Principle
Israel asked for a man to rule over them as king so that they could be like the Gentile nations.
Explanation
Samuel served GOD as a good judge over Israel “all the days of his life” (see 1 Kingdoms [1 Samuel] 7:15 OSB).
Sadly, Samuel’s sons failed to walk in GOD’s ways, and Israel grew weary of their dishonesty and corruption. They went to Samuel with a proposed solution:
4 And the men of Israel assembled and gathered in Ramah to Samuel. 5 They said to him, “Look, you have grown old, and your sons do not follow in your way. So now appoint over us a king to rule us, just as the other nations also have.” 6 But it was a wicked statement in Samuel’s eye when they said, “Give us a king to rule us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 And the Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people, just as they would speak to you, because it is not you they have rejected, but it is me they reject as king over them. 8 According to all the deeds that they did to me from that day I led them up from Egypt until this day, they abandoned me and served other gods in the same way they do these things also to you. 9 And now listen to their voice, except that by warning, you might warn them and explain to them the duties of the king who will rule over them.”
1 Kingdoms [1 Samuel] 8:4-9 LES2
So, the Israelites had now concluded that it would be better for them to have a man continually reign over them than keep their covenant with GOD as their King.
Israel had failed to perceive the big picture of the judges’ mission—those men they honored, like Samuel, who temporarily and unofficially ruled over them, which was to draw them back to their King.
How did we get to here? Let’s retrace the steps.
The ancient world—the first world—was destroyed by the great flood.
After the flood, GOD told Noah’s descendants to spread out and populate the earth, but they refused, instead attempting to build a tower that apparently would reach higher than the floodwaters: the Tower of Babel.
Mankind’s sinful refusal to spread out voluntarily caused GOD to redistribute Noah’s descendants forcefully, establishing a new, geographically-dispersed, multi-lingual, multi-national, multi-cultural world system.
Under this new multi-national arrangement, GOD placed specific angels over each nation to provide light (wisdom) and guidance to its people.
This functional operation of the creation is what I call the second world. (All of Scripture was written during the existence of this second world.)
At Babel, when GOD assigned each of the nations of earth to their angels’ care, He looked forward in time to a people who did not yet exist, and He chose that nation for Himself among all of the others. That nation, of course, was Israel.
Generations after Babel, GOD led Jacob’s descendants out of Egyptian captivity into the freedom of a new life. There, GOD offered Israel His covenant.
4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you shall be a special people to Me above all nations; for all the earth is Mine. 6 You shall be to Me a royal priesthood and a holy nation.’
Exodus 19:4-6a OSB
The generation of Israelites who left Egypt promised but were faithless, fearfully refusing to enter Canaan when it came time to fight the giants and take the land.
They wandered and died in the desert.
Their children entered the Land of Canaan, led by Joshua and the Angel of the LORD, experienced mighty victories, conquered most of the Canaanites, and took their territory.
But this generation failed to do two things:
- They failed to fully destroy the Canaanites from the land, and …
- They failed to teach their children to know GOD.
The first generation of Israelites to be raised in the Land of Canaan did not know GOD. They did not know all the great things that GOD had done for their forefathers.
Because they did not know GOD, they did not know His commandments, and therefore they did what was right in their own eyes. Soon, they left GOD’s Law and followed the gods of the Canaanites.
Just as Moses had warned, the curses of disobedience began to come upon Israel. The cycle that describes the period of the judges ensued:
- Israel rebelled, serving Canaanite gods.
- After allowing time for repentance, GOD used a Canaanite neighbor to punish and persecute Israel.
- After a lengthy period of suffering, Israel would humble themselves and cry out to GOD for deliverance.
- GOD would be moved in compassion to Israel’s groaning, so He would raise up an Israelite leader to deliver Israel.
- The Israelite leader—judge—would remind Israel that deliverance came from GOD and that their suffering was due to their sinful rebellion.
- The judge would lead Israel to defeat their enemies, repent of their sinful practices, return their hearts to serve GOD, and judge the people for years.
- Eventually, the judge would die.
Without their strong godly example, Israel would quickly lapse into even more wickedness than before.
After fourteen (major) judges, with Samuel being the last (major judge), from a strictly earthly perspective, one might empathize with the Israelites’ desire to not relapse into another period of chaos, leading to decades of additional Canaanite oppression, given that Samuel’s sons lacked the character to be good judges.
Yet, their explanation to Samuel revealed that spiritual faithfulness and moral uprightness might not have been the Israelites’ motives for wanting this king. It seems they just wanted to be like the Gentiles. In fact, GOD’s response to Samuel affirmed such.
Shadows and Substance
As is the case with probably all Scripture, there are multiple levels of depth to these events—far beyond what I perceive, I am confident.
The Kingdom of Israel
Now that Israel had become a nation with a law and a territory (the land of Canaan), the kingdom of Israel had begun. The other element which must exist, of course, is a King. It is this text where GOD first, chronologically, directly reveals Himself to have been Israel’s King.
Grasping these truths ☝️ will prove critical to future Principles which will build upon this one.
Rejection of GOD as King
GOD wanted to bless Israel with a beautiful and prosperous future. Israel persisted in choosing destruction, suffering, and sin. Israel rejected GOD’s reign over them. This rejection of GOD as King of Israel is a shadow of a future rejection.
In like manner, these things would eventually fulfill the word GOD spoke through Moses against Israel in the Song of Moses:
5 “They sinned; the blameworthy children are not His,
A generation twisted and perverse.
6 Is this how you repay the Lord,
O foolish and unwise people?
Is He not your Father, who acquired you?
Has He not made and created you?…
19 “So the Lord saw it, and was jealous;
Deuteronomy 32:5-6, 19-20 OSB
And He was provoked to anger by His sons and daughters.
20 Then He said, ‘I will turn My face from them,
And I will make known what their end will be;
For they are a perverse generation,
Sons in whom is no faith.
Necessity of a Man King
Though it was not GOD’s will for Israel to reject Him as their King, it was necessary to fulfill GOD’s eternal plan to save mankind that a man become king of Israel, so that the Messiah could reign eternally over Israel.
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