For what qualities should we look in a leader? Should he have business experience, or is it better for her to have spent time working in different levels of government? Should we prefer military veterans, or those who have pursued advanced degrees? Is zeal more important than honesty? As we approach yet another Federal election season, these questions become more urgent.

At first glance, Saul seems to have checked all the right boxes. He came from the tribe of Benjamin, so he was part of God’s covenant community. And he was from a good family, being able to trace his lineage back several generations. In fact, unlike the vast majority of ancient kings, who married foreign princesses in order to form alliance with neighboring kingdoms, Saul seems to have had only one wife (I Samuel 14:50), and the Bible doesn’t record any affairs that he had with other women, in marked contrast to his successor. Family values came naturally to him.

We also know that Saul’s father Kish was a brave and powerful warrior, who doubtless would have trained his son in the military skills and tactics in use at the time. And since wielding swords and spears required not only prowess but strength, great physical stature was certainly an asset to any ancient soldier. So a king who stood head-and-shoulders above the rest of his army would doubtless inspire their confidence as he led them into battle (verse 2).

And let’s not forget that Saul was a handsome man, one of the best-looking men in the nation. This was no less an asset for ancient kings than for modern candidates, for the best leaders inspire not only fear but also loyalty and devotion in their followers. Charm has always been a key element in politics as well as in diplomacy, and Saul seemed well-suited for the role.

But Saul seems to have lacked one key element, one indispensable characteristic for anyone who would lead the people of God – a close relationship with God Himself. After all, when he dutifully went in search of his father’s donkeys, he thought that, once he himself had looked everywhere for them, there was nothing else that could be done. It was his unnamed servant who suggested that they should ask a “man of God,” to seek the Lord’s help in their quest (verse 6).

But that wasn’t the worst of it. For even when Saul admitted that prayer might be a good idea, his only concern was what kind of offering he could bring (verse 7). Like an ancient idolater, Saul seems to have thought that the only way to get God’s help was to try to bribe Him with gifts. In other words, Sauls seems to have been following the same path that God’s people pursued in the days before Samuel’s ministry: turning away from prayer and trying to manipulate God, forcing Him to give them victory over the Philistines by carrying the Ark of the Covenant into battle (I Samuel 4:3). We know how well that worked out, don’t we?

So, what’s really most important for anyone who would seek to lead God’s people? Respectable ancestry? A handsome and impressive appearance? The right skills for the job? Or prayerful submission and faithful devotion to God, the only One Who can guarantee any sort of success or victory?

I Samuel 9:1-14 (NASB)

Now there was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of valor.
2 And he had a son whose name was Saul, a choice and handsome man, and there was not a more handsome person than he among the sons of Israel; from his shoulders and up he was taller than any of the people.
3 Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. So Kish said to his son Saul, “Take now with you one of the servants, and arise, go search for the donkeys.”
4 And he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they did not find them. Then they passed through the land of Shaalim, but they were not there. Then he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they did not find them.
5 When they came to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant who was with him, “Come, and let us return, lest my father cease to be concerned about the donkeys and become anxious for us.”
6 And he said to him, “Behold now, there is a man of God in this city, and the man is held in honor; all that he says surely comes true. Now let us go there, perhaps he can tell us about our journey on which we have set out.”
7 Then Saul said to his servant, “But behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? For the bread is gone from our sack and there is no present to bring to the man of God. What do we have?”
8 And the servant answered Saul again and said, “Behold, I have in my hand a fourth of a shekel of silver; I will give it to the man of God and he will tell us our way.”
9 (Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he used to say, “Come, and let us go to the seer”; for he who is called a prophet now was formerly called a seer.)
10 Then Saul said to his servant, “Well said; come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.
11 As they went up the slope to the city, they found young women going out to draw water, and said to them, “Is the seer here?”
12 And they answered them and said, “He is; see, he is ahead of you. Hurry now, for he has come into the city today, for the people have a sacrifice on the high place today.
13 “As soon as you enter the city you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat, for the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward those who are invited will eat. Now therefore, go up for you will find him at once.”
14 So they went up to the city. As they came into the city, behold, Samuel was coming out toward them to go up to the high place.