Give Us A King

TLB 1 Samuel 8:5-6

“Give us a king like all the other nations have,” they pleaded. ⁶ Samuel was terribly upset and went to the Lord for advice.

 

Why is this ponderable?

Why would anyone want to follow an earthly leader when God is on the front line with you?

In the Old Testament,  the giving of the Law, as the establishment of a covenant between God and Israel resembles treaties or covenants made between ancient kings and their subjects in that day. For them, it was a no-brainer that God was establishing the covenant basis for His rule as King over Israel. 

First, God delivers the Israelites from Egyptian bondage guided by His emissary Moses. Then God proclaims Himself as their King through a formal covenant;The Law of Moses. Only after the Israelites cross the Red Sea do they realize that it is not Moses who is fighting with Pharaoh but God. It was King Pharaoh--the most powerful king on earth at that time--fighting King God, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. They were His chosen people who would reign over and protect them forever and ever.

In Deuteronomy 17:14-20, God indicates that there will be a time when Israel will ask for a human king like those of their enemies. Chapter 8 of 1 Samuel is the first account of Israel’s demand for such a king. Samuel is displeased with this demand but, as usual, God is way ahead of the curve. During the gestation period between the flight from Egypt to the settlement in the Promised Land, the people of God's kingdom were like children being nursed by their mother. Now it is time to wean them and prepare them to take their place in the material world. They have been able to avoid idolatry but  not the many other temptations the world, the flesh, and the devil will throw at them.   

Samuel warns them that there will be many costs associated with binding themselves to an earthly king. 

At first it seems like only the elders of Israel are demanding a king. As the chapter unfolds, we see that all of the people of Israel are behind this movement to have a human  king.  Israel is testing God's permissive will and weaning themselves away from God's revealed will. Their elders are not leading, as much as they are representing the people in this democratic movement.

 

The simple fact is that Samuel is the greatest judge of all time. During the period of his service, Israel reaches one of its spiritual “high water marks.” No rebuke of Samuel is found in 1 Samuel, either as a prophet or as a father.  It is not just Samuel’s age and the corruption of his sons which prompt the Israelites to demand a king. From chapter 12, we learn that the military threat posed by Nahash, the king of Ammon, is perhaps the fundamental reason the Israelites want a king. The Ark of God is out of commission, Samuel is soon to be, and the Israelites want an earthly king in whom they can place their trust. They have been weaned...