Tragic Story of King Saul

The Haftarah for פרשת זכור tells of the tragic story of King Saul that led to his losing his kingdom. The incident that led to his demise, was his inability to fulfill the commandment to utterly destroy Amalek, including men, women, children and cattle.

King Saul’s fear of the people, that we might call today, “public opinion,” did not allow him to fulfill his G-d given task. He was unable to comprehend that erasing evil in this world, is merciful and not cruel. The benefits to the world are enormous when evil is eradicated.

Sadly, Shaul Hamelech showed weakness and not strength. He rationalized this weakness by trying to argue that he was more compassionate than Hashem, Himself.

Now there would be an abundance of cattle that could be used for sacrifices. The Peophet Samuel, gave the king a powerful reprimand. Hashem is not interested in the cattle. He only wants us to follow His word faithfully.

It is not always an easy thing to do, especially when people allow themselves to think that their own value system is superior to Hashem’s. When this happens, it leads to tragedy. In this case, not only did King Saul lose his kingdom, but his poor choices created Haman and further suffering in Shushan, many years later. The Haftarah for פרשת זכור is a tragic story, indeed.