Why did God have a controversy with Israel?
God's controversy with Israel centered on their corrupt temple commerce: religious leaders exploited the poor by selling blemished, unacceptable sacrifices at inflated prices, contrary to God's requirement of a lamb without blemish. Their motivation was greed, getting rich, and Saul was involved in this profiteering.
Les explains that God's controversy with Israel arose because the religious leaders turned the temple into a corrupt marketplace. The poor people of Jerusalem could not afford to buy a proper lamb from the Judean hills, so they had to purchase some sacrifice within a peon's wage. The leaders set up a market and charged ten prices for whatever the poor needed—whether a turtle dove or a defective little lamb. God required a lamb without blemish, but these rascals took advantage of the poor, selling them the off scouring of stuff and charging bloated prices. Their motivation was the same as people have today: to get rich. Saul was right in the middle of it, making big bucks.