How easily we can be fooled. Saul was measured from his shoulders up; nothing is said about his heart.
Not only was God the best King, supreme over all earthly rulers, His reign marked by wisdom, mercy, power, and generosity, but it was—to put it bluntly—a real bargain! Samuel explained: “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons…He will take your daughters…And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves…He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage…And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys…He will take a tenth of your sheep” (1 Sam 8:11-17). God had not only provided His services free of charge—administrator, instructor, judge, commander, etc.—He was the One who sent the rain for their crops, provided protection from their foes, and offered His eternal friendship to one and all. He is not a taker; He is the giver of “every good gift and every perfect gift” ( Jas 1:17). “Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, ‘No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles’” (1 Sam 8:19-20). They wanted to fit in, and to walk by sight rather than by faith. It was scary riding into battle when you couldn’t see the General! A big man was what they wanted, so a big man was what they got. A Benjamite named Saul, the son of Kish, “there was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people” (9:2). Ever since Eden, people have been fooled by things that are good to look at. God help us to see beyond the obvious to the essential, from the things that please men to the things that please the Lord.