1 Samuel 8:18

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."

1 Samuel 8:18 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 8:18

And ye shall cry out in that day, because of your king
His power and pride, his oppression and tyranny, his heavy exactions, and intolerable yoke, and yet not be able to free themselves from them; all that they could do would be only to cry out under them as grievously distressed, and not knowing how to help themselves; and which would be the more aggravated, because they brought all this upon themselves, as it follows:

which ye shall have chosen you;
for though the choice of a king for them, at a proper time, God had reserved to himself, yet in later times, as is here suggested, they would choose for themselves, and did, see ( Hosea 8:4 ) besides, to have a king in general was at first their own choice, though the particular person was by the designation of the Lord:

and the Lord will not hear you in that day;
will not regard them, have no compassion on them, suffer them to remain under their oppressions, and not deliver them out of them; because they rejected him from being their King, and put themselves out of his protection, into the hands of another, and therefore it was just to leave them to their own choice.

1 Samuel 8:18 In-Context

16 He will take your male and female servants, along with the best of your cattle 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."