ISRAEL'S history is still more humbling. The high priest's sons are the sons of Belial. The ark of God is taken by the Philistines. Eli the priest dies, and his daughter-in-law on her death bed names her newly born offspring "Ichabod," saying, "the glory of God has departed from Israel, for the ark of God is taken." Thus under law, and with priesthood, Israel entirely fails.
God however has resources, and He comes in with another order of things—He raises up the child Samuel as a prophet, who is for the time the connecting link between God and His people.
Again, Israel's failure is manifest, for they get weary of the government of Jehovah and ask for a king like the heathen round about them. (ch. 8:6-9) God granted their request, and, as He afterward said by the prophet Hosea, "I gave them a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath." (Hos. 13:1111I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath. (Hosea 13:11)) Again, there is failure, King Saul rejected the word of the Lord, and God rejected him from being king. (chapter 15:26) David then is, under divine guidance, anointed by Samuel as the king whom God chose, a man after God's own heart. (ch. 16) Another referring to Saul speaks of him as "A splendid gift in an unclean vessel, and much Showy exercise of affection without a subject heart.”
David was a man of faith and therefore of power; and of suffering too, seeing he stood for God and was hated and hunted as a partridge in the mountain by the mere official professor. He trusted in God, therefore God was remarkably with him. Jonathan too was a man of faith and of power, but he clung to the nominal thing, instead of to God and His David, and therefore died with Saul under the hand of the enemies of Israel. Those Who clung to David were greatly honored of God.
It is worthy of remark that though David honored Saul because he was the Lord's anointed, yet we never find him taking a place of communion, with him. An important principle in divine truth.