1 Samuel 8
The People Ask for A King
The author does not specify how much time elapsed between chapters 7 and 8, but here we find our protagonist advanced in age, his posterity entangled in greed, and the people desperate for a leader.
The Israelites had pressed their leaders for a king at least twice in their past history. The first time was during Gideon’s judgeship (Judges 8:22), and the second was during Abimelech’s conspiracy (Judges 9:2). Now in Samuel’s judgeship they demanded one again. - Thomas Constable
Samuel’s Sons
Vs. 3 - However, his sons did not walk in his ways—they turned toward dishonest profit, took bribes, and perverted justice.
Whereas the writer censured Eli for his poor parenting (1 Samuel 3:13), he did not do so with Samuel. Evidently he did not consider Samuel responsible for his son’s conduct, or perhaps he did not want to sully the reputation of this great judge. Some commentators have faulted Samuel for his sons’ behavior. - Thomas Constable
The People’s Request
Vs. 5 - Therefore, appoint a king to judge us the same as all the other nations have.
Israel’s history continued to follow the pattern set out in the book of Judges. In search for stability within the nation, the people asked Samuel to bring the old system to an end and to give them a king as other nations had. This was more than merely a rejection of the system of rule by judges; it was a rejection of God. The people’s troubles came from their sins, not from the system of government. The remedy, therefore, was to turn to God in a new attitude of faith, love and practical holiness. Instead they turned to a new political system. - Don Fleming
The Lord’s Response
Vs. 22 - “Listen to them,” the Lord told Samuel. “Appoint a king for them.”
David Guzik notes that, though Samuel considered the people’s desire for a king to be a great wickedness, and God described the request as rejection of His rule, it was always in the plan of God that Israel would have a monarchy. Moses gave specific instructions (Deuteronomy 17:14-20) on the appointing of a king when Israel entered the land God gave to them.
God had made provision for kings to rule His people in the Mosaic Law (Deuteronomy 17:14-20; cf. Genesis 1:26-28; Genesis 17:6; Genesis 17:16; Genesis 35:11; Genesis 49:10). The request in itself was not what displeased Samuel and God. It was the reason they wanted a king that was bad. On the one hand, it expressed dissatisfaction with God’s present method of providing leadership through judges (1 Samuel 8:7). On the other, it verbalized a desire to be "like all the nations."
God saw this demand as one more instance of apostasy that had marked the Israelites since the Exodus. He acceded to their request as He had done many times before-by providing manna, quail, and water in the wilderness, for example. However, He mixed judgment with His grace.
As becomes clear later in Samuel, as well as in Kings and Chronicles, David was God’s choice to lead the Israelites from the beginning. If the people had not been impatient, I believe David would have been their first king. Saul proved to be a "false start" to the monarchy. - Thomas Constable
It was a spectacular sin for the people of God to say to their Maker and Redeemer, “We want to be like the nations. We do not want you to be our king. We want a human king.” That is a spectacular sin. Samuel calls it, in verse 17, a great wickedness. Nevertheless, if Israel had had no kingship, Jesus Christ would not have come as the king of Israel and the Son of David and King of kings. But Christ’s kingship over Israel and over the world is not an afterthought in the mind of God. It was not an unplanned response to the sin of Israel. It was part of his plan.
We should learn from God’s way of installing a human king that his purposes are to inaugurate a line of human kings who would all fail until the king came who was not only man but also God, for only God can be king of Israel. In giving Israel a human king, God did not change his mind about only God being the rightful King of Israel. The point is that God alone is King of Israel, and there is coming a king, a Son of David, who will not fail like the others. - John Piper
It would seem that the continual failure of the monarchy was always factored into the plan of God until His people came to see their desperate need for a King of Kings. God wasted nothing. In His mercy, He redeemed even the worst impulses of his people.
A King’s Demands
Vs. 10-11 - Samuel told all the Lord’s words to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, “These are the rights of the king who will reign over you…”
The elders were interested in the functions of monarchy, but Samuel pointed out the nature of monarchy. It meant the loss of freedoms and possessions that the people presently enjoyed. - Thomas Constable
