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1 Samuel 8:6–9
And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed 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” (v. 7).
The Israelite elders’ request for a king displeases Samuel. Why? Judging from what God says to him in this passage, he takes their request as a personal rejection. However, despite his hurt, he is disciplined enough not to respond directly to the elders, but takes the request to God in prayer. And then he gets another shock: God says, ” ‘Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you.’ ” It must be very difficult for Samuel to believe that he is hearing God correctly, and the difficulty only grows when God goes on to tell him not to take the people’s request personally, ” ‘for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.’ ” God is telling Samuel that the true driving motivation in the people’s request for a king is their desire not to be ruled by God anymore. They have rejected God many times since their deliverance from Egypt, turning away from Him to worship any number of worthless idols. Now, after a thoroughgoing reformation just a few years earlier (1 Sam. 7), they are doing the very same again. They have decided that they do not like the way God is ruling Israel. And yet, despite this clear-cut rebellion, God is prepared to give them exactly what they are asking for. How are we to understand this?
The only possible answer is that God is going to give them a king such as they desire in order to show them why they need a king such as He desires. In other words, He plans to orchestrate the selection of Israel’s first monarch in order to bring chastisement on His people rather than blessing. They have already confessed that they want a king so that Israel will be like all the nations. They are desiring a monarch who will appear impressive, someone who will serve as the figurehead for their nation. Well, if that is what Israel wants, that is what God will give, in order that they might see that they need a king of an entirely different character. “God bade Samuel humor them in this matter that they might be beaten with their own rod, and might feel, to their cost, the difference between His government and the government of a king,” Matthew Henry writes in his commentary.
In closing, God tells Samuel to warn the people about what life will be like under this king they so much desire. Samuel’s words of warning appear in our passage for tomorrow.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Divine chastisement is taught in Scripture, and today’s passage indicates that God may do it by allowing His people to have the improper desires of their hearts. By the same token, He sometimes shows mercy to us by not giving us what we ask. Thank your God once again today that He knowsyour good and brings it to pass.
For Further Study
- Ps. 73:24
- Luke 1:79
- Rom. 8:26
- 1 John 5:14