Saul was the people's first king. He had his good points: Didn't amass wealth, had no standing army and stopped the Philistines. He also had his bad points: He took on a religious role (remember he didn't wait for Samuel the prophet?), he also didn't follow the rules of Holy War.
King David also had his good and bad points. Good: He defeated the Philistines, expands the empire, makes Jerusalem the capitol, and develops the arts. Bad: breaks rules of Holy War, took matters into his own hands with Bathsheba, took a census of standing army, builds palace and sets up a harem.
Despite all of this, God still used these two men to accomplish His will. God promises David that a king will always sit on his throne. David's son Solomon will be the next king (we haven't gotten there yet), but that is God's remedial will. However, we know that God's ultimate will is for His Son Jesus to sit on that throne. Jesus is called King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
We have a ways to go in our readings before we get to Jesus. We will actually see that Solomon's kingdom will divide and create a whole host of problems for the people of God. They will end up in exile (which looks like that's the end of the story) But through it all, God continues to show his steadfast love by offering the promise of hope and a deliverer...
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