Israel’s Sinful Demand for a King

1 Samuel 8:1-22 Outline:

Israel’s Sinful Demand for a King (8:1-9)

The Costly Price of Kingship (8:10-22)

Israel’s Sinful Demand for a King (8:1-9)

Israel is in Crisis and Samuel is in Crisis.

Samuel’s solution will come from the Lord. Israel’s solution will come from themselves.

SETTING (vs 1-3) / Samuel placed his sons in positions of legal authority in Beersheba, the southern boundary of Israel. Significant place for the Patriarchs and a reminder of God’s covenant faithfulness.

Samuel clearly had high hopes for his sons, naming the first Joel, means (YAHWEH is God) and the 2nd, Abijah (my Father is YAHWEH). They were to judge by God’s standards. 

seen in Deut 16:18-20 “Judge the people with righteous judgment. You shall not distort justice, you shall not be partial and you shall not take a bribe, for a bride blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.”  

TURN to 1 Sam 12:3-5 and we’ll see Samuel’s report card as a judge. Samuel said, “I have walked before you from my youth even to this day. Here I am; bear witness against me before YAHWEH and His anointed. Who’s ox have I taken? Or who’s donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed or whom or from who’s hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? I will restore it to you. 

And they replied, “You have not extorted us or oppressed us or taken anything from any man’s hand. 

So he said to them, “YAHWEH is witness against you and His anointed is witness this day that you have found nothing in my hand. And they said, “He is witness.” 

Look back to Samuel 8:3: to see his son’s report card “But his sons did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after greedy gain and took bribes and caused justice to turn aside.” 

They loved money more than God. They pursued self advancement and perverted justice. Their desire for possessions meant more than walking with the Lord. They are like the Rich Young Ruler. And God allowed the sin of Samuel’s sons to become public and for Samuel, their father to be confronted by the Elders.

3 important applications from Samuel’s sons lives (in vs 1-3), especially for young people:

Youth must know the grace of God through Jesus Christ personally. Faith is not transferrable from parent to child. Samuel was the most godly man in Israel at this time and his sons were godless. Just because you grow up in a Christian environment and have godly parents does not secure your salvation. YOU must repent of your sin and have a relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord & Savior.

Secret sins become public sins. If we refuse to repent, God may allow our sins to be exposed before others. Don’t believe the lie that your sins just affect you. They affect everyone around you. Your parents and family and our church family. This is why David cries out in Psalm 19 “Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults. Also keep back your servant from presumptuous sins; let them not rule over me.”

Bad company ruins good morals (1 Cor 15:33). Eli’s sons were evil as a pair and so now are Samuel’s sons. Notice Samuel’s sons didn’t pervert justice in front of their father. They did it outside his view. Young people can be tempted when their parents are away to do what they wouldn’t do if their parents were present. Parents (imperfect as they may be) are a grace of God to you as they are part of God’s restraining hand in your life - commanded by God to discipline you and hold you back from sin and to teach and train you to love God from your heart, to treasure His Word, and live for Him and not yourself. Guard your heart from bad company in person and online. Our sins can be made public.

The injustice of Samuel’s sons, as John MacArthur says, “became the pretext for Israel’s demand for a king.”

(Vs 4-5)The elders give 3 formal reasons why they want a king which mask their true motives.

Samuel was old (8:1,5). At this time Samuel is almost 60. They assume the sand in his hourglass is running out so they want him to quickly be their Kingmaker.

Israel’s leaders were corrupt (2:12-17). Eli’s sons were failures as priests and Samuel’s sons were failures as judges. Israel thinks Samuel is about to croak. They are in crisis. Their solution is a new form of government. Out with the theocracy and in with the king. For more than 300 years they had gone around the cycle of disobedience, foreign oppression, and deliverance by God’s given judge and they were done with it. They blamed God’s government. As one commentator said of the corruption of Israel’s priests and judges, “they compounded the frustration of Israel rather than giving hope for the future” (Davis & Whitcomb, 201). The failure of Israel’s leaders made it easier for Israel to lust after a king like the nations.

They wanted to be like the other nations (8:5, 20). They presumed that If they had a king and a military like the other nations they would be better off. They misjudged their failure to accomplish the total conquest of Canaan as due to their 2nd rate government of Judges, rather than their national apostasy/turning away from the Lord.

Israel cited these three reasons to justify their demand for a king.

NOW We need to look to the text to see past their reasons to their heart motives.

But first, we must acknowledge that asking for a King was not sinful in and of itself.

Kingship was God’s plan. This is a significant fact because God uses the institution of a King and Kingdom to reveal more of Himself to us. The first three gospels show that the kingdom of God was Jesus’ central message. Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom. Every time we take of the Lord’s Supper we look forward to God’s heavenly kingdom. According to the Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, the KOH, the sovereign rule of God, began with Jesus’ earthly ministry (for He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah) and it will be consummated when as Rev 11:15 says, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.”

SO We are to open our hearts and lives to the rule of God and of His Christ!

