Then the Almighty called Gabriel and me into conference to decide who should be king. I made a quick survey of all the Israelites and picked out a man called Saul. He was tall, strong, handsome and determined, and I felt that the people would respond to him. The Almighty smiled his enigmatic smile which made me wonder if I was right but he told Gabriel to go and tell Samuel to anoint Saul. He also told me to get Saul's father's donkeys to wander away so that Saul could be enticed to meet Samuel. I kept the donkeys hidden until Saul's servant suggested going to the prophet to enquire where to find them. Actually I sent them back home, the last place Saul thought of looking!

Samuel invited Saul to stay the night, then, next morning, Samuel told him he had been chosen to be king. The Almighty had decided to give Saul every opportunity to prove himself a great king, so as he went on his way home he met a company of prophets and immediately the Almighty filled Saul with the Holy Spirit so that he prophesied also.

A few days later, Samuel called the people to meet him at Mizpah to choose a king and he went through a ritual of elimination (although he already knew who was chosen). Saul was chosen but was missing. He had hidden himself but was found and hauled out to be appointed king. Most of the people accepted him but there were a few jealous ones who wanted to cause trouble. Saul's first major task was to rescue the town of Jabesh, which was besieged by the Ammonites. I guided him, suggesting a plan of attack which succeeded perfectly (of course!). Saul was reaffirmed as king and he spared the life of those who plotted against him. After that, Samuel formally stepped down as judge over the Israelites, but retained the post of prophet.

You would have thought that after all this Saul would have made a good king; in fact he was king for 42 years. However, human nature is fickle in a way which we angels cannot understand, and it was not long before things took a wrong turn. Samuel had established a practice of conducting a sacrifice and a period of prayer with the Israelites before any battle, and had told Saul that this would continue. So before every battle Saul sent for Samuel to carry out the sacrifice. At one battle against the Philistines, Samuel was delayed, and the soldiers started to drift away. So Saul became impatient and carried out the sacrifice himself, which was something not allowed under the Mosaic laws of ritual. When Samuel arrived he was furious and rebuked Saul, prophesying that his dynasty would not survive and that God would give the kingdom to another man.

There were several other minor indiscretions carried out by Saul, but the next major one came at a battle with the Amalekites. Gabriel had been sent to Samuel with a message that the Amalekites should be completely destroyed because they were so evil. No man, woman, child or animal was to be spared. I planned the battle so that it was successful but Saul did not forbid the soldiers taking the animals as booty, and he himself took Agag, the King of the Amalekites, as prisoner. When Samuel was sent to challenge Saul over this, Saul had the effrontery to claim he had carried out the Amighty's orders. Samuel had to rebuke Saul again for his disobedience and he killed Agag himself. The Almighty's response to this was to tell Samuel to anoint an insignificant shepherd boy as Saul's successor, and to withdraw the Holy Spirit from Saul.

The consequences of the latter action were drastic because one of Satan's evil spirits came and attached himself to Saul. Saul's attendants suggested that music might help calm Saul's torment so they went in search of a good musician. They found of all people, the very David who had been anointed as Saul's successor. Of course the Almighty had told me to ensure this happened. At first, Saul liked David who would come every time he was needed; then came a dramatic event which altered the picture. The Philistines attacked again and when the Israelite army was assembled to oppose them, they saw, among the Philistines, a huge man about 9 ft tall. He challenged any Israelite to single combat - but there were no takers.

It just so happened (i.e. the Almighty arranged it) that David turned up at the camp to visit his brothers who were in the army. David challenged the giant, Goliath, and killed him using only a sling and a stone. This made David a great favourite with the people and caused Saul to hate him. The next few years were spent by Saul in trying to hunt down David and kill him, and I had my work cut out to prevent this happening. Eventually, David had to seek refuge by signing on as a soldier for the Philistines.

The final nail in Saul's coffin occurred when he consulted a witch. Samuel had died some time earlier, and so he could not advise Saul when the Philistines attacked. Neither did the Almighty when Saul prayed, so, in desperation, Saul went to the witch of Endor and asked her to raise the spirit of Samuel. Normally the spirits raised by witches and mediums are those belonging to Satan, but on this occasion the Almighty allowed Samuel's spirit to appear - and gave him a message of severe condemnation for Saul. Soon after this, Saul's army was routed, three of his sons were killed and he was wounded. Rather than be captured, he asked his armour-bearer to kill him. When the armour-bearer declined, Saul killed himself with his own sword. And so ended a life which had promised so much but ended in ignominy.