23 Israel Asks for a King [1 Samuel 8]
The Bible passage: [1 Samuel 8]
The Story:
At the end of the period of the judges, Samuel was a prophet, priest, judge, and military leader.
When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. His sons, however, did not judge with integrity as Samuel did. They turned toward dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice.
The elders of the tribes of Israel got together and went to Samuel. They told him, “You are getting old, and your sons don’t follow your example. Appoint a king to lead us. We want to be like the other nations.”
Samuel considered their demand to be sinful, so he prayed to the Lord. The Lord told him, “Do everything they say to you. They are not rejecting you. They are rejecting me as their king, but I want you to warn them about the rights of the king who will rule over them.”
Samuel called the elders together and told them what it would be like to have a king. “When you have a king, he will have certain rights as he rules over you. He can take your sons and put them in his army. He can make them leaders in his military. He can make them work as his farmers. He can put them to work making his weapons of war. He can make your daughters be his cooks and bakers and other household servants. He can take your best fields and orchards and give them to his servants. He can take your servants and your livestock and use them for his work. He can take your flocks and you yourselves can become his servants. When that day comes, you will cry out to God because of the king you’ve chosen, but the Lord won’t answer you.”
The people refused to listen to Samuel. “No! We want to have a king over us,” they said. “Then we’ll be like all of the other nations. Our king will judge us, lead us, and fight our battles.”
Samuel again prayed to the Lord and God told Samuel, “Listen to them. Appoint a king for them.”
God led Samuel to a young man named Saul. Saul became their king and led them as king for about 20 years.
The Lessons:
- God had set Israel apart to serve Him. He wanted them to be an example to the other nations of the world. Unfortunately, they wanted to be like the other nations.
- God had great plans for Israel. They wanted to settle for less.
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