Samuel was a great spiritual leader and prophet. As the last of the judges, Samuel served as the bridge to new leaders, the kings of Israel. God was Israel’s true King. But the Israelites wanted more. They wanted an earthly king like other nations (1 Samuel 8:5, 20). While God granted their wish, He remained in charge as King. His covenant-law still governed all Israelites. The earthly king’s duty was to see that the people followed Moses’ law.
The first king of Israel—chosen by God and anointed by Samuel—was Saul of the tribe of Benjamin. When Samuel confirmed Saul as king, Samuel told the people,
If you will fear the LORD and serve Him and obey His voice and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God, it will be well. But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you and your king. (1 Samuel 12:14-15)
Saul started out well. He was humble and God’s Spirit helped him. But under pressure Saul gave in to his weaknesses. God said, “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not performed My commandments” (1 Samuel 15:11). Samuel confronted Saul, “Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has also rejected you from being king” (1 Samuel 15:23). God then directed Samuel to anoint the young shepherd David to be the next king after Saul. David belonged to the tribe of Judah and came from the village of Bethlehem. God’s Spirit left Saul and came upon David (1 Samuel 16:13-14). As David enjoyed more and more success, Saul became insanely jealous. He worked tirelessly to catch and kill David. But God helped David to survive. Praise for deliverance became the theme for many of David’s songs, collected in the Bible’s book called Psalms. Eventually, Saul himself was killed in a battle with Israel’s enemies, the Philistines. After that, around 1000 B.C., David was recognized as king, first by his own tribe Judah, and then by all twelve tribes of Israel (2 Samuel 5:3-5). He made Jerusalem his capital.