Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;
After Samuel faithfully told the people all the words of the Lord about a king and solemnly warned them of the consequences, they refused to obey his voice and persisted in demanding a king over them. Their demand was a deliberate, long-desired choice driven by discontent and pride, wanting to be like the surrounding nations and to be esteemed great in the world, with outward prosperity, riches, and show. They wanted a visible human king of their own choosing to judge them, lead them, and fight their battles, wrongly believing their weakness came from lacking such a king rather than from their sins and departure from God. In refusing Samuel they did not merely reject Samuel but rejected God as King, throwing off His wise rule and management, showing spiritual blindness, ingratitude, and lack of faith in His power to guide, deliver, and give victory. The same folly rooted in self-confidence and lack of trust in the Lord as Ruler will be repeated among God's people today unless there is greater humility and more trust in God, for renouncing His rule for outward show takes a person out of His hands and imperils His work.
Israel's Demand for King
Samuel had faithfully laid before the people all the words of the Lord concerning a king in 1 Samuel 8:11-22 and solemnly warned them of the consequences, yet they refused to obey his voice and persisted in insisting, Nay, we will have a king over us. Their voice decided to discard Samuel before God had released him, choosing to be ruled by a king instead of being ruled by God. The demand was not sudden but a deliberate, long-desired choice driven by discontent and pride, with the injustice of Samuel's sons serving only as a pretext for a change they had long wanted. They had grown tired of pious rulers who kept God's purposes and will and honor before them.
What they wanted was to be like the surrounding nations and to be esteemed great and recognized by the world. That meant a reformed religion with outward prosperity, riches, splendor, and show, hankering after these things as they had once hankered after the food of Egypt. Their distinct standing as God's own people was a special privilege and blessing, but they ignored it and eagerly sought to imitate the heathen. Renouncing God's rule to keep up outward show and follow worldly fashion was leaving their first love and separating from His management, control, and jurisdiction.
They wanted a visible human king of their own choosing, one who pleased them, to judge them, lead them, command their armies, fight their battles, and restore harmony. They prized royal appearance, personal courage, and skill in leading armies, and wrongly believed their weakness against enemies came from lacking such a king rather than from their sins and departure from God. They distrusted God's care and mercy to raise up leaders, guide, and give victory, wanting divine power visibly embodied in a man they could see. The Lord had plainly told them through Samuel that a king was not the right and best way, and that their own way was imagined to bring the most glory to themselves as a nation.
Still He directed Samuel to listen to the people's voice, not to oppose them, but to permit them to have their own way with all its consequences. Samuel was distressed by the decision and prayed unto the Lord. God manifested His displeasure by thunder and lightning and hail, leaving them room to retract their decision, but they were too proud to do it.
Rejecting God's Rule
In refusing Samuel they did not merely reject Samuel but rejected God's own divine authority as King who had appointed their judges. It was an insult to Him to His face in throwing off His wise rule, a leaving of their first love and a separating from His management, control, jurisdiction and leadership. This was no new dissatisfaction with one man but a continuation of the rebellion that had left their fathers' dead bodies in the wilderness.
The choice showed spiritual blindness and ingratitude, ignoring their special privilege and blessing as God's own people in eagerness to imitate the heathen. It showed lack of faith in His care, mercy and power to raise up leaders for them, to provide rulers, to guide and deliver and give victory, as He had made plain in Gideon's deliverance. They saw Samuel's solemn warning as his own judgment rather than God's word through him, and they wanted divine power visibly embodied in a man they could see. They wrongly believed their weakness against enemies came from lacking a king to command armies, rather than from their sins and departure from God, showing distrust of His care and mercy. Depending on people instead of God was their weakness, preferring human power to the divine power that had led them.
They followed their own mind and judgment, changeable human judgment, worldly policy and satanic counsel, rather than God's counsel and merciful guidance. They were bewitched to carry out their own purposes, choosing their own judgment and human leadership over Him. No confidence can be placed in finite beings whose hearts are not daily sanctified and controlled by the love and fear of God. The course was rooted in self-confidence, lack of humility and lack of trust in the Lord as Ruler, which is leaning on men and on human judgment instead of making God the trust.
By choosing monarchy like the nations they gave up the form of government God had established, in which He chose their leaders and was to be consulted in difficulty, ruling through wise men who waited upon Him for counsel. They risked giving to an earthly ruler honor due to God and being led away from obedience to Him. A king unguided by God's wisdom could exalt himself, judge wrongly, make the innocent suffer and reward the unworthy.
