Kings & Prophets 02 Last Judge, First King - Eyewitness Bible Series

Samuel was the first influential prophet in the era after the judges. Although Samuel was blameless and honest in his leadership, his sons were dishonest and took bribes. To avoid having them as leaders, the elders of Israel demanded that Samuel appoint a king to lead them, like all the surrounding nations had.
God told Samuel that the people had rejected God, not Samuel. He instructed them to warn the people of all the horrible disadvantages of having a king other than God, but the people continued to insist on having a king, especially one who would lead them into battles.
God eventually had Samuel appoint Saul as king, even though his only obvious good qualities were being handsome and tall. Saul did become powerful when the Spirit of God came upon him, and he started leading the Israelites in a powerful way when he rescued the city of Jabesh from the Ammonites.