Handsome Men

There was a Benjaminite named Kish… He was a prominent person.  He had a son named Saul, a handsome young man. – 1 Samuel 9:1a,2a  (NET)

Israel is going to receive its first king.  While we can see that “the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do everything the people request of you.  For it is not you that they have rejected, but it is Me that they have rejected as their king.  Just as they have done from the day that I brought them up from Egypt until this very day, they have rejected Me and have served other gods” (8:7-8a), the fact exists that the proximate cause of Israel’s request for a king stemmed from Samuel.  You see, “In his old age Samuel appointed his sons as judges over Israel… But his sons did not follow his ways.  Instead, they made money dishonestly, accepted bribes, and perverted justice” (8:1,3).  It was for this reason that “all the elders of Israel gathered together and approached Samuel” and “said to him, ‘Look, you are old, and your sons don’t follow your ways.  So now appoint over us a king to lead us, just like all the other nations have” (8:4a,5). 

So we can point fingers of blame and rebellion at the people of Israel, and we can understand the words on offer from the Lord to Samuel, comforting him by saying that it is the Lord that has been rejected and not him, but let’s not forget that it is Samuel’s sons that are the issue.  Had Samuel been a better father, he might have prevented Israel from traveling the route of monarchy.  Without getting off track, this issue of being a poor father can serve to partially explain David’s affinity for Samuel.  At the same time, however, part of God’s words to Moses included an insistence that the people would ask for a king, with God giving directions as to the proper response, so there was always an aura of inevitability about the whole thing.

Samuel then goes to seek out a king to set over the people of Israel.  Because we are introduced to Saul immediately after “The Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do as they say and install a king over them’” (8:22a), we know that, when we hear the description of Saul, that this is the one that the Lord has chosen to be anointed as king over His people.  Saul was “a handsome young man.  There was no one among the Israelites more handsome than he was; he stood head and shoulders above all the people” (9:2).  Whether we realize it or not, this is the beginning of a pattern as it relates to the monarchy.  Also, if we are paying attention, this talk of a man being handsome, when presented to a people that define themselves by the story of exodus, with that story naturally including the story of Joseph (which explains how Israel came to be in Egypt in the first place), could very well remind the people of Joseph, who is described as being “well built and good-looking” (Genesis 39:6b).  Certainly, because Joseph was a powerful ruler, even if it was in Egypt, there could naturally be a desire for a ruler of Israel to be very much like Joseph.  Though it is scant, we may have a growing sense that this issue of appearance is an important one when it comes to Israel’s rulers and the way the people wanted to think about their rulers. 

We have this in mind when we first meet David.  As we well know, God rejects Saul as king.  Samuel, the one whose failure with his sons has lead to the desire for a king, goes to anoint another man as king.  When David is brought before Samuel we learn that “he was ruddy, with attractive eyes and a handsome appearance” (16:12b).  Strangely, this is after Samuel has viewed the first of David’s brothers, and was impressed by his physical appearance.  It must have reminded Samuel of when Saul stood before him.  However, we hear the Lord say “Don’t be impressed by his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him” (16:7b), which is an explicit reminder of Saul’s having been rejected.  The Lord goes on to say “God does not view things the way men do.  People look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (16:7c).  With this said, it is indeed strange that David’s appearance is mentioned at all, let alone mentioned in such positive terms.  One might think that it would have been the opposite when it came to David, and that Samuel was going to anoint one who was unattractive, but this was apparently not the case. 

Eventually Saul dies and David takes the throne, as he was anointed to do.  Frankly, he fares no better than Saul.  In many ways, he was more corrupted by the power than was Saul.  When those who hear the story of Saul, followed by the story of David, with that story including David’s adultery and murder, while considering that Saul was rejected from the throne of Israel because he had inappropriately offered a sacrifice, the hearer simply knows that God is going to remove David from the throne as well.  As if to confirm that this is going to take place, Absalom, David’s son, is introduced.  During the course of Absalom’s story, according to the pattern that has been established, and as if to confirm that Absalom is indeed going to take the throne of Israel, we read that “Now in all Israel everyone acknowledged that there was no man as handsome as Absalom.  From the sole of his feet to the top of his head he was perfect in appearance” (2 Samuel 14:25).  Indeed, he does take the throne (David is temporarily removed), and even experiences an anointing to confirm his justly gained position.  However, just like both Saul and his father, he eventually engages in an action that is displeasing to the Lord and is removed from the throne, allowing David to regain his rule.