1 Samuel 8:4 - Meaning and Application

Here begins something entirely new and surprising, the setting up of kingship in Israel. People who loved change and liked whatever seemed grand may have talked about it often, but this is the first time we see it brought forward openly and discussed. Abimelech was little more than a name on the throne, though Scripture says he ruled over Israel (Judges 9:22), and his fall may have long made the title “king” unpleasant in Israel, much as the Romans once hated the name Tarquin. If that feeling had existed, it had now faded, and the people here take bold steps toward a change that would transform their nation.

First, we see the elders bringing their request to Samuel. They gathered by agreement, not in a noisy riot, and came to him at Ramah, his home, with due respect. Their complaint was brief: Samuel was old, and his sons did not walk in his ways. Israel had had many better times to ask for a king, such as when enemies pressed them or when disorder troubled them at home, but restless people often use the smallest excuse to push for change.

It was true that Samuel was old. If that made him less able to travel and hold court for long hours, it also meant he had more wisdom and experience, which made him better fit to govern. He had grown old in their service, and it was unkind, ungrateful, and unjust to push him aside when he had spent his life doing them good. God had spared him from being despised in his youth (1 Samuel 3:20), yet now they made his old age something shameful, even though old age should have been given double honor. If older people are blamed for their weakness and set aside because of it, they should not be surprised, for Samuel himself was treated that way.

It was also true that his sons did not follow his path, and that was a grief to him. But this was not Samuel’s fault, for he had not spoiled them the way Eli had spoiled his sons. He was ready to hear complaints against them, and if the elders had really wanted justice, he would likely have removed them from office and punished them once bribery was proved. But that was not what they truly wanted. They had another plan in mind.

Their request was that a king be set over them to judge them, like all the nations. In one sense, they were correct in coming to Samuel rather than rising in rebellion and forcing a king on themselves. They came to God’s prophet and asked him to do it. But the request was still wrong and displeasing to God. God would give them a king in his own time, a man after his own heart, after Samuel died. They were trying to get ahead of God’s plan, and they wanted a king now that Samuel was old.

They already had a prophet to judge them, one who had direct contact with heaven, and in that they were blessed above every other nation, since no other people had God so near to them as Israel did (Deuteronomy 4:7). But that was not enough for them. They wanted a king with outward power and show, like the nations around them. A plain prophet in a simple cloak, even one who knew the visions of the Almighty, looked low in the eyes of people who judged by appearances. A king in purple, with guards and officials, looked impressive, and that was what they wanted. They did not ask for a king who was wise and good, or one who could judge better than Samuel’s sons. They simply said, “Give us a king.” They were foolish to leave behind their own privilege. Under the claim of raising their nation to the level of their neighbors, they were really throwing away their own honor and treating their crown as something to cast on the ground.

Next, we see Samuel’s response. The request hurt him deeply. It was probably a shock, since he had not been warned of it, and that made it even more painful. What troubled him was not that they spoke against his age or his sons, for he could bear words that touched himself and his family. What pierced him was their demand for a king, because that struck at God’s honor.

But Samuel did not answer at once. He brought the matter to God in prayer and asked for guidance. He laid the whole case before the Lord and left it with him, and in that way he found peace. Samuel was a man of prayer, and believers are encouraged to make everything known to God (Philippians 4:6). When anything troubles us, it is both our duty and our good to tell God about it openly and humbly.

God then gave Samuel instruction. Those who seek him in trouble will find him near and ready to guide them. First, God softened Samuel’s displeasure. Samuel was deeply disturbed by the people’s proposal. He felt insulted because they had shown contempt for his prophetic office and had returned his service with ingratitude. But God told him not to think of it as a personal rejection only. “They have not rejected you, but me,” he said, “for they have rejected me from being king over them” (1 Samuel 8:7).

This is a comfort to God’s servants. If God shares in the dishonor done to us, then we can bear it patiently. We should not think worse of ourselves when we suffer reproach for his sake (Psalm 69:7), but rather count it an honor, as Paul says of his own suffering (Colossians 1:24). Samuel must not grieve simply because they were tired of his government, though it was just and gentle. In truth, they were tired of God’s rule. That was what they were rejecting. Israel had been under a special kind of government, a theocracy, which means direct rule by God. Their judges received their calling and authority straight from him, and the nation’s affairs were guided in a special way by his hand. Their constitution and daily rule both rested on “Thus says the Lord.” They were weary of that, even though it was their highest honor and safety as long as they stayed close to God.