God warned that their prosperity would still depend on obeying Him, though they wanted a human ruler to lead their armies instead of trusting Him as their divine helper. Distress would come through the rulers they trusted to manage the nation. They later learned to their sorrow that an earthly ruler was of little help when God did not go with their armies. Because they wanted their own way rather than God's and prized royal appearance, personal courage and skill in leading armies above character to govern justly and preserve their holy calling, they received a king whose character reflected their own, that under his rule they would learn their error and return to God.
As the people later compared Saul's course with Samuel's they recognized their desire for a king as a mistake, and Saul's example helped make society irreligious and godless. Their demand was a sin against God, and their ingratitude had separated them from Him, so that before they found peace they had to confess it specifically as an added evil. Their choice brought weakness by preferring visible human power to divine power, and its ultimate result was Jerusalem's destruction and the nation's dispersion.
Warning for Today
Israel's insistence on having an earthly king so as to be like the surrounding nations means renouncing God's rule in order to keep up outward show and follow worldly fashion. Such a choice takes a person out of God's hands and puts him under worldly influence. Though meant to raise himself, it lowers him, dulls his comprehension of spiritual things, lessens his influence, and imperils God's work.
The folly in Samuel's day in refusing warning and insisting on a king over them was rooted in self-confidence, lack of humility, and lack of trust in the Lord God of Israel as Ruler of the people, which is leaning on men and on human judgment instead of making God the trust. The same folly will be repeated among God's people today unless there is greater humility, less confidence in self, and more trust in God. Only as divine power is combined with human effort will the work abide the test. The required change is to lean no longer on men or on human judgment but to make God the trust, resulting in less talking and much more praying, meekness of spirit, caution in plans and movements, revealed dependence on God, and the mind of Christ.
Persisting in demanding a king after being warned what a king would do, wanting to be like other nations, taught to sorrow that an earthly ruler is of little help when God does not go with the armies. God has not placed kingly power in human hands to control every branch of the work, and centralized restrictions can hinder workers from entering neglected fields. The desire for a king to lead and fight battles is a lesson about people wanting a central human leader to carry responsibilities they should share and meet themselves.
After Samuel faithfully told the people all the words of the Lord about a king and solemnly warned them of the consequences, they refused to obey his voice and persisted in demanding a king over them. Their demand was a deliberate, long-desired choice driven by discontent and pride, wanting to be like the surrounding nations and to be esteemed great in the world, with outward prosperity, riches, and show. They wanted a visible human king of their own choosing to judge them, lead them, and fight their battles, wrongly believing their weakness came from lacking such a king rather than from their sins and departure from God. In refusing Samuel they did not merely reject Samuel but rejected God as King, throwing off His wise rule and management, showing spiritual blindness, ingratitude, and lack of faith in His power to guide, deliver, and give victory. The same folly rooted in self-confidence and lack of trust in the Lord as Ruler will be repeated among God's people today unless there is greater humility and more trust in God, for renouncing His rule for outward show takes a person out of His hands and imperils His work.
Israel's Demand for King
Samuel had faithfully laid before the people all the words of the Lord concerning a king in 1 Samuel 8:11-22 and solemnly warned them of the consequences, yet they refused to obey his voice and persisted in insisting, Nay, we will have a king over us. Their voice decided to discard Samuel before God had released him, choosing to be ruled by a king instead of being ruled by God. The demand was not sudden but a deliberate, long-desired choice driven by discontent and pride, with the injustice of Samuel's sons serving only as a pretext for a change they had long wanted. They had grown tired of pious rulers who kept God's purposes and will and honor before them.
What they wanted was to be like the surrounding nations and to be esteemed great and recognized by the world. That meant a reformed religion with outward prosperity, riches, splendor, and show, hankering after these things as they had once hankered after the food of Egypt. Their distinct standing as God's own people was a special privilege and blessing, but they ignored it and eagerly sought to imitate the heathen. Renouncing God's rule to keep up outward show and follow worldly fashion was leaving their first love and separating from His management, control, and jurisdiction.
They wanted a visible human king of their own choosing, one who pleased them, to judge them, lead them, command their armies, fight their battles, and restore harmony. They prized royal appearance, personal courage, and skill in leading armies, and wrongly believed their weakness against enemies came from lacking such a king rather than from their sins and departure from God. They distrusted God's care and mercy to raise up leaders, guide, and give victory, wanting divine power visibly embodied in a man they could see. The Lord had plainly told them through Samuel that a king was not the right and best way, and that their own way was imagined to bring the most glory to themselves as a nation.
