For forty years God had miraculously provided food and water for their forefathers. The current years of blessings and protection caused the inhabitants of the lands to fear God as the nation settled it. They knew something special happened when Israel’s God showed up.
The surrounding nations had an influence on the people of Israel and this was not pleasing to God. They wanted a king. They wanted to be like other nations and have a leaded. A king they could see.
For years they followed a God they could not see. The only thing they had was a tent and an ark crafted in the wilderness. Only the High Priest could go into the Holy of Holies once a year and this is where God was. They stood around the outside and watched as a cloud descended as
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Both were great men of God, but had corrupt son’s who were dis-honest and were doing wrong in the site of God and the people, so this may have influenced their desire to have a king. If the current leadership is bad, the people will demand a change.
Even as Samuel wrestled with God, God told him & the nation what a king would demand, and take from them. However, they shouted out they still wanted a king and to be like other nations. They didn’t care they would accept and deal with the cost associated with their request. They wanted what they wanted and it didn’t matter. We are the same today we want what we want it and don’t consider the cost, but as is often said, the devil is in the details or the cost as we see here.
As with any leader there is good, bad and the ugly that comes with them. Even with the nation hearing what would happen they still wanted a king and He gave them what they asked for. Years before, God told Moses when they left Egypt that one day the people would want a king and this was the day. (Deuteronomy 18:14)
The rise and fall of this desired king is one that is unique with a lot to look at and learn from. Saul was a man who won many battles on the field as he defeated the Philistines and others who came against the Jewish
Even in the days of Jeroboam I, the man who founded the Kingdom of Israel, God already knew that Israel would be troublesome. It was forewarned that, “…the LORD will strike Israel, so that it will be like a reed swaying in the water. He will uproot Israel from this good land that he gave to their forefathers and scatter them beyond the River, because they provoked the LORD to anger by making Asherah poles.” The Israelites’ reason of doubt for God was that they were unsure that they could take over their promised land. God told them that they could remove the current inhabitants, but they were convinced that they could not. Not believing in the word of the Lord led to their exile for forty years of “wilderness wandering.” They had forgotten all of the great things that He had done for them, such as delivering them from Egyptian enslavement. Hope was given up on Him
They wanted a conqueror king to unite their tribes once again and reestablish their greatness from the early Scriptures. Their expectations of the Messiah was someone who would usher in politically the kingdom of God on earth. However, Jesus was none of these things. Jesus subverted the worldly understanding of kingship and represented a kingship of a different order. The coming of Christ was described by the prophets Zechariah, “Behold: your king is coming to you, a just savior, Humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt” (Zech. 9:9). When Christ appeared in his glory is was not at a “warrior-king” but as a “savior king.” It is in his meekness, and mercy that he shall recapitulate Israel. “Zechariah’s prophecy of the meek king who would ride not on a war horse but on a donkey was expressed in poetic parallelism picturing the animal as “a donkey, a donkey’s colt.” Donkey’s and mules were a common transportation, horses were seldom used. If Jesus was sent as a “warrior-king” he would have probably ridden a horse instead of a donkey. Matthew “place all the emphasis on Jesus as the “humble” or “gentle” king who redefines the nature of
There are many different themes common on the subject of Kingship in Israel that are highlighted throughout scholarly analysis of the subject. Sages of the time, thought to have written Proverbs, believed that the king was a person way beyond the normal run of things. This piece from “Proverbs 30:29-31” is a prime example:
He shows he is weak and not ready to lead. (1 Samuel 9:21). Saul even hides when he is supposed to show himself to the Israelites as the chosen King (1 Samuel 11: 22). Although Saul knows that he cannot lead, he has no choice, he has to follow the Lord’s order. At last, God realizes that Saul was indeed not a leader-type person and chooses another person. God must have known that people are not forced to be leaders, but they themselves should be aware of the ability to be leaders.