They were much more exposed to trouble if they provoked God by sin. They found they could not sin as cheaply as the other nations did. That may have been the real reason they wanted to stand on the same terms with God as the nations around them did.

Samuel must not be surprised or upset by this. God says they are doing what they have always done, as in everything they have done since the day he brought them out of Egypt (1 Samuel 8:8). At first, they had seemed so respectful and obedient to Samuel that he may have thought their old stubbornness was gone. But now he saw he had been mistaken. They had always been hard toward their leaders, as Moses and Aaron showed. Worse still, they had abandoned God and served other gods. Their greater sin of wanting new gods could make this sin of wanting new rulers seem small by comparison. Samuel could expect them to act in this way, because they were called transgressors from birth (Isaiah 48:8), and this had been their habit from youth (Jeremiah 22:21).

God also told Samuel how to answer them. Samuel would not have known what to say if God had not guided him. If he opposed their request, it might seem like he loved power too much or favored his own sons. If he gave in too quickly, it would look like he was betraying his trust and helping bring about the harm that would follow. Aaron sinned when he gave the people what they wanted and made them gods, so Samuel dared not do the same when they asked for a king. He would give them the answer God had sent.

He must tell them that they would have a king. God says, “Listen to the voice of the people” (1 Samuel 8:7, 1 Samuel 8:9). This did not mean God approved of their request. Sometimes God blocks us in love, and at other times he gives us what we ask for in anger. He did that here. When they asked for a king and princes, he gave them a king in his anger (Hosea 13:10-11), just as he gave them quail (Psalm 106:15; Psalm 78:29). God told Samuel to let them have their way for three reasons. First, they would be beaten with their own rod and learn the difference between God’s rule and a king’s rule, to their loss (2 Chronicles 12:8). Second, if they were refused, they might rebel against Samuel or turn away from their religion and adopt the gods of the nations. Third, God knew how to bring honor to himself and carry out his wise plans even through their foolish advice.

But Samuel also had to warn them that once they had a king, they would soon grow weary of him. They would later regret their choice, but it would be too late. He was to warn them solemnly that if they wanted a king to rule them the way eastern kings ruled their subjects, they would find the burden very heavy (1 Samuel 8:9). They were thinking only of a king’s glory and splendor. They thought a king would make their nation seem great and impress their enemies. But they also needed to think about the cost of that display and the harsh power that nearby kings often claimed. Those who set their hearts too strongly on anything in this world should think about its troubles as well as its advantages. They should weigh both sides together. In the same way, those who submit to the world and the flesh are told plainly how harsh their masters are and how bitter sin’s rule is. Yet they still trade God’s rule for it.

Samuel faithfully told them everything the Lord had said (1 Samuel 8:10). He explained how deeply God took their request, how God saw it as rejecting him, and how it was like their turning to other gods. He also told them that God would grant their request if they insisted, but he was to warn them of the sure results. If they had any sense left and cared about their own good, they would take back their request and ask to remain as they were.

Then Samuel laid out in detail not the true duty of a king, but the kind of rule this king would use, following the pattern of the nations (1 Samuel 8:11). He was not describing a just king’s rightful authority. Moses had already described a king’s proper duty elsewhere. Rather, he was describing the power kings among the nations had gained for themselves. This would be the way of the king: he would keep his rank at your expense and misuse his power, as rulers often do. Since he would hold the army in his hand, you would have no choice but to submit to him.

If they wanted a king like the nations, they should know he would need a large court and many servants. He would need men to care for his chariots and horses, nobles to ride with him, and runners to go before his chariots. That is the chief splendor of princes, and the empty glory great men love, a crowd of attendants around them. But where would he get them? He would take your sons, free-born sons who had been well raised and were now under your care, and appoint them for himself (1 Samuel 8:11). They would have to serve him and be at his command. Those who once worked for their parents and for themselves would labor for him, plowing his ground and reaping his harvest (1 Samuel 8:12), and even count that as an honor (1 Samuel 8:16). It would be a great change.

He must also keep a grand table. He will not be content to eat with his neighbors at a sacrifice, as Samuel did (1 Samuel 9:13). He will want many fine dishes, rich foods, sweet foods, and special sauces. Who will prepare them? He will take your daughters, especially the most skillful and capable ones, whom you had hoped to see with homes and tables of their own. Whether you want it or not, they will become his cooks, bakers, and confectioners.

