Study In1 Samuel

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Israel Wants A King

Chapter 8v1-28

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IntroductionIn order to understand the background for

Israel's request for a king we need to remind ourselves of the form of administration that

currently existed in Israel. Samuel was a circuit judge 7v16 who also operated a priestly and prophetic function. He further provided any

human political leadership that was required. It must have been a great source of sadness to Samuel to discover that his sons did not walk in his ways. Some have asked, 'Was Samuel away from home too much and was he so engaged in his duties that he did not give adequate time to

his children?'

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IntroductionSome Christians have almost abandoned their responsibility towards their families

and as a result their children have rebelled against both their parents’ faith and God. Sometimes parents use Christian activity

as a convenient excuse to avoid what they consider to be the more mundane task of

child rearing. Parents need constant reminders that their children are a primary

responsibility given them by GOD. That said we are not told why Samuel's

children did not walk in his steps.

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Family ProblemsThere are no absolute guarantees as far as

the behaviour of the children of God's people are concerned. There is often a lot

of unnecessary guilt in the hearts of parents whose children do not turn out the way they had hoped and prayed for.

This should neither produce complacency on the part of the parent nor diminish their confidence of God's covenant of

grace, a covenant that encourages believing parents to hold onto God for

their children.

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Family ProblemsThere may well have been later repentance on the part of Samuel's children but the scripture

is silent on this matter. What is surprising is that given their spiritual state, Samuel allowed his sons to hold positions of

responsibility. It seems clear from v3 that they operated in some sort of judicial

capacity. This reminds us of Samuel’s early boyhood experience, when he witnessed Eli's family mismanagement. It is challenging to think

how easily we can retain blind spots as far as members of our own family are concerned.

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Give Us A KingThe behaviour of Samuel's sons provide the elders of Israel with an excuse to press their

claim for a move from a theocracy to a monarchy. But by so doing they play down

Samuel's role and the benefits he had brought them as a nation. Did they not think God was

capable of raising up another judge like Samuel if he so wished? Samuel's sons’ behaviour is a

very weak argument for rejecting the theocracy. The real reason the elders wanted a king was in

order to be like the other nations. This reluctance of the people of God to be different

from the world is still with us!

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In practice Israel were rejecting not just the role of prophet-judge from their

community but Samuel himself. Rejection is a hard life experience to

cope with. How does God deal with the potential

psychological effect this rejection could have on Samuel? He tells him that it was not so much the messenger but the One

whom he represented who was being rejected.

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Give Us A King

Think of the way in which Jesus prepared his disciples for rejection in their ministry.

He told them, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first”, John 15v18. He did not want them to be taken off guard

or view their experience as inexplicable.The route of rejection should not be

viewed as unusual. Why? Because it is an expression of the antipathy that natural fallen man has towards the authority of God and to the unsettling nature of his

truth.

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Give Us A King

That said, in Christian work nothing is more devastating than rejection. Jonathan Edwards was a godly New England minister greatly involved in the C18thNew England revival. Under his ministry many came to faith. He has since been acclaimed

one of the greatest theologians born in North America. And yet despite years of faithful, fruitful

ministry, to his great personal hurt, he was rejected as minster by the very congregation

whom he had served faithfully for many years. We need to place rejection in the perspective of

these passages.

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Give Us A King

Give Us A KingWe need to place rejection in this passage

in this broader perspective. Israel had made up her mind. She wanted a king end of story! Her ears were stopped to

any argument no matter how resonable.Samuel quickly realised that no entreaty on his part could alter this stubborn and

determined position. A prolonged entreaty would only have aroused a

growing resentment. Samuel therefore agrees but under protest.

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Give Us A KingThere are times in the work of God when a leader will agree to a course of action that

he knows will not serve the best interests of those he is leading but he sees that they will not be won round to a different position. So agrees with their decision having explained why he is against it and what he considers

the implications of it to be. There is a frightening principle illustrated here. It is possible to be so determined to have something that is going to be bad for us that God says, "All right you can have it

but at a cost”. Cf. Ps. 106.15

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Choice With A ConsequenceThe cost to Israel of having a king is now spelled out. It would involve personal, material and spiritual impoverishment

8v11-18. This does not deter them! The elders of Israel were interested in

the FUNCTION of the monarchy, i.e. they wanted a political leader who was

militarily astute, a rallying point for the nation not least in the face of the

Philistine threat, a figure they could look to with pride.

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Samuel however stresses the NATURE of monarchy and you will notice that the

key word here is "take" v11-17. Different passages in 1Samuel give quite

different views of the monarchy. 1 Sam. 8 is scathing of kingship and in 12v19 the

people acknowledge that they had done evil in asking for a king but clearly in 1

Sam. 10v24, 27 and 11v14 a much more favourable view of kingship is taken.

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Choice With A Consequence

ConclusionThis apparent paradox is resolved as we go through the book and see that it is both the

motivation of Israel and their conception of a king that is under criticism. There is a

reluctance to humble themselves under God's rule.

Note that God's choice of David is set over against someone who was clearly the people's

choice - Saul. It is as though God is saying, ‘You have seen what a king who satisfies your

criteria for kingship has done to the nation now see what a man after my own heart can

do’.

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