I Samuel 8: Be Careful What You Wish For!

I Samuel 8 opens with the very real possibility of history repeating itself.  The previous generation saw Eli and his two corrupt sons lead to the downfall of Israel.  Now Samuel is old and his two sons are also not the man their father is.  They are taking bribes and perverting justice.  Will Samuel repeat the neglectful mistakes of Eli?

Perhaps sparing him from this fate is the fickleness of the crowd.  The Israelites have got it into their heads that they no longer want judges. Instead what they want is a king to lead them, "like other nations" (vs. 5).  They come to Samuel with an urgent plea to appoint a king for them.

At first Samuel is put out by their request.  He feels it to be a personal rejection of him and his family by the people.  But God, speaking to him through prayer, points out that it is really a rejection of the Lord as their King.  This is "par for the course" as they have been doing this to God all along, ever since the Exodus (vs. 8).

God acquiesces to their demand, but pairs it with a warning: they will come to regret their decision to seek a king.  He instructs Samuel to tell the people what having a king will mean: taxes and tribute, conscription in the army and loss of freedom.  "And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves; but the Lord will not answer you in that day" (vs. 18).  God's message to the Israelites is basically: Be careful what you wish for!

The people turn a deaf ear to these warnings and insist that a king will make them happy.  Their mindset is, "No! But we are determined to have a king over us, so that we also may be like other nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles" (vs. 20).  Seeing that the people had their minds made up, Samuel shrugs and sends them home, agreeing to give them what they ask for.  But in his heart he knows that they'll be sorry one day.