King David Research Paper

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Israel had a series of two kings during the Old Testament, King Saul and King David. Both kings were chosen by God to rule over Israel, but only one was considered great in his reigning over the other. King David is known to have been the greatest king of Israel, while King Saul is depicted as almost a disappointment and failure in his promise to fulfill God’s requests of him in regards to rule over Israel. Both kings were great in battle against enemies of Israel, so then what was the real reason behind why one king was better than the other? It comes down to trust and willpower. Saul lost his way and chose to listen to the people, while David stuck to the word of The Lord. King Saul was first appointed by former King Samuel. Samuel was…show more content…
The first mistake Saul made was an unlawful sacrifice. While Saul had been waiting for Samuel in preparation for battle, he became anxious, because the people began to slip away from him. In order for him to keep them in his favor, he told his people to bring him burnt offerings and offer them to God. When Samuel arrived he questioned why King Saul had done this, because he had been ordered to keep the burnt offerings until after the battle. Saul replied, “When I saw that the people were slipping away from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed… ‘Now the Philistines will come down upon me at Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of the Lord’; so I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” (1 Samuel 13:11-12) King Saul relied more on the people to help him win the battle than on…show more content…
He led his people in battles against the Philistines, Moabites, and others. Both had no problems in leading the people to victory, but in living as a spokesperson of God, failed to live up to God’s expectations in one way or another. But David prevailed, because of his love and trust in God. David always trusted that God knew the way. He relied on God only to help him and put him on the right path. While King David and King Saul responded to God differently, Saul had the same potential to be just as great a king as David. Both had been anointed and chosen by God. They had been chosen out of favor to The Lord. King David and King Saul were humble, happy, handsome men who were brought up with similar jobs of working on the land. Both had the potential to be great kings, but only one was able to fulfill God’s promises. King Saul fell from power simply because he became greedy. King David was able to stay on the right path and was able to fulfill God’s

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