The Pentateuch showed that God would establish a human king. In Gen 49:10 Jacob’s blessing included the scepter not departing from Judah. In Gen 17:6, 16 that God blessed Abraham and declared, “I will make you exceedingly fruitful and I will make nations of you and kings will go forth from you.” Of Sarah his wife, kings of peoples will come from her.

Further, Deuteronomy 17:14-20 gives instructions for how Kings before God were to rule. They were to be an Israelite, they were not to acquire many horses, wives, or excessive solver or gold. The King was to write for himself a copy of God’s law, to keep it with him, and to read it all the days of his life. God gives instructions for the King SO THAT he would fear God, keep His commandments, not exalt himself above his brothers, not turn aside from God’s ways, and be enabled to live and serve long in his kingdom and his children after him.

Lastly, here in our Chapter in Samuel 8:7,9,22 it is God who commands Samuel to give Israel a King.

While the request of a King was not sinful, Israel’s motives were sinful for 3 reasons:

(8: 4-6) Their demand was premature. They didn’t seek God in prayer nor did they ask Samuel to seek God for them. God is absent from their request. They determine what they want and they want it now.

(8:5, 20) They desired it for the wrong reason. To be like their pagan neighbors. They were rejecting God and His covenant. They didn’t want to be God’s chosen people, a holy nation, a royal priesthood (Exodus 19:6). They didn’t want to be different. They wanted to blend in, conform to those around them. As one commentator said, “They exchanged their true glory for status in the eyes of the world.”

This temptation comes to all of us but especially to youth. No one wants to stand out—to be different. Fitting in is such a pressing desire. TO be like everyone else in how we dress, how we talk, what music we listen to, what we do online, what we watch. How do we reject the world’s pull to conform us to itself?

We recount the greatness of our God, His mighty deeds, His abundant saving grace. We have beheld the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ! We have experienced God’s gracious salvation! We are indwelt by the Spirit who counsels us from God’s Word. We have been freed from the Devil’s power and from sin, death, and hell. AS 1 Pet 2:9 says “We ARE a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that we may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light!”

3. (9:2) They chose by the wrong criteria. Kings of the nations are haughty and arrogant, self-sufficient and self-willed. They are valued for their physical, external appearance and strength as opposed to the character of the heart. “God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart” (1 Sam 16:7).

In crisis Israel looked to themselves for their solution. In Samuel’s crisis of his sons’s failure and Israel’s demand for a new government structure we find His solution is vs 6.

vs 6 - Their request is evil in the sight of Samuel. He takes his concerns straight to God like his mother Hannah did. His mouth was shut to men and open to the Lord. He did not slander, he did not justify the behavior of his sons, he did not speak from his own opinion, he didn’t react sinfully. He identified with God and felt rejected. The faithful servant prayed to the faithful God. Do we respond like Samuel when trouble shows up? He is a model for us.

vs 7 - Yahweh comforted Samuel by revealing the fact that Israel was not rejecting Samuel’s rule but God’s rule. They were rejecting YAHWEH as their King. God diagnoses their true hearts. He diagnoses our hearts. Everyone is laid bare before the Lord. Israel rejected their true king, the Lord of Hosts who sits above the Cherubim (4:4). God had ruled sovereignly over Israel and the Philistines. Ex “the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel” (7:13).

YAHWEH is the eternal King (Ps 29:10).

vs 8 - God goes on to show Samuel that a king is another idol in the line of substitutes Israel lusts after. It has been Baal, and Ashtoreth, and now its a human King. Since God delivered them from slavery in Egypt Israel has continually forsaken Him and served other gods.

vs 9 - God permits the king but solemnly warns of the way of the king. This is God’s grace to make them aware of what is to come if they proceed. As we warn in biblical counseling to those who will not repent, “The way of the transgressor is hard” (Prov 13:15). A life of sin and rebellion against God brings hardship, struggle, and negative consequences. Not ease and favor. Remember, righteousness is not burdensome. Righteousness takes faith and discipline but the Spirit is at work within us to bear fruit.

Sin is burdensome. It destroys us and our relationships and one day its affects will kill us. John MacArthur preached, “we are all marching to death!” Our earthly lives are temporary. We will all face physical death and a final judgment. Faith in and obedience to Christ make death and judgment a joy - for “to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil 1:21). But to reject God and to live in rebellion leads to eternal condemnation and hell.

Sin takes and sin kills. That's the way of the pagan kings who Israel covets.

vs 10-17 READ ALOUD.

Notice the verb TAKE 6X — He (the idol, the king) will take and you will serve.

