King Saul, David, and the Modern GOP

"Then Saul called all the people together for war, to go down to Keilah to besiege David and his men."
1 Samuel 23:8

"Saul had not fought against the Philistines, the enemies of his people, for some time.  But in an attempt to capture David, he was willing to destroy an entire Jewish town."
Norton Study Bible, note on the same verse.

"The president's made it very clear he's not going to sign any bill that includes defunding of Planned Parenthood so that's another issue that awaits a new president hopefully with a different point of view."
Mitch McConnell

There's a Biblical precedent for the turmoil currently racking the Republican party both in Texas and nationally.

In the first book of Samuel, Israel cries out to the Lord to give them a King.  The Lord grants their request and appoints Saul as the first King of Israel.  After some initial success, Saul refuses to obey the Lord and his reign subsequently descends into mediocrity.

In response to Saul's rebellion, the Lord strips him of his kingship and instead gives it to David.  While the heavenly transfer was instantaneous, the political transition on Earth took time.  Thus Israel went through the era of Saul's decline and David's rise.

During this period, Israel was at war with the Philistines.  This allowed David, with the Lord's backing, to gain stature through battlefield heroism (including the slaying of Goliath).  Saul, meanwhile, was plagued by chronic indecision and timidity.

As David gained popularity, Saul became bitter and resentful.  He persecuted and tried to kill David on several occasions.  Where Saul was fainthearted in fighting the Philistines, he was RUTHLESS in going after David.  Saul was more interested in hunting down David to preserve his own power than was was in serving God or the people.  And where have we recently seen that?!?

The parallel's with the current GOP are obvious: While Mitch McConnell's attitude towards Barack Obama can be summarized in the Planned Parenthood quote above, he has vowed to "crush" the Tea Party.  Here in Texas, Joe Straus' 'leadership' team is allowing THOUSANDS of babies to die out of spite for a grassroots political organization they don't like.  Plug Ted Cruz or Jonathan Stickland into the role of David.

Bottom Line: The fall of the legacy GOP and the triumph of the Tea Party is as inevitable as David's victory over Saul; the only question is how long it will take.