1 Samuel 10:27
But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace. But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.
The demand for a king that frames this verse arose when the elders, dissatisfied with Samuel's sons, used that grievance to cover a deeper desire for change, a move driven by discontent and pride which Samuel felt as a censure of himself although no complaint had been made against his own administration. At Saul's appointment some Israelites, described as children of Belial, rejected him as king, asking how this man could save and deliver them, despising him and refusing to bring the customary presents that acknowledged and honored a king.
Their discontent grew out of disappointed expectations and out of pride and envy over who had been chosen, fueled by envy and jealousy and disappointed ambition. In part their opposition turned on tribe, because Saul was from Benjamin, the smallest tribe, while they favored leaders from other tribes or themselves hoped to become king.
Saul did not answer their insults, retaliate against them, or press his claim and seek to establish his authority by force, but remained silent and quiet. By that silence he left the establishing of his authority to God. In this his course illustrates that peace comes as the heart learns to submit to God.