1 Samuel 8:4-20
4Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5and said to him, “You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations.” 6But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to govern us.” Samuel prayed to the Lord, 7and the Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. 8Just as they have done to me, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so also they are doing to you. 9Now then, listen to their voice; only—you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.” 10So Samuel reported all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. 11He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen, and to run before his chariots; 12and he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. 13He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his courtiers. 15He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers. 16He will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle and donkeys, and put them to his work. 17He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. 18And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the Lord will not answer you in that day.” 19But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, “No! but we are determined to have a king over us, 20so that we also may be like other nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.”
Meditation
This is a perfect snapshot of a power shift by the elite of a society. You see, “all the elders” (vs. 1) were not the whole of the people of Israel and they were not elected. Their elder status was based on age, birthright, gender and possibly money. Unsatisfied with the theocracy,[1] they wanted to be like their neighbors who had kings that paraded around and made the tough decisions like going to war (vs. 20). Waiting on God (through the voice of Samuel and sons) was too annoying. A king, however, could immediately make decisions about war, economics, treaties, resource distribution, as well as control the priesthood. Controlling the priesthood is what this request for a king is really about. Samuel is “old and [his] sons do not follow in [his] ways” (vs. 5). This is the chance to shift the power base away from God and all those pesky religious requirements.
Samuel, of course, is angry about all this and takes it personally. I love that God comforts him by explaining, “they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.” The request for a king is a fancy, new barrier between God and the people—new only to this generation because Israel has been rejecting God since the liberation from Egypt.
So, God gives them what they ask for with instructions to Samuel to explain how a king will take away the freedoms they enjoy with God. Notice what a society without God looks like: Sons will be conscripted to military service, forced field labor and munition manufacturing. Daughters will be conscripted to cooking, cleaning, and cosmetic manufacturing. Your employees will be conscripted for government work as well as your work animals (even the animals!). Your hard-earned wealth from the land, whether from fields or flocks, will be used as provision for the government. The government will even claim offerings meant for God, and eventually, you will be utterly dependent on the government. Oh, and just in case that isn’t enough to dissuade you from this power shift, God will not relieve any suffering from the government—because this is what you asked for.
We know, through scripture, how it turns out. Saul, the first king, over steps his authority to make a burnt offering to God (a role restricted to a priest) and disobeys God’s instructions which loses him the kingly legacy (see 1 Samuel13:13-14, 15:10-29). David, the second king, does better and at least confesses his mistake with Bathsheba and Uriah (see 2 Samuel 11). It is with Solomon, the third king, where we see Samuel’s prophecy actualized. Solomon conscripted Israel as forced labor to build the first temple and his palace (see 2 Chronicles 2:1-2, 17-18). In 1 Kings (many generations after Solomon), the king refused to lighten the conscription on the people causing Israel to split into two nations (see 1 Kings 12:1-19). Before there was a king, obligations rested in honoring God and following God’s commandments (which can be summed up as love God and love others). After there was a king, obligations became split (or doubled, depending on perspective) between God and empire.
Political intrigue aside, there is a message of hope in this passage. Even though the rules and commandments seem restrictive, with God as the authority, there is more freedom or liberty than any government can provide. Be careful what you wish for and stay focused on God and God’s commandments—it’s much simpler than the alternatives. Peace and Amen.
[1] A theocracy is a system of government when priests rule in the name of God or gods. Most ancient civilizations were theocracies. In the case of Israel, God appointed Aaron and his descendants to be the rulers and Samuel was the last.