1 Samuel 8

10–18 In these verses Samuel tells the people about the “bad things.” Samuel’s words accurately describe most kings of the ancient world, including Solomon himself in his later years. The people could expect their king to take a tenth of all their produce (verse 15)—in addition to the regular tithe for the Lord (Leviticus 27:30). But more than that, he would take the people themselves; the people, in effect, would become his slaves (verse 17). And then, too late, the people would cry out for relief; but the Lord would not answer them in that day (verse 18).

19–22 In spite of Samuel’s warning, the elders repeated their request for a king (verse 19), and so the Lord granted their request (verse 22).

Did the Lord change His mind? He clearly did not want them to have the kind of king they were asking for—“a king. . .to go out before us and fight our battles” (verse 20). They were really asking for a king who would replace God, and certainly that was not God’s plan.

But God had long before decided that one day Israel would have a king (Genesis 49:10), and He had given Moses careful instructions about how that king should rule (see Deuteronomy 17:14–20 and comment). Any king would have to rule under God’s ultimate authority (Romans 13:1) and obey His covenant laws. The king would be like a judge—like Samuel—a man chosen by God, directed by God, and empowered by God. It was with these conditions in mind that God granted the Israelites’ request for a king.

However, God still knew that in their hearts the people had rejected Him (verse 7). They had rejected the covenant they had made with Him, according to which He would be their protector and deliverer—their King—and they would obey His laws. The Israelites’ wellbeing had always depended on their obedience to God, not on human kings and military power. Now they had signaled that they no longer wanted to obey God or to abide by His covenant.

Why? Because the Israelites wanted to be like other people. There is a warning here for Christians today. SATAN cannot overcome us by a direct attack; but if he can tempt us to become like the world around us, he will have neutralized our witness, our power, and our faith. We will have become like soldiers without armor and without weapons (Ephesians 6:10–20).