Does God want Israel to have a king

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Dec 6, 2023

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Does God want Israel to have a king? When the reader takes a look at 1 Samuel, there are many elements that one might find interesting. Stephen Chapman explains, “1 Samuel 8 is often treated as the beginning of a new literary section, one that relates the rise of the monarchy” 1 The First thing the reader of 1 Samuel 8-12 can see, is that Israel wanted a king to lead the nation, even though God was the one leading the nation until this point. Auld says, “The People’s desire for a king is put in this context; it is a new form of the constantly renewed apostasy.” 2 Chapter 8 begins with a sad reality “Samuel became old” (1 Sam. 8:1). In 1 Samuel 8:5 the people of Israel ask Samuel to appoint a king, saying, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” So, the question must be raised, did God desire for Israel to have a king? The evidence from scripture seems to be that God did not want a king for Israel. In 1 Samuel 12:17 alludes to the fact that asking for a king of Israel, was indeed evil and sinful for the Israelites. Up to this point the king of Israel was God himself. Explains, 1 Samuel 12:17 “I will call on the Lord to send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the eyes of the Lord when you asked for a king.” At this point, the Israelites realized that what they did was sinful and evil. They responded, “The people all said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king.” Asking for a king in itself was not the problem. The problem was the heart and motivation of rejecting God as king. John Woodhouse puts it perfectly, “There was a certain madness in Israel’s heart. What they had done made no sense at all. To reject God was to reject their Savior! It is not simply the idea of a king, as such, that is condemned here. It is, rather, Israel’s rejection of God. In other words, the request for a king was not simply a political request, an alternative arrangement for the affairs of state.” 3 The sin of rejecting God, as king, and wanting an earthly king, shows how wicked and depraved the heart of man is in its natural state without a perfect redeemer. How do other verses in the Old Testament relate to the negative and positive statements concerning kingship in 1 Samuel 8-12? Of course, God is sovereign and knew that they would ask for an earthly King to rule over the Israelites eventually. This is found in a few different places prior to 1 Samuel such as Genesis 35:11 which says, "And God said to him, 'I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body.'" This does not excuse the sinful actions of the Israelites in rejecting God is king and wanting to earthly king instead. It must be noted that the events that happened in first Samuel 8-12 must happen because it allows for prophecy to be fulfilled, and Jesus Christ to come. God can use sinful actions for His on sovereign purposes, of course, this is still not an excuse or reason to willingly sin such as the Israelites did in 1 Samuel. An example of this would be in Genesis 50:20, "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today." This example is true for the people of Israel as well 1 Chapman, Stephen B. 1 Samuel as Christian Scripture a Theological Commentary. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 2016. 2 Auld, A. Graeme. I & II Samuel (2011). Westminster/John Knox Press, 2012. 3 Woodhouse, John, and R. Kent Hughes. 1 Samuel: Looking for a Leader. Crossway Books, 2014.

because they are guilty of sinning by wanting an earthly king rather than keeping God as king, but God sovereignly knew this would happen and it needed to happen so that the savior of the world can be redeemed. Does the Author of 1 Samuel Depict Kingship in a Positive or Negative Manner? Some might argue that the author of 1 Samuel does not have a positive or negative view of kingship in the text. However, scripture speaks for itself. “But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said to him, ‘Set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the L ORD by your tribes and by your thousands.” 4 It is clear that the author had a negative view of the earthly kingship other than God Himself. God should be the only king of Israel because He had delivered them from slavery and had shown himself to be a good, faithful king and leader. How Does This Relate to the Message of 1 Samuel and Its Relationship to the Rest of the Old Testament? The theme and message of the book of 1 Samuel is all about leadership roles and the leadership character. One can see this as a theme in the rest of the Old Testament as well. Who is the leader of the lives of God’s people? It should be God. As leaders rise and fall, God is still there who is faithful and good. Ultimately God is in control of every situation in the old testament. He was in control when the Israelites were in the hands of the Egyptians, he’s also in control in first, Samuel, when the Israelites are demanding a king to rule over them. In the end, this had to happen in order for prophecy to be fulfilled. This book simply just shows that God has a plan and is in control of all situations even when people do not understand what he allows and does not allow. Conclusion In summary of what has been discussion so far, Gods, chosen people, the Israelites wanted an earthly king to lead them, and reject God as king. God is sovereign, so he knew that his people would want an earthly king eventually. God use this event to advance his purposes and prophecies for Christ to come and redeem the heart of his people. 4 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Sa 10:19.

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