1 Samuel 8: Israel Demands a King Like That of Other Nations
1 Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice. 4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5 and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the LORD.
“And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel”— under him— “because he was not able to bear the charge” (Geneva Study Bible)— “not being able through old age to go the circuits he used; he sent them, and appointed them to hear and try causes in his stead…” (Gill) “The devotion of their godly father is evident in the names bestowed upon his sons. Joel means `The Lord is God,' and Abijah (or Abiah) means `God is father' The statement here that they performed their judgeship in Beersheba emphasizes the extension of Israel's authority under Samuel to that southern landmark.” (Burton Coffman) “But there is failure. Samuel makes the mistake in making his sons judges… [He should have known from the examples of evil sons of Eli— Hophni and Phinehas— that] God does not work by succession, nor does He transmit gift and power from father to son... The Lord alone can call to service and give gifts for the ministry. Joel and Abiah were judges in Beersheba, but walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment. And this opened the way for the introduction of the monarchy in Israel.” (Arno Gaebelein)
The elders of Israel brought their case before the old judge at his hometown of Ramah. (4) They stated the facts but had drawn an ungodly conclusion to justify their evil desire. And the old judge saw right through it. (5) The elders could have asked for different magistrates or asked Samuel to reprove his sons. But instead they ask that a man be placed in a role reserved for Yahweh their King. “The kingly government is now to be established through the deliberate and untheocratic self-determination of the people. Jehovah was their invisible King, and Him they rejected by requesting a king like all the nations. The motives for the demand of a king are three: 1. The old age of Samuel and the unfitness of his sons; 2. The desire to be upon the same footing with other nations; 3. To have a leader and fight their battles (verse 20).” (Arno Gaebelein)
“This is one of the most important chapters in the Bible. Right here is the very tap root of the evil that mined Israel. In this chapter, they rejected God, demanded a king like other nations, and set in motion a chain of events that culminated in the frenzied cry of the Sanhedrin before Pilate, ‘We have no king but Caesar.’” (Burton Coffman)
Moreover— a king like the other nations— words from Deuteronomy 17:14, were “probably intended to remind Samuel that the nation was only asking what had virtually been promised.” (The Pulpit Commentary) “However, that passage from the Book of Moses may be understood not as a promise of what God would require, but a prophecy of what Israel would demand. When Israel indeed finally demanded a king, it is clear enough that God was displeased by their request.” (Burton Coffman)
It displeased Samuel, when they said, “Give us a king to judge us”, “because they were not content with the order that God had appointed, but would be governed as the Gentiles were.” (Geneva Study Bible) But the man of prayer turned to Yahweh in prayer and received guidance.
7 And the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. 8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. 9 Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.”
Yahweh tells Samuel not to take it personally. "Now therefore, heed their voice." It is not about you my son ”for they have not rejected you, 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 to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also.’... They rejected the Lord and His kingdom, because they foolishly believed that their interests were not sufficiently safeguarded under the present arrangement.” (Paul E. Kretzmann) — "However, you shall solemnly forewarn them" etc. — “protest solemnly unto them; that, if it be possible, thou mayst yet prevent their sin and misery.” (Matthew Poole) — “and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them”— that is, “oppression of the subject to support the fastidious splendour of royalty, is here expressly forbidden [for Israel’s kings].
The courts of Egypt, Persia, and Babylon seem to have supported their splendour by tenths from the farmer: 1 Samuel 8:15.” (Joseph Sutcliffe)
10 So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who asked him for a king. 11 And he said, “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. 12 He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 14 And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. 16 And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17 He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. 18 And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.”
19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, “No, but we will have a king over us, 20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”
21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of the LORD. 22 So the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed their voice, and make them a king.” And Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Every man go to his city.”