Israel Demands A King

 Samuel had started out as a small child to serve the Lord, and I Samuel 7:15 tells us, “And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.”  We don’t know how long he Judged Israel, but when he got old he appointed his sons to be judges, as I Samuel 8:1-3 tells us.  “And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.  Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba.  And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.”

 

While Samuel served the Lord fully and had been richly blessed, his sons had never seen how God worked in their own lives, and as a result did not take God’s commands seriously.  They took sides in legal cases, favoring powerful or wealthy people, and accepting bribes to rule in their favor, and people began to complain about not getting fair deals.  They decided they would be better off establishing a new form of government, and asked for a king like other countries had, in I Samuel 8:4-5.  “Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.”

 

Throughout history, men have tended to try to pass their positions and power to their children, but unfortunately, many times the children do not understand what makes the business or organization work, and begin to focus on getting the most benefits they can from their position.  Before long people begin to demand new leadership, or the company or organization goes bankrupt.  Fortunately, because Samuel’s sons were not priests, they did not turn the people against God like Eli’s sons had done. 

 

Samuel could understand that what his sons were doing was wrong, but he was concerned about the demands for a new form of government rather than the one God had established.  When he prayed about it, God pointed out that the problem was not really about his sons abusing their position, but about the people rebelling against God’s authority, in I Samuel 8:6-9.  “But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD.  And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.  According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.  Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.”

 

God told Samuel to let the people have what they wanted, but to warn them that it would not be like they thought.  Samuel tried to warn them, in I Samuel 8:10-18.  “And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king.  And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.  And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.  And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.  And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.  And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.  And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.  He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.  And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.”

 

Samuel warned them that supporting such a strong central government would require a high level of taxation, and would mean thousands of people being drafted to serve in the military or other government offices and people’s lands and properties being seized for government purposes.  Unfortunately, like the people pushing for socialism in America today, the people were focused on the benefits they thought such a system would provide and refused to consider what they would be giving up to get it, as we see in I Samuel 8:19-20.  “Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.”

 

They ignored the fact that the only way the king could fight their battles was by forcing them to join his army and fight for him, and that the only way he pay for his programs was by taking what the people earned, which would require a large and expensive bureaucracy to oversee collecting taxes and paying the government employees.  The more a government does for people, the more it costs.  When Samuel told God what the people had said, God told him to give them what they wanted, in I Samuel 8:21-22.    “And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the LORD.  And the LORD said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city.”  No amount of facts or logic will change some people’s minds.  They refuse to simply believe what God has said.