The Demands of the People
“Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; 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.” I Samuel 8:19-20
In I Samuel 8:1-18, the people of Israel demanded to have a king rule over them. Samuel, God’s prophet at that time, had made his two sons, Joel and Abiah, judges over Israel, but they were corrupt. Imagine that! I am being sarcastic. These two young men took bribes and made judgment calls which were unacceptable. The people were sick of them and wanted Samuel to appoint a king, but he did not desire to do that and prayed to the LORD who told him that the people were not rejecting him but rejecting their LORD as their king. He told Samuel to inform the people of all the problems that would arise from a human king: young men would be drafted into the military, young women would also serve the government as cooks, and everyone would be taxed on everything they owned. Sound familiar? God also said the people would regret their decision, but since they rejected the LORD as their king, He would have no obligation to listen to their cries.
Samuel informed them of God’s warnings, but not only did they refuse to listen to Samuel, they “doubled-down” on their demand for a king. They did not care about the warnings of how life would be under the thumb of a one who could become a dictator. What made them think that a human king with all of his weaknesses and lack of experience in ruling over a large body of people, who were rebellious at times as they were now, could ever work the miracles necessary to bring them all together in one accord? If they couldn’t remain a unified righteous body under God, how could they think that a mortal man could do practically the impossible? Their situation shows how relatively easy it will be in the future for people to turn to the antichrist in their search for peace and security but will soon realize the folly of their decision when the person of the antichrist shows his true colors which will usher in mass destruction upon the world (Daniel 9:27; Revelation 13:13-18). This also shows us that there are plenty of like-minded folks today who will vote for a candidate who will raise taxes, support abortion, and put businesses under onerous regulations. Matthew Henry wrote, “See the absurdity of inordinate (without restraint) desires, and how they rob men of their reason.”
The Israelites claimed that their reason for desiring a king was: 1.) to be like the nations around them. Perhaps they saw these nations experiencing peace and unity, but they could not see the ruthless and harsh ways the people were ruled to assure submission to the tyrannical rulers. If Israel could only have seen beyond the borders into the suppression of the common people, perhaps they would have reconsidered their demand for a king. Perhaps if those in our nation could see the truth about socialism, they wouldn’t be so eager to give up freedom. 2.) The people also said they wanted a king because they felt that God and His chosen leaders had not judged compassionately and righteously, but they were not thinking about how they had rebelled against the righteous judgment of God because of their pride and insolence. They wanted a king that they could manipulate.
Thirdly, they desired a king who was a military leader. Judging by this desire, they assumed that power and strength came not from walking with the LORD, but in a mighty army led by a man who was courageous and determined to keep Israel safe from her enemies. In their past they had men who led them to victory over their enemies many times, but they seemed to have forgotten that it was God who gave them victory and also allowed them to be defeated at times because of their stubborn rebellion against Him. Memories are not always dependable.
After hearing from the people in their stubborn demand for a king, Samuel retreated to his place of prayer to converse with the LORD. I imagine that Samuel was sad and depressed with Israel’s rejection of God as their king. Would the LORD grant their demand, or would He withhold it at this time? If God said, “No”, how would the people react? Whatever God decided, Samuel would be the one to bear the answer to the people. Likely to Samuel’s surprise, God told him to do whatever the people desired. However, Samuel probably knew that the LORD had a purpose in His acquiescence to Israel’s hasty demand. Samuel returned to meet the people and sent them all home to await the appointment of their first mortal king.
Fast forward to today. It makes a difference who the people elect to serve in political offices. Paul wrote in Romans 13:1-4 that government leaders are to be a “terror” to evil works. A man or woman elected to office are to be “the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that does evil”. If he or she does not stand for righteousness, but rather promotes evil by allowing lawlessness to abound, the murder of the unborn, writing policies which hurt the citizens of the nation, curbing freedom, and heavily taxing hard-working people, in effect robbing them and giving their tax money to those who refuse to work, then no matter what he or she says, their actions show them to be a tool of Satan rather than a minister of God. As God used Israel’s demand for a king to bring judgment upon them, is He not allowing the current administration as a means to bring judgment upon our nation?