A Walk Thru the Bible: The Kings

1 Samuel 8. 4- 22 (CEB)

⁴ So all the Israelite elders got together and went to Samuel at Ramah. ⁵ They said to him, “Listen. You are old now, and your sons don’t follow in your footsteps. So appoint us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.” ⁶ It seemed very bad to Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” so he prayed to the Lord.

⁷ The Lord answered Samuel, “Comply with the people’s request—everything they ask of you—because they haven’t rejected you. No, they’ve rejected me as king over them. ⁸ They are doing to you only what they’ve been doing to me^[a] from the day I brought them out of Egypt to this very minute, abandoning me and worshipping other gods. ⁹ So comply with their request, but give them a clear warning, telling them how the king will rule over them.”^[b]

¹⁰ Then Samuel explained everything the Lord had said to the people who were asking for a king. ¹¹ “This is how the king will rule over you,” Samuel said:

“He will take your sons, and will use them for his chariots and his cavalry and as runners for his chariot. ¹² He will use them as his commanders of troops of one thousand and troops of fifty, or to do his plowing and his harvesting, or to make his weapons or parts for his chariots. ¹³ He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, or bakers. ¹⁴ He will take your best fields, vineyards, and olive groves and give them to his servants. ¹⁵ He will give one-tenth of your grain and your vineyards to his officials and servants. ¹⁶ He will take your male and female servants, along with the best of your cattle^[c] and donkeys, and make them do his work. ¹⁷ He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and then you yourselves will become his slaves! ¹⁸ When that day comes, you will cry out because of the king you chose for yourselves, but on that day the Lord won’t answer you.”

¹⁹ But the people refused to listen to Samuel and said, “No! There must be a king over us ²⁰ so we can be like all the other nations. Our king will judge us and lead us and fight our battles.”

²¹ Samuel listened to everything the people said and repeated it directly to the Lord. ²² Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Comply with their request. Give them a king.”

Samuel then told the Israelite people, “Go back, each of you, to your own hometown.”

1 Samuel 12. 13- 25 (CEB)

¹³ “So now, here is the king you chose, the one you asked for. Yes, the Lord has put a king over you! ¹⁴ If you will fear the Lord, worship him, obey him, and not rebel against the Lord’s command, and if both you and the king who rules over you follow the Lord your God—all will be well. ¹⁵ But if you don’t obey the Lord and rebel against the Lord’s command, then the Lord’s power will go against you and your king to destroy you.^[f]

¹⁶ “So now take a stand! Look at this awesome thing the Lord is doing. ¹⁷ Isn’t the wheat harvest today? I will call upon the Lord to send thunder and rain. Then you will know and will see for yourselves what great evil you’ve done in the Lord’s eyes by asking for a king.”

¹⁸ Samuel called upon the Lord, and God sent thunder and rain on that very day. Then all the people were in awe of the Lord and Samuel.

¹⁹ All of them said to Samuel, “Please pray for us, your servants, to the Lord your God so we don’t die because we have added to our many sins the evil of asking for a king.”

²⁰ But Samuel answered the people, “Don’t be afraid. Yes, you’ve done all this evil; just don’t turn back from following the Lord. Serve the Lord with all your heart. ²¹ Don’t turn aside to follow useless idols that can’t help you or save you. They’re absolutely useless! ²² For the sake of his reputation, the Lord won’t abandon his people, because the Lord has decided to make you his very own people. ²³ But me? I would never sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. I will teach you what is good and right. ²⁴ Just fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. Look at what great things he has done for you! ²⁵ But if you continue to do evil, then both you and your king will be destroyed.”

The story of the kings is a fascinating and difficult one.  However, it starts with the understanding that Israel was to have no king other than God.  So why did they get one?  God yielded to their will!  Can you imagine!  God yielded and still said He would support them so long as they sought after Him!  What great love!  The kings failures also remind us that there is one true loving King- the Lord Jesus!  Let us have no other thing over Him!