This is the deception of idols. We sinfully believe they will serve us but we end up serving them. We think its all gain - Hence “give us a king” but in truth, kings and idols and sin take without end. The wages of sin is DEATH (Rom 6:23). This is what we earn - destruction and death when we serve idols. Only God gives true healing, satisfaction, and life when we worship and serve Him.

vs 11—17 the custom of the king

(11-12) He will take your sons (to be body guards, varying rank military officers, soldiers, farmers, and artisans who will work in times of peace and war

(13) He will take your daughters - will not be at home with kids but working in the king’s service

(14) He will take your private property

(15) He will take a Royal tax on agricultural products on top of the religious tithe

(16) He will take your male and female slaves, your best men and your donkeys as his work force

(17) end result: you yourselves will be his slaves. King will do whatever he pleases with you and all that you possess.

vs 18 - Samuel gives a final warning. Your king will oppress you so severely, you’ll cry out for freedom and deliverance but God will not come to your rescue in your time of need. You rejected God for your king so your king is the one you should call upon for help. Hard to call on the oppressor to be a helper. That’s the reality of idols we choose to rule over us in place of God.

vs 19—20 BUT Israel doubles down on their lust for a king like the nations. They were bent on sin. Wouldn’t hear the Witness of God through Samuel. No repentance. No faith. No obedience.

Their Appetite only for their own interests their own “battles.” They distrusted their covenant God to be about their interests. Their lusts blinded them to the truth of God - believed lies about God and their minds grew dark. God had never been unfaithful. He had never failed to deliver on a promise to His people. He was their protector and warrior and deliverer when they were covenantly faithful to Him.

vs 20 - Israel reveals her true lust for a king like the Pagans have -

judge or govern us (lower standards than God and remove accountability from local leaders)

go out before us (a visible warrior/figure head that requires no faith like trusting in the invisible God)

fight our battles (desired materialistic success (Judg 1:28, 30, 33) where they refused to dispossess their enemies and instead used them as forced laborers so they could increase their wealth and prosperity.

They desired stability and security without moral and spiritual accountability. Benefits without behavior. One commentator said that “they rejected a theocracy so that their well being wasn’t dependent upon right conduct…through a monarchy they would be relieved of this responsibility and their well being would be secured in the character of the government and the qualities of the king himself” (Davis & Whitcomb 202).

It is interesting to note that 2x in Jewish history there is a crisis point with the establishment and rejection of a king. Here Israel rejects God as their King and a human king is established. And at Calvary the Jews reject Jesus as their King, saying “we have no King but Caesar” (Jn 19:15).

Vs 21-22 Samuel heard the words of the people and rehearsed them to YAHWEH. And YAHWEH seals His judgment on Israel, for the third time He commands Samuel to Listen to their voice and appoint them a king.” Give them what they want.

It may seem that God’s purposes were frustrated because He permitted Israel to have a king like the nations. But God in His sovereign reign, He takes into account our sinfulness and uses it to accomplish His ends. For example, Joseph said to His brothers who sold him into slavery, “as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to do what has happened on this day, to keep many people alive” (Gen 50:20).

Further, just like the evils of the worldly and the religious, crucifying Jesus Christ, God used the sins of men to accomplish the salvation of His people, so too God used his judgment on Israel by giving them what they wanted, a king like the nations, to accomplish His will in the preparation of an eternal kingdom for His Son (Gen 49:10; Num 24:17). John 18:36 “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would be fighting so that I would not be delivered over to the Jews; but as it is, my kingdom is not from here.”

The monarchy God established in the book of Samuel foreshadows the coming millennial kingdom. AS J Vernon MCGee stated, we need “A king with power that exercises it in righteousness. A king who will rule in full dependence upon God and a King who will rule in full obedience to God.”

Praise God He’s coming soon. Maybe even tonight. The Lord Jesus Christ. “And he has on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written “King of Kings, and Lord of Lords” (Rev 19:16).

Will you serve King Jesus or will you serve an idol?

Let’s pray (include the gospel)

_______________________________________

There is an inseparable connection between what we love and what we do. between What we believe and how we behave. What’s the greatest commandment according to Jesus: “Love the Lord your God with all of Heart, Soul, and Mind. Second: Love your neighbor as yourself.”

When we love God, we desire and do what pleases Him - for the good of others at our own expense.

When we reject God, we desire and do what pleases us - for our own good at the expense of others.

What you Worship is what you love. They loved money so they distorted justice.

They hurt others to help themselves. 

By God’s design, our love of Him, His Word, and others helps keep our sin in check. Jesus said, If you love me you’ll obey my commandments (Jn 14:15) and that by hiding God’s Word in our hearts we might not sin against Him (Ps 119:11). Love does it’s neighbor no harm (Rom 13:10).

What would happen if God gave you everything you wanted?

spoiled

sinful

selfish

use God to be a servant instead of serving Him

God is often gracious not to give us what we ask for. This is why the Christian is taught to pray by Jesus in humility before the Father, “not my will but yours be done.” We don’t know what’s best. We are not omniscient. We don’t understand the future and how God uses our struggles and trials to produce a weight of glory in us (conforming us to Christ) that can only be accomplished through hardship and persecution. When we trust that God is good, loving, and wise - always good to us and for us, we can trust His sovereign dealings and have joy in the midst of all circumstances.

On the opposite hand, if we refuse to repent, He gives us over to our rebellion that we may see our will leads to sin, suffering, and death and repent and return to Him for forgiveness and life.