So much of life is like a chess game. And all the players are much more diverse than on a plain chess board.

• King ...the most valuable, the most vulnerable as it is the most coveted and many may want a hostile takeover.
• Queen ...lies at the king's side, but hopefully doesn't lie, as in telling an untruth.  That could put the King in jeopardy. Yet, Kings of old had multiple wives and confided little ...as little is thought of multiples, much less than if only one.
• Bishop ...named as being the spiritual leader to provide guidance, they often controlled instead and were sometimes thirsting for power as much as everyone else.
• Knight ...provided military service and protection of the King.
• Rook ...used to be referred to as the castle tower, the lookout point for warning.
• Pawn ...looked at as a mere tool to advance another's purpose (the King's).

Samuel was one of the judges of Israel, but unlike many judges that we know of, he not only sought after God's counsel ...he listened.  And he obeyed ...being a messenger of God. 

The Lord had called Samuel when he was just a child ...but when he became old, everyone also got old with him.

And there came a time when the elders of Israel gathered, and asked for a King like all the other nations.

The Lord told Samuel to show them the manner of King that would reign over them.

"He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some will run ahead of his chariots.  These sons will reap the King's harvests, and make his instruments of war.  And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, cooks, and bakers.  He will take your fields, vineyards, and olive gardens, even the best of them, and give them to his servants ...to serve him.  He will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men ...and put them to work, for him."

Saul was a choice young man, and a goodly (superior person) ...there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he ...and from his shoulder and upward he was higher than any of the people.

The Lord had Samuel anoint Saul, as Samuel tells him it will be ...that the Spirit of the Lord will come upon him, and he will be turned into another man.

Yet, only two years of being King, and Saul decided to take it upon himself to do Samuel's job also, not waiting for Samuel.  

(Now, we are familiar with that ...as we've seen our own government operate, not as it's supposed to be run ---but as those taking into their own hands things that are supposed to be balanced within three branches of government to avoid that very thing from happening.)

Yes, because Samuel was not precisely there when Saul was told he would be ...Saul faced not only his own emotions, but those of the people who looked up to him.  And those people began to depart, showing less interest in following, and giving up.

As a leader, it was his job to set the good example ...not cave in to the whims of those who are weak followers.  But, instead Saul wanted to unite the people around him and gain back their support.  

In doing this, Saul made his position as King more important to him than to be in position to help prepare the people for accepting the King of Kings.  So, at this point God began to prepare a man to take Saul's place who would soon grow deeper in his understanding for a need for a savior ...as Saul would soon chase after David, making attempts at his life. 

We truly need God's support, not the multitudes ...the opinion polls, nor the compromise that will likely quiet the loud protests.

Once you've allowed others to influence you to make a decision that is not clear or that's against your better judgment ...they will not easily go away.  They will look again to make you sway ...and may even make you pay.

David ran throughout the countryside, trying to counter every move that Saul made.  It was like a chess game.  The rook used to be called a tower.  David knew who was his strong tower.  But, the way Saul made his moves were more of the definition that we use today for the word 'rook' ...a swindler, or a cheat. He tried to cheat David, but when David could have put him in checkmate ...he honored the King, because he honored the King of Kings, a vision of who was going to come.