๐ 1 Samuel 8 — Key Summary: ๐ “But they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them” — the chapter that shows this word being fulfilled
AI-generated image
In chapter 7, I summarized the chapter around the beautiful passage, “Then all the people of Israel sought after the Lord,” emphasizing Samuel’s zeal.
๐ Even now, I think it would be difficult to find another passage in the Bible as beautiful as this:
“Then all the people of Israel sought after the Lord.”
๐ Key Summary of 1 Samuel 8
1. The corruption of Samuel’s sons (verses 1–3)
Samuel appointed his sons as judges, but they accepted bribes and perverted justice.
If chapter 7 shows Samuel’s zeal for God,
1 Samuel 8 shows Samuel’s sons taking a completely opposite path from their father.
๐ The irony is that even though they had such a faithful father, his sons did not follow his example.
→ While Samuel traveled from place to place every year to judge Israel, and all the people sought the Lord, his own sons did not!
→ Did Samuel’s sons not know why Eli’s sons had been judged and killed?
2. The people demand a king (verses 4–9)
All the elders of Israel came to Samuel and explained why they wanted a king.
Samuel, you are old;
your sons do not follow your ways.
๐ If Samuel’s sons were the problem, the proper solution would have been to appoint other judges.
→ Instead, they demanded a king to rule over them, “like all the other nations.”
๐ And the Lord’s response was:
“Obey 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.”
(1 Samuel 8:7)
3. Deuteronomy 17 had already foretold that they would ask for a king (verses 14–20) ๐
๐ In Deuteronomy 17:9–11, God had commanded the judges to judge without turning aside to the right or to the left.
๐ Then, in Deuteronomy 17:14, we find something remarkably similar to what the elders were now doing:
“When you come to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me’...”
(Deuteronomy 17:14)
✔️ God had already established the regulations that were to be followed when a king was appointed over Israel.
4. The warning about the problems caused by having a king (verses 10–18)
If Deuteronomy 17 gives instructions to the man who would become king, 1 Samuel 8 warns about the problems the people would experience after having a king.
Their sons would be recruited to serve the king;
part of their crops and possessions would be taken;
and they would eventually become servants of the king.
๐ Conclusion — 1
After the king was established, God warned that even if the people cried out to Him because of the king, it would be of no use.
“In that day”, they would cry out because of the king they had chosen;
“in that day”, the Lord would not answer them.
(1 Samuel 8:18)
๐ From this point forward, I want to carefully observe what kind of day this “day” will be when the Lord does not answer them, according to the biblical narrative itself.
(To be updated later ^^)
๐ A verse that reveals the foolishness of the people: ๐
“But we will be like all the nations, and our king shall judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”
(1 Samuel 8:20)
→ They had forgotten that when God Himself was their King, Israel could win its battles under God’s guidance. ๐ข
→ Now they were saying that they needed a human king to go before them and fight their battles. ❌
๐ Conclusion — 2
Perhaps, for a long time, the Israelites had also been aware of the problems among the Levites, priests, and spiritual leaders.
Micah’s priest;
the Levite whose actions led to the tragedy involving Benjamin;
Eli’s sons;
and now Samuel’s sons, who had been appointed as judges...
Could it be that, after seeing corrupt priests and judges, the Israelites became disappointed with these leaders and therefore asked for a king?
Yet, in the end, their final reason was that they needed a king to rule over them and go before them to fight their battles.
But...
in reality, a king was usually not the person who personally went out to fight at the front;
more often, he was the one who gave orders for others to fight.
Therefore, the excuse they used to justify their demand for a king...
๐ ends up producing exactly what God had said:
๐ “They have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.”
And this seems to be exactly what the narrative of 1 Samuel 8 is showing.
AI-generated image
๋๊ธ
๋๊ธ ์ฐ๊ธฐ