Consider This: A King

It was never God’s will for Israel to have a human king to rule over them. God was their King. He appointed Samuel to be their leader (He served as a judge). During the judge period, kings did not exist for Israel. People did what was right in their own eyes. Therefore, God empowered men to serve as judges due to their submissiveness to Him, not because they were perfect. However, in Samuel’s case, he was a true man of God. He was a prophet. Samuel exhibited a pure understanding of God’s purposes and Israel respected him. Regrettably, Samuel was getting old and he delegated the leadership over to his two sons. They were not like their father. They were dishonest and accepted bribes to give unfair decisions, etc. Therefore, Israel requested that Samuel find them a king. Israel wanted to mirror other nations by having a ruler over them. Samuel was upset to hear that Israel wanted a king, so he prayed about it. The Lord answered Samuel. He told him to do everything they wanted him to do. God informed Samuel that He was the one they have rejected as their king. “And 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.” (1 Samuel 8:7).

Blessings,

fDawson