Saul, king of Israel

The son of Kish, and Israel’s first king. When the prophet Samuel anointed him king, Saul was a tall, handsome young man who knew how to work hard. He was humble and did not consider himself worthy to be king. God used him to win some battles against the Philistines, one of Israel’s toughest enemies.

Although Saul was brave, he was not a good king. After David killed Goliath, Saul became jealous of David’s popularity and tried repeatedly to kill him, even though David was close friends with Saul’s son Jonathan. But David always escaped.

Saul also was impatient and did not always obey God’s commands. Once he made a sacrifice to God instead of waiting for the priest Samuel to make the sacrifice. Another time he disobeyed God and kept some sheep and cattle he found in the camp of the Amalekites after they were defeated. Later, Saul went to a woman who claimed to speak to the dead. He wanted to know what would happen in a battle with the Philistines. Saul learned that he would die in battle. Saul and his three sons were killed in the same battle.