The Story Thus Far

The books of Samuel begin where the book of Judges leaves off. That sad history records the downward spiral of Israel’s covenant life following the conquest and settlement of the Promised Land. Despite all of God’s mighty works on their behalf, the people quickly abandoned Him to worship false gods and goddesses. In response, God repeatedly allowed His people to be oppressed by enemy nations. When the people repented and cried to Him for aid, God each time raised up deliverers, or judges, who led the Israelites to victory over their oppressors and presided over a time of peace and faithfulness. But each time the judge died, the cycle began again, leading to ever-deeper depravity. The book ends with these words: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (21:25). The people had forgotten their divine King and His dictates. They were doing just as their sinful hearts deemed fit.

The book of 1 Samuel opens amid this state of affairs. Israel remains a loose confederation of tribes, over which the High Priest Eli is presiding as judge. But Eli seems old and tired, and the priesthood, led by his own sons, is corrupt—there still is no one to lead the people into covenant faithfulness. Then, as if they haven’t already become nearly indistinguishable from pagan peoples, the Israelites ask that Samuel, Eli’s successor, appoint a king so that Israel might be like other nations. Surely this is the last straw, the final rejection of God by His people that will cause Him to reject them completely.

Not so. God remains faithful to His covenant promises to Israel, just as He did in Judges. Surprisingly, He gives the people just what they want—a king. This proves to be both a judgment and a blessing. Saul, the people’s idea of a monarch, fails miserably, but the establishment of the monarchy sets the stage for David, God’s idea of a king, one who can model covenant faithfulness as God’s regent. And in a wonderful display of divine providence, Scripture makes clear that while the people’s request for a king is a true rejection of God (1 Sam. 8:7), He has always intended that Israel should have a king someday (Gen. 49:10; Num. 24:7, 17–19; Deut. 17:14–20). He uses His people’s rejection to establish a monarchy that eventually will fall to a man who will prefigure the Messiah for these unfaithful ones.