ¹⁰Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” ¹¹So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”

“There is still the youngest” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”

Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”

¹²So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”

The story of David spans the rest of 1 Samuel and all of 2 Samuel. It would take weeks and weeks to cover it all. When we look at the life of David through these two books, we find that his character – what comes out of his heart – is the polar opposite of Saul’s. Notice how different his traits are from those Saul displayed.

• Courage. When Saul fearfully refused to fight Goliath himself, David stepped in and said, “I will fight.” He trusted the Lord to rescue him from the hand of the giant. That moment was the first of many times David’s life was in danger, and he always trusted God to pull him through.
• Obedience.  When God tells David to do something, he does it. He seems to stay in step with God and what God wants him to do.
• God Pleasing. When Saul sinned and disobeyed God, he asked Samuel to come back to town with him so he could save face in front of the people. It was a sham repentance. As I’ve already said, David wasn’t perfect or without sin. We see plenty of that in his life, but when he sins, he repents. His heart is one that seeks to be reconciled with God. For proof of this, read Psalm 51, which David wrote after his most famous sin of committing adultery. Actually, read any of the many psalms David wrote, and you will see a man who worships God with every breath.
• Loyalty. Whereas Saul was totally jealous of David, David remained loyal to the house of Saul and to others close to him. In 2 Samuel chapter 9 we read, “David asked, ‘Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?’” David learns that his dear friend Jonathan – King Saul’s son – had a son who was lame. David took him into his own home and let him eat at the king’s table.
• Patience. David was anointed the future king of Israel as a young shepherd boy at maybe 10 to 15 years of age, but he didn’t become king until he was 30. Twice during that time he had the opportunity to kill Saul and assume the position of king, but he was patient. He wasn’t going to rush God’s timing, and he wasn’t going to jealously wipe out the ruling king.

A Model for Us

Looking at this list offers us a bit of a challenge. David, as an ideal king, does not have any traits that are impossible for us to attain. In fact, they are a model for us of what it looks like to follow God even in our imperfections and mistakes.

• We should trust in God and stand with courage, recognizing that certain battles are not for us to fight but for God to fight on our behalf.
• We should be obedient, putting God’s agenda ahead of our own.
• We should care more about what God thinks of us than what people think of us. We should be willing to humbly submit to God and to repent of our mistakes.
• We should be loyal to those around us, seeking their good rather than being jealous when good things happen to them.
• We should be patient and longsuffering. Sometimes God’s timing is not our own, but we trust that God will accomplish His will in our lives even when we are in the midst of the mess.

This list is more than a model for ourselves. It also lists the qualities we should look for in our leaders. David was a leader among leaders. He stands out as unique among all the famous men and women in the Bible. He was able to pull an entire nation together. Warriors were willing to risk their lives for him. You should want to follow people who exemplify these qualities. When you see people who look more like Saul than like David, recognize that trouble lies ahead for them.

Conclusion

We could pull out many more admirable traits from the stories of David, but this list is sufficient for us to decide which is better: Saul or David?

David, while not perfect, was an ideal king. Although limited by the sinfulness all men experience, David was a man after God’s heart, and that is what led God to make him an incredible promise:

2 Samuel 7:16 – Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.

Forever is a really long time. The easiest way for God to build a kingdom that will endure forever would be to establish a single, perfect, eternal king. . . .