Covenant Continuation

With the word therefore, Samuel presents the conclusion to the argument he has been building in his effort to help the people of Israel see their sin in asking for a king. ” ‘Therefore, here is the king whom you have chosen and whom you have desired,’ ” he says. ” ‘And take note, the Lord has set a king over you.’ ” You wanted a king, he tells the people, and now you have one. But he also urges them to remember how it is that they now have this king—God has appointed him. That being the case, Saul is not the final authority in Israel; he is not the Israelites’ great hope; he is not the Sovereign. Rather, he is but a regent under the still- reigning true and eternal King of Israel, Yahweh. Samuel is telling the Israelites that nothing has changed in the ultimate sense. As Matthew Henry writes: “Let them think not that they had now cut themselves off from all dependence upon God, and that now, having a king of their own, the making of their own fortunes (as men foolishly call it) was in their own hands; no, still their judgment must proceed from the Lord.”

Samuel then gives the people a very basic summary of God’s covenant, merely restating it slightly in light of the kingship. The responsibility of the Israelites under the covenant is to fear God, to serve Him, and to obey His commandments faithfully. If the people will do this, Samuel declares, ” ‘then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the Lord your God.’ ” However, if they fail to obey, ” ‘the hand of the Lord’ ” will be against them, both people and king, just as it was against their ancestors when they rebelled. The prophet’s words in verse 14 are a promise of grace, assurance that God will give strength and faith to those who follow Him obediently. But the warning of verse 15 is sobering. If the nation turns away from God once again, it will find itself under God’s chastisement, just as in the past.

Here again, nothing has changed—the presence of a reigning human king will not alter God’s judgment in the least. Rejection of God still will bring His wrath. Therefore, the people now not only must take heed to obey their new monarch, they must continue to follow the lead of their eternal King. His covenant remains in force, with its promises of blessing for obedience and wrath for disobedience.