Either Israel must cease to be the people of God, or the principle upon which the monarchy was founded must be maintained, and the nation must be governed by a divine power. If Israel would be wholly the Lord's, if the will of the human and earthly were held in subjection to the will of God, He would continue to be the Ruler of Israel. So long as the king and the people would conduct themselves as subordinate to God, so long He could be their defense. But in Israel no monarchy could prosper that did not in all things acknowledge the supreme authority of God. If Saul had shown a regard for the requirements of God in this time of trial, God could have worked His will through him. His failure now proved him unfit to be the vicegerent of God to His people. He would mislead Israel. His will, rather than the will of God, would be the controlling power. If Saul had been faithful, his kingdom would have been established forever; but since he had failed, the purpose of God must be accomplished by another. The government of Israel must be committed to one who would rule the people according to the will of Heaven.

Enten kunne Israel ikke være Guds folk længer, eller også skulle det princip, der dannede grundlaget for kongedømmet, holdes i hævd. I det sidste tilfælde skulle nationen styres af Gud. Hvis den israelitiske nation ville anerkende, at den tilhørte Herren, og hvis israelitterne ville lade Guds vilje komme i første række og de menneskelige og jordiske ønsker i anden række, ville Gud fortsat være Israels regent. Gud ville forsvare konge og folk lige så længe, som de underordnede sig ham. Men en israelitisk konge ville aldrig få lykken med sig, hvis han ikke anerkendte Guds overhøjhed i alle henseender. Hvis Saul havde taget hensyn til Guds krav i denne krisetime, kunne Gud have gennemført sin vilje ved hjælp af kongen. Men denne begik en stor fejl og viste sig derved uegnet til at styre folket som Guds viceregent. Han ville føre Israel på afveje og tage mere hensyn til sin egen end til Guds vilje. Hvis Saul havde været tro imod Gud, ville hans herredømme være blevet grundfæstet til evig tid, men han svigtede, og derfor var Gud nødt til at gennemføre sine planer ved hjælp af et andet menneske. Der var ikke andet at gøre end at betro ansvaret for Israel til et menneske, der ville regere folket i overensstemmelse med Himmelens vilje.