Saul was an interesting character in the Jewish national consciousness. Even though he’s in Hell (1 Chronicles 10:13), David composed a lamentation after his death, despite everything Saul had put him through, calling him “beloved and pleasant” (2 Samuel 1:23). Jewish parents named their sons “Saul” for many years afterwards (it was the Apostle Paul’s given name). Contrast that with the complete lack of the use of the name “Adolph” since World War II.

What we learn from this is that, in Jewish national thought, Saul was considered a tragic figure, not an evil one. He was a good man who lusted after power so much that he simply could not relinquish it upon God’s command, to his downfall. In light of this, I want to look at what it would have looked like if Saul had relinquished his power upon Samuel’s command. What if Saul had stepped aside and let David become king?

The Three Lost Blessings

When asked to relinquish power, Saul was supposed to figure out that he was offered three blessings.

The Blessing of the Father

First, he was to be a father figure to the king. David’s relationship to Saul was all but one of adoption. The Bible says that when David had finished killing Goliath, Saul “took him that day and would not let him go home to his father’s house anymore.” (1 Samuel 18:2). David was in awe of him, later saying, “Who am I, and what is my life or my father’s family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?” (1 Samuel 18:18).

David spoke constantly of Saul as being the “Lord’s anointed,” holding him in very high regard as the first divinely appointed king of Israel. I do not believe this affection and respect would have ceased if Saul had relinquished his position. Saul would have perhaps been David’s most trusted advisor, second only to Saul’s son Jonathan. Saul would have held great influence in the royal court, and his humility in accepting God’s discipline would have greatly impressed all the people and exalted him even further in their esteem.

That’s nothing to sneeze at, even if it’s a step down from being king.

The Blessing of the Son

Second, Saul’s son Jonathan was to be the king’s second-in-command. Had Jonathan not died in battle, David would most likely have made him his commander-in-chief instead of Joab (in 1 Samuel 23:17, Jonathan says that he would be “next to” David while David was king). David and Jonathan were so tightly knit that David called him a brother and said that Jonathan’s love was superior even to the love of his own wives (2 Samuel 1:26).

It was Saul’s own foolishness that got Jonathan killed – otherwise, the intended reality that Jonathan described would have happened.  Saul should have let his imagination run wild as to what awaited his most beloved son. Great things were in store for Jonathan, who, unlike Saul, didn’t care about the throne. He was content to serve the Lord’s true anointed, David.

Jonathan and Saul together would have wielded so much influence in the royal court that they probably would have had more say in Israel’s affairs than David himself. Again, nothing to sneeze at.

The Blessing of the Daughter

Finally, there’s the issue of Saul’s daughter, Michal. Though not Saul’s eldest daughter, Michal loved David (1 Samuel 18:20) and so was given to him in marriage. As far as we can tell, David loved her too – after he was finally made king, he sent for her (2 Samuel 3:13), presumably because he missed her.

What’s important to note is that Michal was not only David’s first wife – for a while she was his only wife. David didn’t marry another woman until he was on the run from Saul. It made sense: he was tired, scared, and lonely, and expanding one’s harem is, to a man, a reasonable solution to such a problem. But what if he had never been in the wilderness? He never would have even met Abigail or likely any of the other women he married. Would he have even wanted to marry anyone else? With Michal’s father and brother so close to him, would he have dared?

If I’m right, what this means is that David’s offspring were originally intended to come completely from Michal. This means that Saul would have been the grandfather of David’s successor and the ancestor of all of David’s descendants. While Saul himself may not have gotten to be king anymore, he would still have provided the royal lineage of Israel. And David’s descendants would have forever recounted the story of how their patriarch stepped aside so that their father might rule, according to God’s will.

That’s pretty incredible.

A True Tragedy

There’s certainly more. For example, would not David have written psalms of blessing about Saul? Would not those psalms exalting Saul have been sung daily before the Temple for 1000 years? Would not Saul’s family have flourished in Israel for generations to come? And would not Gentiles call their children by his name now, as they do Jonathan and David and Samuel?

It really is sad that a man can be so blinded by his lust for power that he can’t see the good that God is offering him with outstretched arm. Saul could have enjoyed many years of blessings with Samuel, David, Jonathan, and Michal, along with all their friends and family, conquering God’s enemies and ruling with righteousness. And he threw all that away for just 40 years of ruling against God’s will, being tormented by an evil spirit, fearing and hating his son-in-law, being willing to kill his own adopted prophetic father Samuel (1 Samuel 16:2), and overall just being a spiritual loser, whose ultimate fate was an eternity of torment and suffering, on top of everything else.

If that isn’t a genuine poetic tragedy, I don’t know what is.