Give Us a King

MEMORY SELECTION: “The children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.” —I Samuel 7:8

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: I Samuel 8:1-9; 10:1

SAMUEL was the last of Israel’s judges serving by divine arrangement. Under that system the elders of each tribe were responsible for its own affairs, with the priestly tribe looking after the religious interests of the people. The nation’s laws and government were in God’s hands, with judges being raised from time to time to offer counsel and assistance where necessary.

Samuel, however, was growing old, and although he had sons to take his place, “his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.” (I Sam. 8:3) The time was ripe for change, and the children of Israel took opportunity to call for the institution of a new type of government for the nation.

The Israelites had continually failed to understand their unusual position before God or to appreciate rightly the great privilege which was theirs. God’s hand had been manifested in their affairs over and over again, but they were never satisfied. They wanted to be like other nations. They wanted to be recognized and to have power. They wanted a king.

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Samuel did not attempt to argue with his brethren but took the matter to the Lord in prayer, which showed the spirit and humility that motivated this great man of God. In answer to his prayer “the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken 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. 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. Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.”—I Sam. 8:7-9

Armed with the counsel of God, Samuel returned to the elders of Israel to explain to them that many of the liberties which they had enjoyed under the system of judges would be curtailed by a king. The wealth of the people would find its way into the king’s purse, and the best of their lands and other properties would come under the control of the king. They would become virtual slaves with little or no voice in their own affairs, and their sons and daughters would be taken for various services of the king.

Yet his people heard not, disregarding the counsel of the Lord. They would suffer the consequences even as it was recorded by the prophet Hosea, who said (Hos. 13:9-11): “O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help. I will be thy king: where is any other that may save thee in all thy cities? and thy judges of whom thou saidst, Give me a king and princes? I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath.”

By God’s providence Samuel accepted the decision of his people in their desire to have a king. In due course of time Saul was selected from the tribe of Benjamin to occupy the newly established throne of Israel, and Samuel was commissioned to anoint him. “Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured it upon his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not because the Lord hath anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?”—I Sam. 10:1

There is a lesson for the Lord’s people during the present age, when provision for sacrificing earthly interests has been made acceptable. The Lord has established his church—spiritual Israel—in much the same way as natural Israel was set up, he himself being her rightful Head. Dissatisfaction with this simple arrangement led eventually to the development among the Israelites of two classes—the clergy, occupying positions of exaltation on one hand, and the lay class on the other. That mark of disobedience was the pattern for the growth of worldwide religious institutions that are entirely out of harmony with God’s instructions. It is essential that we recognize God’s arrangements in matters pertaining to our relationship to him. Human institutions and theories cannot be depended upon and will give way to the everlasting kingdom of truth and righteousness soon to be established.

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