As we noted a couple of weeks ago, the Israelites, speaking through their elders, have
kicked God to the curb, telling Samuel that they no longer wanted to be under the direct
Theocracy of Jehovah God. Instead, they wanted a king – to be under a man-made
monarchy, like everyone else. 1 Samuel 8:5 gives us the story…. “Look,” they told him,
“you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the
other nations have.”
This ‘turn’ was allegedly driven by the fact that Samuel, by this time, had reached his
elderly years. His sons were appointed as Judges to succeed him. The people claimed that
Samuel’s sons were certainly not fit for this all important role. They were apparently pretty
rough individuals. However, because of what happened next, it is reasonable to ask
whether this was actually true about Samuel’s sons. The people would tell Samuel that they
wanted a king to lead them. They didn’t want Samuel as the ‘super Judge’ to lead them
anymore – which really meant that they didn’t want Jehovah God leading them either. So
while the people were adamant about getting a king, it is reasonable to wonder, ‘Did they
criticize
Samuel’s sons because they were truly deficient? Or was that an exaggeration intended to
rationalize their desire for a human monarchy?’ Nevertheless, God told Samuel to give
them what they wanted. In 1 Samuel 8:7, we read, “Do everything they say to you,” the
Lord replied, “for they are rejecting me, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any
longer…”
God goes on to say to Samuel, ‘1 Samuel 8:7–9 (NLT) ‘ 8 Ever since I brought them from
Egypt they have continually abandoned me and followed other gods. And now they are
giving you the same treatment. 9 Do as they ask, but solemnly warn them about the way a
king will reign over them.”
So God was willing to grant the people of Israel what they wanted, and at the same time
He wanted the nation to know what it would be like to be subject to the whims and wishes
of a king – a man who, like them, has a sinful nature. The direction of their nation would
depend on the wisdom of men. On the other hand, under the direct Theocracy, God would
BE the source of the wisdom that would guide their steps. The advice, the counsel, the
direction given to the nation of Israel had been perfect. Now – it would depend on the level
of obedience of the king, regarding the question of whether he would even SEEK the
perfect wisdom, counsel and advice that would be available from God.
Samuel probably took great pleasure (OK, so he wasn’t perfect – subject to some of the
same feelings that you and I have sometimes when things don’t go our way….) in
enumerating for the Israelites the things that a king would require of them. Let’s list the
things Samuel told them….
1) The King will institute a military draft and would conscript all the young men into the
army. (v. 11-12)
2) The king would conscript the young men into tending to the king’s royal properties and
possessions. (v.12)
3) Their young ladies would also be drafted into servanthood for the king.
4) The king would seize the property privately owned by Israelite citizens, and would keep
them as his own.
5) He would levy great taxes on the people in order to redistribute the fruits of their crops
to his own people – his cronies.
6) He would take the choice employees of the business enterprises and would use them as
his own.
7) He would enslave whoever he wanted into his service and there would be nothing that
anyone could do about it.
The bottom line: The king would take away much of the freedom and liberty that they had
enjoyed under the direct Theocracy led by Jehovah God and Samuel.
All this from Samuel, and STILL – what did they want? Verse 19 & 20: But the people
refused to listen to Samuel’s warning. “Even so, we still want a king,” they said. 20 “We
want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle.”
But these two verses give us a hint as to what may have really been on their minds. They
wanted a king to ‘…judge us and lead us into battle.’ Isn’t that what God – with Samuel as
His ‘on the ground’ commander – been doing? Could it be that it was the ‘judging’ part that
really bothered them? Could it be that they had tired of being ‘judged’ according to the
standard of God and His moral law? Maybe they wanted the ‘less stringent’ standards of a
human being – their prospective king? Regardless, God knew all along what was in their
hearts. He knew what was authentic, and what was fake. Verses 21 & 22 is a real ‘downer’
passage: 21 So Samuel repeated to the Lord what the people had said, 22 and the Lord
replied,
“Do as they say, and give them a king.” Then Samuel agreed and sent the people home.
So there we have it. An era is ending. Israel, relatively recently delivered from their
enemies, and going through a fairly prosperous period under the leadership of Samuel,
wants MORE. They wanted all they had already, but they also wanted to do it their way –
to NOT be constrained by anything that they consider ‘external’, They wanted to be like
everyone else. God would allow them to be like everyone else. What the nation of Israel
saw as PROGRESS, God would accurately see it as REGRESS!
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