1. This may be divided into two parts: 1.) A _period of prosperity_,
during which Saul ruled well, and freed Is'ra-el from its oppressors on
every side (1 Sam. 14. 47, 48). 2.) Then a _period of decline_, in which
Saul's kingdom seems to be falling in pieces, and only preserved by the
prowess and ability of Da'vid. After Da'vid's exile the Phi-lis'tines
again overran Is'ra-el, and Saul's reign ended in defeat and death.
2. We observe that Saul's reign was =a failure=, and left the tribes in
worse condition than it found them. 1.) He failed _in uniting the
tribes_; for tribal jealousies continued (1 Sam. 10. 27), and at the
close of his reign broke out anew in the establishment of rival thrones
(2 Sam. 2. 4, 8, 9). 2.) He failed _in making friends_. He alienated
Sam'u-el, and with him the order of prophets (1 Sam. 15. 35); he
alienated Da'vid, the ablest young man of his age and the rising hope of
Is'ra-el, and drove him into exile (1 Sam. 21. 10); he alienated the
entire order of the priests, and caused many of them to be massacred (1
Sam. 22. 18). 3.) He failed _to advance religion_, left the tabernacle
in ruins, left the ark in seclusion, broke up the service, and drove the
priests whom he did not murder into exile (1 Sam. 22. 20-23). 4.) He
failed _to liberate Is'ra-el_; at his death the yoke of the
Phi-lis'tines was more severe than ever before (1 Sam. 31. 1-7). The
most charitable view of Saul was that he was insane during the latter
years of his life. The cause of his failure was a desire to reign as an
absolute monarch, and an unwillingness to submit to the constitution of
the realm.
[For Blackboard Outline and Review Questions see end of the lesson.]