Still He directed Samuel to listen to the people's voice, not to oppose them, but to permit them to have their own way with all its consequences. Samuel was distressed by the decision and prayed unto the Lord. God manifested His displeasure by thunder and lightning and hail, leaving them room to retract their decision, but they were too proud to do it.
Rejecting God's Rule
In refusing Samuel they did not merely reject Samuel but rejected God's own divine authority as King who had appointed their judges. It was an insult to Him to His face in throwing off His wise rule, a leaving of their first love and a separating from His management, control, jurisdiction and leadership. This was no new dissatisfaction with one man but a continuation of the rebellion that had left their fathers' dead bodies in the wilderness.
The choice showed spiritual blindness and ingratitude, ignoring their special privilege and blessing as God's own people in eagerness to imitate the heathen. It showed lack of faith in His care, mercy and power to raise up leaders for them, to provide rulers, to guide and deliver and give victory, as He had made plain in Gideon's deliverance. They saw Samuel's solemn warning as his own judgment rather than God's word through him, and they wanted divine power visibly embodied in a man they could see. They wrongly believed their weakness against enemies came from lacking a king to command armies, rather than from their sins and departure from God, showing distrust of His care and mercy. Depending on people instead of God was their weakness, preferring human power to the divine power that had led them.
They followed their own mind and judgment, changeable human judgment, worldly policy and satanic counsel, rather than God's counsel and merciful guidance. They were bewitched to carry out their own purposes, choosing their own judgment and human leadership over Him. No confidence can be placed in finite beings whose hearts are not daily sanctified and controlled by the love and fear of God. The course was rooted in self-confidence, lack of humility and lack of trust in the Lord as Ruler, which is leaning on men and on human judgment instead of making God the trust.
By choosing monarchy like the nations they gave up the form of government God had established, in which He chose their leaders and was to be consulted in difficulty, ruling through wise men who waited upon Him for counsel. They risked giving to an earthly ruler honor due to God and being led away from obedience to Him. A king unguided by God's wisdom could exalt himself, judge wrongly, make the innocent suffer and reward the unworthy.
God warned that their prosperity would still depend on obeying Him, though they wanted a human ruler to lead their armies instead of trusting Him as their divine helper. Distress would come through the rulers they trusted to manage the nation. They later learned to their sorrow that an earthly ruler was of little help when God did not go with their armies. Because they wanted their own way rather than God's and prized royal appearance, personal courage and skill in leading armies above character to govern justly and preserve their holy calling, they received a king whose character reflected their own, that under his rule they would learn their error and return to God.
As the people later compared Saul's course with Samuel's they recognized their desire for a king as a mistake, and Saul's example helped make society irreligious and godless. Their demand was a sin against God, and their ingratitude had separated them from Him, so that before they found peace they had to confess it specifically as an added evil. Their choice brought weakness by preferring visible human power to divine power, and its ultimate result was Jerusalem's destruction and the nation's dispersion.
Warning for Today
Israel's insistence on having an earthly king so as to be like the surrounding nations means renouncing God's rule in order to keep up outward show and follow worldly fashion. Such a choice takes a person out of God's hands and puts him under worldly influence. Though meant to raise himself, it lowers him, dulls his comprehension of spiritual things, lessens his influence, and imperils God's work.
The folly in Samuel's day in refusing warning and insisting on a king over them was rooted in self-confidence, lack of humility, and lack of trust in the Lord God of Israel as Ruler of the people, which is leaning on men and on human judgment instead of making God the trust. The same folly will be repeated among God's people today unless there is greater humility, less confidence in self, and more trust in God. Only as divine power is combined with human effort will the work abide the test. The required change is to lean no longer on men or on human judgment but to make God the trust, resulting in less talking and much more praying, meekness of spirit, caution in plans and movements, revealed dependence on God, and the mind of Christ.
Persisting in demanding a king after being warned what a king would do, wanting to be like other nations, taught to sorrow that an earthly ruler is of little help when God does not go with the armies. God has not placed kingly power in human hands to control every branch of the work, and centralized restrictions can hinder workers from entering neglected fields. The desire for a king to lead and fight battles is a lesson about people wanting a central human leader to carry responsibilities they should share and meet themselves.