42 years

1 Samuel 13:1: “Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty- two years.”

I don’t think I ever realized that Saul reigned for such a long time. In the context of the kings of Israel, he may have been one of the longer-tenured ones, and there were certainly a bunch who didn’t hold the throne nearly as long. Saul was 72 years old when he died in combat, fighting the Philistines. That’s impressive.

That surprises me because I think of Saul as the failed king, the one God rejected. But, just like David, Saul was selected by God and anointed by Samuel. God rejected Saul as the founder of a family dynasty but it seems Saul was a reasonably good king for a lot of years.

When I consider the reign of Saul, I remember that he was reluctant to be king, and that, other than his unreasoning jealousy of David, he wasn’t abusive. He did the best he could for a job he never was trained for. And in the end, although God wouldn’t give the kingdom to Saul’s son, he didn't abandon the Israelites either. By many measures Saul had a long and successful life.

I find that encouraging. It seems to signal that God will not lose faith with me even if I disappoint him. His care for me has more to do with his own character than with me. That’s a good thing. This morning, I can feel kinship with Saul. His story seems not unlike many of ours.