Deuteronomy 17:15
Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother. Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.
Long before Israel asked for a king, provision was made for a monarchical government, with its coming foretold and its terms fixed in advance. That foreknowledge set the conditions of kingship without altering the foundation on which the state stood.
The right to choose the king was reserved to the Lord, and Israel honored that authority by leaving the selection entirely in His hands. The choice made under that rule fell upon Saul, a Benjaminite, the son of Kish.
The grant of a king brought no consent to any change in the principles of government, for Israel remained a theocracy administered in God's name and by His authority. Moses, the seventy elders, rulers, and judges possessed no power to make laws but only to carry out the laws God had given, and that order continued as the condition of national existence, with men sent by God to instruct the people and direct the enforcement of the laws. The king himself was to serve as vicegerent of the Most High, with God acknowledged as head of the nation and His law upheld as the supreme law of the land.
The fact that a king had been foretold did not make Israel's later demand for a king like the surrounding nations agreeable to God's will. That demand was a rebellious turning away from God, who had been Israel's special leader and who had chosen rulers for them. When people refuse His wisdom, God at times allows them to follow their own course, and so He directed Samuel to grant the request while declaring His disapproval and warning of its consequences.
Under God's order the people were to obey the leaders He appointed, under His authority, and to look to Him for direction in difficulty. An earthly king stood in danger of taking to himself the honor due to God, and unless he trusted God continually for wisdom he would exalt himself, draw the people away from God, and use his power to injure the innocent and advance the unworthy.