Israel Demands a King

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(1 Samuel 8:1) And it came to pass when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.

In the last chapter we were told that Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life, so now that he was old and making his sons judges, they must have been under him, with him still judging as well.  He was used to doing circuits throughout Israel, so perhaps he stayed at his home base and let them do the traveling to other places.

(2) Now the name of the firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abiah, judges in Beersheba.

Samuel's firstborn son was Joel, and his second son was Abiah.  They were judges in Beersheba in the southern part of the land, whereas Samuel's home was in Ramah more to the north, so that is how they worked things out, with Samuel judging the north and his sons judging the south.

(3) And his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after lucre and took bribes and perverted judgment.

Samuel's sons did not walk in his righteous ways but went after monetary gain.  They took bribes and perverted justice.

(4) Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together and came to Samuel to Ramah, (5) And said to him, "Behold, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations."

The elders of Israel gathered together and went to Samuel.  Because he was old and his sons did not walk in his ways, they said they wanted to have a king to rule over them like all the other nations had.  It's interesting that it doesn't occur to them that they might as easily have a corrupt king as they had corrupt judges in Joel and Abiah.

(6) But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." And Samuel prayed to the Lord.

The people wanting a king to rule over them greatly displeased Samuel because the people were not content to be governed by God and the order He had set up, but wanted to be governed like the Gentiles were.  That meant they wanted a king to judge them rather than him.  Samuel prayed to the Lord.  Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Bible, wrote that Josephus the historian noted that "he could neither eat nor sleep, but watched all night, and spent it in prayer."

(7) And the Lord said to Samuel, "Hearken to the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me that I should not reign over them."

The Lord told Samuel to listen to the people and do all they wanted him to do.  He acknowledged that the people had rejected Him that He should not reign over them, but they wanted a king instead to be like all the cool kids.  He assured Samuel that it was not about him personally as judge, but God's system of government and God Himself they rejected.

(8) "According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day, with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods, so they also do to you."

This was no new thing for the Lord.  Ever since He had brought His people out of Egypt even to that very day, they were constantly forsaking Him and serving other gods.  So they now did to Samuel after he had served them his entire life since childhood.  As Jesus said in Matthew 10:24, the servant was not above his lord, meaning that if such things had been done to the Lord, Samuel could not expect to be treated better than the Lord.

(9) "Now therefore hearken to their voice. However, protest solemnly to them and show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them."

The Lord told Samuel to go ahead and listen to the people.  However, He wanted him to warn them about what they were asking for, how a king would rule over them.

(10) And Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who asked of him a king. (11) And he said, "This will be the manner of the king who shall reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and his horsemen, and to run before his chariots."

Samuel told the people who had asked for a king all that the Lord had said.  Then he went on to tell them what to expect from a king.  He would take their sons and appoint them for his own use and service.  He would have them take care of his chariots and his horses and to be his running footmen.  Their sons would be unable to choose their own employment or have estates of their own.

(12) "And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties, and to plow his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war and instruments of his chariots."

A king would appoint their sons to jobs in military service whether they wanted them or not.  He would make them plow his ground and reap his harvest.  He would make them make his instruments of war and instruments for his chariots, again whether they wanted that type of work or not.

(13) "And he will take your daughters as confectionaries, and cooks, and bakers."

A king would likewise take their daughters and make them serve him as perfumers, which is the meaning of the original word "raqqachah" that was translated as confectionaries, and as cooks and bakers. 

(14) "And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, the best of them, and give them to his servants. (15) And he will take the tenth of your seed and of your vineyards and give to his officers and to his servants."

A king would take the best of their fields, vineyards, and olive groves, and give them to his servants.  He would impose a tax of one tenth of their seed, grapes, and olives, to give to his officers and servants.  That would be in addition to tithes to the Lord.

(16) "And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. (17) He will take the tenth of your sheep, and you will be his servants."

A king would take their menservants and maidservants, their finest young men, and their donkeys, and put them into his employ.  He would take a tenth of their livestock and make them work for him.  A king could take anyone or anything of the people's and use it for his service.

(18) "And you shall cry out in that day because of your king which you shall have chosen for you, and the Lord will not hear you in that day."

Samuel warned the people that they would eventually cry out to the Lord because of their king whom they had wanted, because of his power and oppression.  They would cry to the Lord, but He would not listen to them because He had given them what they wanted.

(19) Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel, and they said, "No, but we will have a king over us, (20) 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."

The people didn't care about the warnings Samuel gave them and told him they wanted a king anyway so they could be like all the other nations.  They wanted one king to judge them and to lead them and to fight their battles.  The last thing was one that Samuel could not do; he was not a military leader, but God had never failed to fight their battles for them or raise someone up who could lead them.

(21) And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the ears of the Lord. (22) And the Lord said to Samuel, "Hearken to their voice and make them a king." And Samuel said to the men of Israel, "Go every man to his city."

Samuel listened to the words of the people and then relayed them to the Lord.  The Lord told Samuel to listen to the people and give them a king.  Let them have what they wanted and let them deal with the consequences.  We serve a most patient God!  Even though He did not approve of the people having a king and knew it was not the best thing for them, He allowed them to make their own choice and would go on to help them find the best possible king.  Then Samuel sent the men back to their homes.