1 Samuel 13:14

But now thy kingdom shall not continue,.... That is, in his family, nor in his tribe, but be removed to another: the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart: who was David; though as yet

But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.

Hath sought, i.e. hath found or discovered, as men do by seeking, an anthropopathy. A man after his own heart, i.e. such a man as he desires, one who will fulfil all the desires of his heart, and not oppose them, as thou dost. Hath commanded, i.e. hath appointed or decreed, as the word command is sometimes used; for it was not yet actually done. Because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee. Quest. First, What was Saul’ s sin? Answ. Either, first, That Saul invaded the priest’ s office, and offered the sacrifice himself; which is not probable, both because he had priests with him, and among others an eminent one, Ahiah, , and therefore had no occasion nor pretence for that presumption. Or rather, secondly, That Saul did not wait the full time for Samuel’ s coming; for that is the thing which God commanded, , and the breach of this command is the only thing for which Saul makes an apology, ,12. Quest. Secondly, Why did God so severely punish Saul for so small an offence, and that occasioned by great necessity, and done with an honest intention? Answ. First, Men are very incompetent judges of God’ s judgments, because they see but very little, either of the majesty of the offended God, or of the heinous nature and aggravations of the offence. For instance, men see nothing but Saul’ s outward act, which seems small; but God saw with how wicked a mind and heart he did this; with what rebellion against the light of his own conscience, as his own words imply; with what gross infidelity and distrust of God’ s providence; with what contempt of God’ s authority, and justice, and many other wicked principles and motions of his heart, unknown to men. Besides, God clearly saw all that wickedness that yet lay hid in his heart, and foresaw all his other crimes; and therefore had far more grounds for his sentence against him than we can imagine. Secondly, God doth sometimes punish small sins severely, and that for divers weighty reasons, as that all men may see what the least sin deserves, and how much they owe to God’ s free and rich mercy for passing by their great offences; and what need they have not to indulge themselves in any small sin, as men are very prone to do, upon vain presumptions of God’ s mercy, whereby they are easily and commonly drawn on to heinous crimes; and for many other reasons: so that some such instances of God’ s severity are necessary discipline and caution to all mankind in the present and future ages; and therefore there is far more of mercy and kindness in such actions, than of rigour and harshness, since this is but particular to one person, and the other is a universal good. Thirdly, It must be remembered that the kingdom of Saul and of Israel was now in its infancy, and that this was the first command which he received from God.

1 Samuel 13:14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him [to be] captain over his people, because thou hast not kept [that] which the LORD commanded thee.Ver. 14. The Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart,] sc., Iuxta suum gustura et votum; one that would do all his wills, and was therefore his Corculum, the man of his desires and delight. And the herd hath commanded him to be captain, &c.] He sought not this honour, but it was laid upon him, as Gregory observeth. The Venetians have magistrates they call Pregadi: because at first men were prayed to take the office, and to govern the state. As for David, though he was not without his failings, - and those foul ones too, some of them, - yet for the main, his heart was upright, not rotten, as Saul’ s was.

(14) Now thy kingdom shall not continue.—The succession was thus formally transferred elsewhere; still, when the words of doom were spoken by the prophet, David, the son of Jesse, the man after God’s own heart, could at that time have been but a mere child. Had King Saul repented what he had done, he might have been forgiven, “for God’s threatenings, like His promises, are conditional. There is no fatalism in the Bible, but a loving discipline for man’s recovery. But behind it stands the Divine foreknowledge and omnipotence, and so to the prophetic view Saul’s refusal to repent, his repeated disobedience, and the succession of David were all revealed as accomplished facts.”—Dean Payne Smith.

Verse 14. The Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart] That this man was David is sufficiently clear from the sequel. But in what sense was he a man after God's own heart? Answer: 1. In his strict attention to the law and worship of God. 2. In his admitting, in the whole of his conduct, that God was King in Israel, and that he himself was but his vicegerent. 3. In never attempting to alter any of those laws, or in the least change the Israelitish constitution. 4. In all his public official conduct he acted according to the Divine mind, and fulfilled the will of his Maker: thus was he a man after God's own heart. In reference to his private or personal moral conduct, the word is never used. This is the sense alone in which the word is used here and elsewhere; and it is unfair and wicked to put another meaning on it in order to ridicule the revelation of God, as certain infidels have done.

14. a man after his own heart] Quoted by St Paul in his discourse at Antioch (Acts 13:22). Cp. Psalms 89:20.

14. Thy kingdom shall not continue — This means, as the context and the sequel show, that his kingdom should not be transmitted to his posterity, but transferred to another person of a truer heart.