1 Sa. 8: King Me

1 Samuel 8:20 "Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles."

Samuel...good leader, probably. Good dad? I'm leaning no, as his sons Joel and Abijah were listed as not walking his ways, and perverting justice after they were installed by Samuel as judges. The misbehavior by Samuel's sons led to Israel's elders getting together and coming up with a good idea. And we've seen that when Israel's elders get together, only good things happen. OK, just kidding. It's usually tragic and short-sighted.

Anyway, they saw other nations with their kings, and they decided they wanted their own. Joel and Abijah were not working out, and Samuel was an old man. Samuel, as you can imagine, was offended by this. Israel didn't like him or his sons. But God came on the scene and settled him down, saying "they're not rejecting you. They're rejecting me." Which I guess is true. Israel had God. If they had tuned their hearts to God's ways, they wouldn't need a king. Israel was set up not to have a king. God's covenant with Israel's patriarchs made no provisions for kings. Not even judges. It was supposed to be all happy and nice, and descendants like the stars in the sky. Israel has had a history since the beginning to reject God.

So having this king came with its pros ("fighting our wars for us" according to the Israelites, apparently not realizing who it was all those times they utterly destroyed bigger, more well trained armies) and cons...such as having to give up control of all kinds of civil liberties, property and person. So...you give, and you take. And Samuel warned them about all the stuff they'd have to give up, but Israel was like, "It don't matta," and they demanded a king anyway. Would God give them what they wanted?