In his teaching about prayer, Jesus posed a question to his disciples. In Luke 11:11–13, he said to them: What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! The Lord longs to give good gifts (the Holy Spirit) to his people who ask him. But what should be done when a child requests a scorpion instead of an egg, or a serpent instead of a fish? If we turn Jesus’ question on its head, what should a good father do when their child wants something that will hurt and destroy them?

With the kingship of Saul, the Lord shows us that a good father must give his child what he needs rather than what he wants. A request for a scorpion may very well be answered with a scorpion, but then it will be a dead one instead of a living one. In other words, it will be answered in a way that shows the child that a scorpion is dangerous and eggs are much better.

Following the people’s request for a king like the nations, the Lord agreed to Israel’s demands (1 Samuel 8:1–22). He will give them the king they want. A king that provides a measure of security, a king to lead them in battle. In his grace, however, he will also give them a king that is better than what they deserve. The first king of Israel has his faults and he will eventually be rejected by God, but he is not setup for failure from the start. No, as we see in 1 Samuel 9:1 – 10:16, he is carefully chosen and adequately equipped to do good for God’s people.  

Reading the events of 1 Samuel 9:1 – 10:16 we know that Saul is the wrong king. Right at the beginning we are told that he is from Benjamin and not from Judah (cf. Genesis 49:10). He is a king like the nations and not a king who will lead in worship. But he is still a king that the Lord will use to do good for his people. They may have rejected God and turned their backs on him, but the Lord remains merciful. He continues to care for his people. Like a father giving his child a rubber snake, the Lord provides a king with the potential to do much good. God remains merciful even though he has been rejected. He does not treat us as our sins deserve.

This wonderful mercy of God is a pattern we see throughout Scripture. Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Samuel—there are many witnesses of the Lord responding to sin with grace. Most supremely we see God’s mercy in Jesus’ death on the cross. There he was hanging naked, one man to his right, one to his left, the true King of Israel being rejected. The godly king being killed and yet he cries, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. Praying for God’s people, Jesus offers mercy in the midst of rejection. It was the darkest day in history and yet God was still merciful.

Living as Christians today, we must not trivialize sin and treat God’s mercy as a licence to do as we please. Foolishness is not the path to godliness and we do not sin so that grace may abound. But at the same time, we must not minimize God’s mercy. Our sin does not negate God’s love. He does not ignore us when we reject him and do wrong. And that should be a great comfort to us. No matter how much we have messed up and ruined our lives and the lives of others, we have never messed up to such an extent that we cannot come to the Lord with the hope of mercy. Whether we have had a day that ticks all the boxes or one where we had stepped into every temptation, the Lord does not love us more at the start than the finish. If we belong to Christ, we are his. Our sin will not and cannot drive him away. He has chosen to love us and he will not stop. The Lord gives good gifts to his people.