Aside from conflicting religions, Jewish people also encountered other problems with the monarchy. Hebrews believed that Yahweh was their king and his laws were their laws. In the monarchy, the tribes of Israel appointed a human king and obeyed his laws instead of divine law. This created conflict between the Hebrews that followed the laws of the king, and the Jewish that followed Yahweh and the law of the Torah. The Children of Israel that settled in Palestine between 1250 and 1050 BC found themselves amidst a corrupt monarchy. The monarchy thrived on arbitrary power, large divisions in the economical gap, vast poverty, heavy taxation, slavery, bribery and
Most importantly, however, is the truth that Israel was a theocracy, in that it followed the One True God. God gave His instruction to Joshua, and Joshua passed on this instruction to the people. They, in turn, were not receiving their commands and instructions from a man, such as the heathen nations of the day. Instead, they were led by a God that had chosen them and cared for them ever since they left the land of Egypt. The reason that they were able to prosper and succeed is that God was their official leader.
By making everything in the passage revolve around God’s will and by portraying God as powerful, wise, just, and caring; it is much easier to convince the Hebrews to act more like Samuel. This could mean that the creator of this
Many, like Lewis Bayles Paton, hold to the theory that the Canaanites gave the Israelites the “mythology” of their religion - the idea of god(s) in heaven and having ceremonies corresponding with agriculture. Once again, a widespread phenomenon, but since this theory still persists, we feel obligated to explore it.
This trait is different from the previous kings or any kings after Hezekiah. In addition, there is an overlap of two kingdoms in 2 Kings 18:9-12, Judah and Samaria. However, the northern kingdom Israel was exiled because “they did not obey the voice of the Lord their God and transgressed his covenant, even all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded. They neither listened nor obeyed. Surely, author indicates that this is the clear reason why they were exiled by the Assyrians and unless Judah realigned their hearts back to God, they would end up the same way.
The reign of David brought political stability and spiritual renewal to the nation of Israel. The good work of David did not last beyond the next generation. Solomon succeeded David and expanded the territories of Israel. Unfortunately, Solomon’s expansionary policy was done with spiritual compromises. Consequently, evil and apostasy started to creep into Israel during Solomon’s reign to eventually break up the kingdom after his death. Israel moved from a period of tranquillity under the reign of Solomon to a period of turmoil when the kingdom was divided after his death.
In the bible verse 1 Samuel 8: l-3 Samuel has become elderly and has chosen his sons as the judges over the kingdom. The people of Israel came to Samuel asking that they needed a new king who will follow guidelines, so they could be like other nations. However Samuel disliked their wishes, and felt as if the people of Israel wishes were of sinful thought. Samuel prayed to the lord about request the people of Israel had made. “ And the Lord said to Samuel , obey 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” ( 1 Samuel 8:7). God had selected Saul as the king of the people because of his image of head of state. God excluded Saul as the king because he did not
There are many spiritual dangers in wanting to be like other nations or selecting a King. Especially in a case where God disapproved a certain king. Some spiritual dangers are 1. Appointing a king without God’s approval, or against the will of God can be dangerous “As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, se they are doing to you” (1 Samuel 8:8). 2. Selecting a king that is not fit to lead. 3. Selecting a king that with a self-indulgence heart, will not only take or all your properties, moreover, you will become his slave “He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves” (1 Samuel 8:17).
when he was 30 years old and reigned over Israel 42 years. Saul was courageous in battle.
In 1 Samuel 8 Israel lists several reasons as to why they desire a king. The elder's disapproved of Samuel's sons and like the rest of the people pleaded with Samuel to anoint a king that would be able to protect them and elevate their nation. They explain tell Samuel "so that we also may be like other nations, and that our king may govern us and go before us and fight our battles" (1 Samuel 8.20). This of course means that they've rejected God which the author uses reiteration to emphasize this throughout the chapter.
Israel was being oppressed by the Amalekites, Midianites and others that dwelt in the adjacent eastern countries. These other countries would come in and destroy all