Israel Demands a King Like the Other Nations
The importance of godly leaders.
Before we get into the books of 1 & 2 Kings, we need to review a bit of background history first. Here’s what we’ll go over before we begin 1 Kings:
How did Israel come to be ruled by kings? This wasn’t the initial arrangement.
How the first king - Saul - came to the throne and what happened to cause his family to no longer rule.
How David came to the throne, and his reign as king, which will bring us to the beginning of 1 Kings.
Let’s see what led to Israel changing from a “judge” system of government with the tribes being mostly free to govern themselves, to a united kingdom under a king.
Israel’s Problems with the Philistines.
During the days of Samuel’s role as prophet, priest, and judge, the Philistines came to battle against the Israelites (1 Samuel 4:1).
The Philistines worshipped idols (1 Samuel 5:1-5), were technologically advanced, and had a mighty military (Judges 14:3; 1 Samuel 13:19-20; Exodus 13:17). Their primary cities were Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gath, and Gaza. Below is a map of where their territory was located.
As you can see, the Philistines were next-door neighbors to the Israelites and were usually not very friendly.
The Philistines defeated Israel in battle - killing about 4,000 Israelite soldiers (1 Samuel 4:2). The Israelites decided the remedy to the situation was to bring the Ark of the Covenant into battle with them, and the Philistines proceeded to route them. 30,000 Israelite soldiers were slaughtered, the Ark of the Covenant was captured, and the two wicked sons of Eli were killed (1 Samuel 4:3-11).
The Philistines had massive problems with the Ark of the Covenant and eventually decided it was best to return it to the Israelites. The ark ended up in Kirjath Jearim for 20 years under the watchful eye of Eleazar (1 Samuel 5:1-7:2).
As the story shifts back to Samuel, he addresses the real reason for Israel’s trouble with the Philistines, and what the solution will be.
Samuel’s Role as Israel’s Leader.
Samuel’s leadership of Israel cannot be understated. H. I. Hester pointed out that “in many respects, [Samuel] was the greatest leader between Moses and David.”1
As a prophet, Samuel served in an important role that continued to be critically important up to the time of Jesus, as Peter stated in Acts 3:22-24.
Samuel pointed the nation back to God.
As the unquestioned leader of Israel and the spokesman for God, Samuel tells the nation the actual solution to their problem with the Philistines.
"If you return to the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the LORD, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines." So the children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and served the LORD only. (1 Samuel 7:3-4)
Baal and Ashtoreth were the male and female “supreme” gods of the Canaanite people around the Israelites. The Israelites had gone after these “foreign” idol gods - and Samuel reminds them of something God had told them long ago when their forefathers prepared to enter Canaan.
Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you today; and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known. (Deuteronomy 11:26-28)
The curse of disobedience included being defeated by their enemies (Deuteronomy 28:25). But the blessing of obedience meant God would deliver them from enemies who rose against them (Deuteronomy 28:7).
So, the Israelites gathered at Mizpah at Samuel’s command, and he prayed for them there as they fasted and confessed their sin against the Lord (1 Samuel 7:5-6).
Samuel led the nation in depending on God.
Israel’s gathering to mourn their sin and turn back to God drew the interest of the Philistines - who were intent on keeping Israel under their thumb. The Philistines showed up for battle, and the Israelites were terrified (1 Samuel 7:7).
But, the Israelites turned to Samuel and asked him to continue to cry out to the Lord that He save them from the Philistines (1 Samuel 7:8). Samuel does this, making a sacrifice to God, and the Lord powerfully delivered Israel. The Lord thundered from heaven and confused the Philistines. The Israelites drove the Philistines back to their own territory (1 Samuel 7:9-11).
Samuel set up a memorial stone at the place where the Lord helped them and called it “Ebenezer.” The Philistines stopped invading Israel at this time, and God’s hand “was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel.” Even the cities the Philistines had captured from Israel were restored into the Israelites’ hands. The nation finally had the peace they had wanted for so long because they turned back to God and depended on Him (1 Samuel 7:12-14).
Samuel continued to lead and judge the nation throughout the rest of his life (1 Samuel 7:15-17).
Israel Asks Samuel to Give Them a King.
Years later, Samuel was an old man and he made his two sons judges over Israel. But, the problem was “his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice” (1 Samuel 8:3). Although Samuel had been a faithful and just judge, his sons were nothing like him. Samuel was interested in doing what was right; his sons used their position as a way to pad their own pockets.
And so, Israel’s tribal leaders came to Samuel and told him, “You’re old, and your sons are nothing like you. Make us a king like all the other nations have” (1 Samuel 8:4-5).
Their request displeased Samuel, who seemed “hurt” by the people’s rejection of his sons, which he took as a rejection of himself. But God tells Samuel to listen to the people - although they had not rejected Samuel, they had rejected the Lord as their ruler (1 Samuel 8:7).
The Lord told Samuel the nation was simply doing what they had always done since He brought them out of Egypt. Samuel was to give them the king they wanted - but to warn them what having a king would mean (1 Samuel 8:8-9).
So Samuel warned them how much freedom they would forfeit by having a king like the other nations (1 Samuel 8:10-17). Even when they cried out to the Lord because of how their kings treated them, the Lord would not listen (1 Samuel 8:18). Once they went down this path, there would be no turning back.
Even after hearing God’s warning through Samuel, the people still insisted on having a king and refused to listen to the warning. So the Lord said, “Heed their voice, and make them a king” (1 Samuel 8:22).
Crowning Principles.
I’ll try to include at least a couple of application points after each of these articles. So, here’s the first two.
1. The importance of a leader’s character.
Samuel’s upright character was unquestioned and well-known throughout Israel. As he gives his farewell address in 1 Samuel 12, he asks if he’d ever cheated anyone or accepted bribes and the nation replies “No” (1 Samuel 12:3-4).
However, the character of Samuel’s sons was the exact opposite of their father - “they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice” (1 Samuel 8:3). While the character of Samuel’s sons does not justify or excuse Israel’s request for a king, it did motivate their request.
In the New Testament, God is very clear about the kind of “character” He requires from the men who serve as the leaders - shepherds - of His people (1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9).
2. Godly leaders point people back to God and His word.
After Israel failed to resolve their problem with the Philistines in their own way, Samuel appears on the scene and tells them what the solution actually requires. What he tells them is rooted in the Law of Moses which God gave them.
They had turned away from the Lord, and the only way to “fix” their problem with the Philistines was to turn back to God.
When Paul was correcting the many issues in the church at Corinth, he urged them “not to think beyond what is written” (1 Corinthians 4:6). Later he would tell Timothy to “preach the word” (2 Timothy 4:2).
Samuel’s success as a leader of God’s people was founded upon his submitting himself to God and His word, and then, rather than exalting himself, pointing people to God and urging them to listen to God’s word.
Great introduction. Thanks