Birth of a King - Part 1
1 Samuel 10:24 And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king.
We will recall from earlier chapters that Samuel helped Israel repent and turn back to serving the LORD, and as a result the Philistines were defeated in battle. And so, there was a time of peace and rest for Israel from their enemies.
When Samuel is Old
1 Samuel 8:1 And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.
It says, “When Samuel was old.” But based on the rest of the story he still has about 40 more years to live, and he lived to about 100 years old. So, he is probably 55 or 60 at this time.
His Sons are Corrupt
1 Samuel 8:3 And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre [unjust gain], and took bribes, and perverted their judgment.
It’s amazing how things can change in just one short generation. Samuel had been used in his early life to remove the corrupt priesthood and to turn Israel back to God. But now, just a generation or so later, his own sons have become greedy and corrupt. So much can happen in a generation. It brings to mind one of a famous Ronald Reagan quote from 1967.
“Freedom is a fragile thing and it's never more than ONE GENERATION away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people.” Ronald Reagan
A New Vision for Israel
1 Samuel 8:4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah,
Keep in mind that Samuel is the top leader in Israel. It says in one place that when he visited Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and they asked him if he came peaceably or otherwise. He was highly respected and feared.
1 Samuel 8:5 And [they, the elders] said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
They were saying, Look, Samuel, you’re old, you’re not nearly as relevant as you used to be, and your sons, well, they’re on a different path than you walked on. And, you see, we have a fresh vision for Israel. It’s a new day, you know. We want you to give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.
Samuel Looks to the LORD
1 Samuel 8:6 But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD.
This thing troubled and displeased Samuel, and what did he do? He took it to the LORD.
The LORD’s Response
1 Samuel 8:7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken [or listen] unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
1 Samuel 8:8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.
The LORD is saying, This is exactly what they’ve always done, Samuel, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt. They have always had an on/off relationship with Me.
1 Samuel 8:9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice: [but] protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.
1 Samuel 8:10 And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king.
Notice Samuel’s prayer life. He takes his issue to the LORD, tells HIm about it, and then listens to what the LORD has to say. It would greatly benefit believers to pray this way.
The Type of King
1 Samuel 8:11 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.
1 Samuel 8:12 And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.
1 Samuel 8:13 And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.
1 Samuel 8:14 And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.
1 Samuel 8:15 And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.
1 Samuel 8:16 And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your [donkeys], and put them to his work.
1 Samuel 8:17 He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. [He will take, take, take.]
1 Samuel 8:18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.
1 Samuel 8:19 NEVERTHELESS [despite all these warnings] the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;
They said, we want a king anyway. It brings to mind the word stiffnecked, which, by the way, means obstinate and stubborn. The word stiffnecked is used at least 18 times in the scriptures to describe the Jewish people.
Obstinate, stubborn, not willing to listen to reason, rebellious, disobedient. Of course, we’re never like that, are we? Unfortunately, we as Christians, can be that way sometimes.
Why did they want a King?
1 Samuel 8:20 That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.
Don’t you know it’s going to be wonderful? We want to be like all the other nations. We’ve had enough of this separated called-out people thing. We want a king to judge us, and we want him to go out and fight our battles. We want to be like the other nations.
The old utopian worldview wins again. It’s going to be great. It’s going to be perfect. He will go out and fight our battles. Yes, but at what cost? Your sons, your daughters, your fields, your crops, your animals, . . . your freedom?
You see, not everything that looks good ends well. The Bible says that there is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
And, not only that, wasn’t the Lord already capable of fighting their battles? Yes. Their enemies had already been utterly defeated during Samuel’s lifetime. How soon we forget.
1 Samuel 8:21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the LORD.
Samuel heard the people and he went back to the LORD.
1 Samuel 8:22 And the LORD said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city.
Again, one thing that stands out in this passage is Samuel’s prayer life. How did he handle the situation? He took it to the LORD, and then he listened to the LORD. And then he went back to the people, and he told them what the LORD said.
Then they gave their response, and he took it back to the Lord again, and the Lord made the final decision. What a prayer life!
Samuel prayed like a mediator. Our prayer life should be that simple. We take our situation to God, we tell Him about it, and we allow Him to tell us what to do. We talk to God, we take time to hear what He says, and we do it. That’s called faith.