period in which he received public support and private guidance from Samuel. From Samuel’s point of view Saul’s reign was a disaster from the outset. God had punished his people for their premature and worldly-motivated request for a king by giving them exactly the kind of king they had requested. After the great sin of 1 Samuel 15, Samuel anointed a king after God’s own heart. In the last sixteen chapters of 1 Samuel Saul did everything he could to consolidate his own power and thwart the elevation