David and Solomon are probably the most famous kings of the ancient Kingdom of Israel.
However, such famous David and Solomon were not the first kings of the ancient Kingdom of Israel.
The first king of the ancient Kingdom of Israel was a man named Saul.
Saul? Who's that? I've never heard of him before.
For you, this article introduces Saul!
Why did Saul become king?
First of all, let me introduce the source in which Saul appears.
That would be the Book of Samuel in the Old Testament.
This is the story of a man named Samuel when he was leading Israel as a Judge.
What's the Judge?
If you are wondering so, please read this article.
What is the Book of Judges about? Explain the summary!
This is an easy-to-understand explanation of Old Testament "Book of Judges," which describes the Judges who led the Israelites to the Promised Land!
At that time, Israel had a leader called Judges, but there was no king.
Hey, isn't it about time we had a king? Let's elect a king!
In such the situation, there was a growing demand for a king from the people of Israel.
There are disadvantages to having a king!
Samuel explained to the people the disadvantages of having a king.
They are as follows.
- His own son would have to go to the army
- You will have to do more work for the army
- Your daughters will be forced to work as well
- Good fields will be confiscated and taxed, and you will be a slave to the king
- Even if the chosen king is a bad person, God will not help you
But that's OK! We need a king!
The people said so, so Samuel set out to find a king.
And he met Saul, a tall and beautiful young man.
This is him! There is no doubt!
Samuel realized that Saul was the one whom God had chosen and anointed him with oil.
*This anointing was a biblically significant act, as it was customary to anoint kings, priests, and other rulers when they were inaugurated.
Thus Saul became the first king of the Kingdom of Israel.
Saul as King
Saul became king and took an active role as a leader in battle.
At that time, the Israelites were fighting against various peoples.
Saul, together with his son Jonathan and his vassals, led the Israelites and fought bravely.
However, an incident occurred.
Saul disregarded God's words.
Destroy the Amalekites and all that belongs to them.
Saul disobeyed God's command to destroy the Amalekites and all that belonged to them.
Therefore, God's heart left Saul.
Samuel, under God's command, secretly went looking for the next king, and he found David.
Click here to learn more about David.
Who is King David? Five Stories About a Legendary Life
David quickly became famous for his victory in a battle against the giant soldier Goliath and served Saul, but Saul became jealous of David's popularity.
You can read about David's battle with Goliath here,
The Battle of David and Goliath!
Please have a look if you like.
Saul tried to kill David, but David managed to escape.
Saul was unable to kill David, but he himself was cornered along with his sons in the battle against the Philistine army and finally committed suicide.
After Saul's death
After the death of Saul, the first king of the Kingdom of Israel, David became the second king of Israel.
The third king of Israel was Solomon, a renowned symbol of wisdom.
Learn more about Solomon here.
Who is King Solomon? A summary of his personality and life episodes!
It is said that the time of this third Solomon was the most prosperous period of the ancient Kingdom of Israel.
And after Solomon, Rehoboam, Solomon's son, succeeded him as the fourth generation, but things did not go well and Israel was divided into north and south.
This led to the famous Babylonian Captivity.
If you would like to know more about the Babylonian Captivity,
What is Babylonian Captivity in history?
The Babylonian Captivity led to the birth of Judaism. How did the Jewish people strengthen their religious ties? This article explains them in detail!
Please read this article.
The ancient Kingdom of Israel has a long history, but the interesting thing about its history is that its beginning was not David or Solomon, but Saul.