See on 1 Samuel 9:1. There are clearly two accounts of the institution of the kingship. In 1 Samuel 8, the wish for a king is regarded as a sign of disloyalty to the real King, Jehovah, and, as such, Samuel protests against it. In 1 Samuel 9 - 1 Samuel 10:16, Jehovah himself chooses Saul to deliver his people from the Philistines: cp. Intro. § 2. read more
(7) Hearken unto the voice of the people.—The words spoken to Samuel, probably in a vision, by the Most High are very touching and very sad. Very touching, in their extreme tenderness to the noble old man. Take courage, they seem to say, “my old true servant, and be not dismayed at this apparently bitter proof of the ingratitude of the people you loved so well. This deliberate complaint on the part of Israel is directed not against you, the judge, but against Me, the invisible King. They have... read more
CHAPTER X.THE PEOPLE DEMAND A KING.1 Samuel 8:1-22.WHATEVER impression the "Ebenezer" of Samuel may have produced at the time, it passed away with the lapse of years. The feeling that, in sympathy with Samuel, had recognized so cordially at that time the unbroken help of Jehovah from the very beginning, waxed old and vanished away. The help of Jehovah was no longer regarded as the palladium of the nation. A new generation had risen up that had only heard from their fathers of the deliverance... read more
II. KING SAUL: HIS REIGN AND REJECTION 1. The King Demanded CHAPTER 8:4-22 1. The king demanded (1 Samuel 8:4-9 ) 2. The rights of the king (1 Samuel 8:10-22 ) The kingly government is now to be established through the deliberate and untheocratic self-determination of the people. Jehovah was their invisible King, and Him they rejected by requesting a king like all the nations. The motives for the demand of a king are three: 1. The old age of Samuel and the unfitness of his sons; 2. The... read more
However, old age often brings weariness with it. The time comes when Samuel considers it necessary to have others as judges in the land, and it was quite natural (not spiritual) that he should give this place to his sons, specially since God had evidently not raised up any one else to take this responsibility. In fact, people generally expect something like this. What was Samuel to do? Certainly he could have earnestly sought the Lord's face first about a matter so important, entreating His... read more
PASSING OF THE JUDGESHIP A NATIONAL REVIVAL AND ITS RESULTS (1 Samuel 7:0 ) In our last we left the ark in care of the men of Kirjath-jearim, which means “the city of woods,” and is located near Bethshemesh and northwest of Jerusalem. Why the ark was not brought to Shiloh is not stated, but only that it remained in the city before-named twenty years. It would appear from 2 Samuel 6:0 and 1 Chronicles 13:0 that it remained there longer, but that period had elapsed when the event of this... read more
Making a King 1Sa 8:5 WE have seen Israel defeated, almost destroyed, in war with the Philistines. We have seen Israel in extremity, prostrate before Almighty God, and crying unto him, in intolerable woe, for interposition in the time of torment and hopelessness. The prayer has been responded to, and Israel has been revived. A new hope has cheered the hearts of those who prayed unto the Lord of heaven. In the revival of strength Israel has become political. A new idea has occurred to the... read more
(7) And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. (8) According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. (9) Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and show... read more
Thee. "God, in anger, grants a person what he desires wrongfully." (St. Augustine) --- He permits the people to follow their own plans; and the Hebrews believe, that he gave them Saul to punish them, being well apprised of his proud and cruel nature. (Cuneus Rep.) (Calmet) --- Rejected, &c. The government of Israel hitherto had been a theocracy: in which God himself immediately ruled, by laws which he had enacted, and by judges extraordinarily raised up by himself: and therefore he... read more
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John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 8:1-22
The People demand a King1. Judges] They would be subordinate to their father. When the son of a Judge was influential and popular, he might easily succeed to his father’s position: cp. A bimelech in Judges 9:1.5. Like all the nations] This was the sin of the people. God intended that they, unlike other nations, should be a peculiar people, governed directly by Himself.6. Displeased Samuel] They had shown themselves forgetful of their relation to God and ungrateful to Samuel himself. But in... read more