Saul attempts to justify himself. “I feared the people. I obeyed their voice.” He attempts to excuse his sin before Samuel…Contrast this with King David. David, who defiles the marriage covenant between Uriah and Bathsheba, and then kills Uriah the Hittite. He covets, adulterates, murders, and steals. A wicked man, deserving of death. Yet when confronted in his evil act by Nathan, his heart is convicted, and he submits to the LORD, declaring “I have sinned against the Lord.”

“For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one who did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. Therefore we are comforted.”
2 Corinthians 7:10-13

We are called by Jesus Christ to “repent and believe in the Gospel.”1 There is the clear prescription to turn from evil and do good, believing and trusting in the finished work upon the cross. But what does repentance look like? Does the Bible give clear descriptions outside of the prescriptions? How do we take such an abstract idea, and turn this command into concrete action? Praise God for His clear explanations all throughout His word. For, true repentance is found in the likes of Peter, Paul, Hezekiah, Abraham, and a whole host of faithful servants of God. And within the history encased in the Old Testament, the Scriptures give us a distinct example in the comparison and contrast of the first two kings of Israel. The comparison between the man after God’s own heart and the king desired by all the people has essential application to the Christian life.

King David and King Saul each sinned before the LORD, yet their responses when confronted are strikingly different. Whereas David confesses his sins, repents, and offers little to no explanation, Saul’s “confessions” are full of wicked justification for his actions.

Saul the Proud

In 1 Samuel 15, the LORD commands Saul to utterly destroy the Amalakites. There is no restraining order of pity to be given, rather Saul is to kill “both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.”2 Saul fails to follow God’s command and spares Agag, the best of the livestock, and goods.3 When Samuel confronts Saul, Saul immediately lies to Samuel’s face. “Blessed be you to the Lord. I have performed the commandment of the Lord.”4

Saul then attempts to explain why they kept the livestock, that they were going to sacrifice them to God, and Samuel rebukes Saul.5 Samuel declares to Saul,

“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to listen than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
he has also rejected you from being king.”
1 Samuel 15:22-23

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