He will also need a standing army for guards and garrisons. Your sons, instead of being elders in your cities and living quietly and honorably at home, will become captains over thousands and captains over fifties. They will be placed where the ruler chooses.

He will have favorites too, men he honors and lifts up. After he has made them great, he must enrich them and give them land that fits their rank. Where can he get that land except from you? He will take your fields and vineyards, the best ones you inherited from your fathers and hoped to pass on to your children (1 Samuel 8:14). He will not only take them for himself, which you might endure more easily, but give them to his servants, who will then rule over what you worked for. How would you like that?

He will need large revenues to support his greatness and power. Where will he get them? From you. He will take a tenth of your grain (1 Samuel 8:15) and a tenth of your livestock (1 Samuel 8:17). You already think the tithes, the required tenth parts God appointed to support his worship, are heavy enough and dislike paying them. But if you have a king, another tenth will have to come from your property, and it will be collected with much more force to support royal splendor. Think about the cost along with the display, and ask whether it will be worth it.

These would be their troubles. When they came, they would have no one to complain to but God. Before this, they had complained to the prince himself and received the usual royal answer, “Your yoke is heavy, and I will make it heavier” (1 Kings 12:11). When they complained to God, he would not listen (1 Samuel 8:18). They could not expect him to, because they had ignored his warnings and calls, and in this matter they had brought the trouble on themselves by rejecting him. They had refused to believe what he told them would happen. When we bring misery on ourselves by foolish desires and plans, we rightly lose the comfort of prayer and the help of God. If God is not kinder to us than we deserve, we must try to fix things ourselves, and then we are in a bad state.

The people still would not give in, 1 Samuel 8:19-20. You would think such a warning, coming from God himself, who cannot lie or be mistaken, would have made them drop their request. But their minds were made up, right or wrong, good or bad: “We will have a king over us, whatever God or Samuel says against it. We will have a king, whatever it costs us, and whatever harm it brings on us or our children.” See how foolish this was.

They could not listen to reason, and they could not see what was best for themselves. They could not answer Samuel’s arguments, or deny how strong they were, and yet they became even more forceful and rude in their demand. At first they said, “Please make us a king.” Now they said, “No, we will have a king. Yes, that is what we want, because we want it. We will not tolerate anything said against it.” Inordinate desires, desires that are out of control, rob people of good sense.

They also would not wait for God’s time. God had already said in the law that Israel would one day have a king, at the right time (Deuteronomy 17:14-15), and perhaps they had some hint that the time was near. But they were in a hurry: “We want this king in our own day.” If they had waited ten or twelve years longer, they would have had David, a king given by God in mercy, and they would have avoided all the troubles that came with Saul’s rise. Hasty decisions and rushed desires often bring long and painful regret.

What they wanted from a king was not only, as before, to be like the nations around them and be brought down to the level of people God had lifted above them. They also wanted someone to judge them, lead them into battle, and fight their wars. Foolish and unwise people! Could they wish for a battle better fought for them than the last one, when Samuel prayed and God answered with thunder (1 Samuel 7:10)? Was victory by that means too certain for them? Did they really want the uncertainty of war that other nations faced? They seemed tired of their privileges. And what happened in the end? Their first king was killed in battle, something none of their judges ever experienced, and so was Josiah, one of the last and best kings.

Samuel then sent them away with the message that, very soon, they would get what they had asked for. He told the Lord everything they had said, 1 Samuel 8:21. Of course, God already knew it perfectly well without Samuel’s report. But as a prophet, Samuel acted faithfully between God and Israel and brought back the answer to the one who sent him. He also waited on God for further direction. God fully knows the trouble and uncertainty we are concerned about, yet he still wants to hear it from us. Samuel’s speaking it in the Lord’s ears also shows that he did this in private, since the people were not willing to join him in prayer for guidance. It also shows a holy closeness to God, which he graciously allows his people. They can speak in the Lord’s ears as one friend whispers to another. Their fellowship with God is food the world does not know about (John 4:32).

God then gave direction that they should have a king, since they were so stubbornly set on it (1 Samuel 8:22). “Appoint a king for them, and let them make the best of him, and blame themselves if the splendor and power they wanted so badly become their burden and trouble.” So he gave them over to their own desires. Samuel told them this, but for the present he sent them home, each to his city. The choice of the person would have to be left to God. They had no more to do now. When God saw fit to reveal the man to Samuel, they would hear more from him. In the meantime, let them keep the peace and wait for the outcome.