In the land of Israel, the people cried out for a king. Though God was their true King, they longed for a ruler like the nations around them. So, the Lord chose Saul, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, tall and strong in appearance.

Through the prophet Samuel, God anointed Saul as king, giving him a clear calling: to lead Israel in righteousness and to obey God’s commands. At first, Saul seemed to walk the path of obedience. He defeated Israel’s enemies and ruled with authority. But soon, his heart turned away from God’s direction.

One fateful day, before a battle with the Philistines, Saul’s army grew restless as they waited for Samuel to offer a sacrifice to God. Fearful that his troops would scatter, Saul took matters into his own hands and offered the burnt offering himself—something only a prophet was permitted to do. As soon as he finished, Samuel arrived and rebuked him:

“You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue” (1 Samuel 13:13-14, ESV).

Still, God gave Saul another chance. He commanded him to completely destroy the Amalekites, leaving nothing alive. But Saul, again trusting his own judgment over God’s command, spared the Amalekite king and the best livestock, claiming he intended to sacrifice them to the Lord. When Samuel confronted him, Saul tried to justify his actions, but the prophet’s words were firm:

“To obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king” (1 Samuel 15:22-23, ESV).

At that moment, the Spirit of the Lord left Saul. He was still king in title, but his heart was far from God. Tormented by fear and jealousy, he became obsessed with his successor, David, and spent the rest of his life trying to secure his own throne rather than surrendering to God’s plan.

Saul had been chosen for greatness, but his failure to trust and obey led to his downfall. His story is a sobering reminder that God’s plan is always better than our own, and no amount of personal effort can replace obedience to His will.