Make us a king - Hitherto, from the time in which they were a people, the Israelites were under a theocracy, they had no other king but God. Now they desire to have a king like the other nations around them, who may be their general in battle; for this is the point at which they principally aim. read more
The thing displeased Samuel - Because he saw that this amounted to a formal renunciation of the Divine government. Samuel prayed unto the Lord - He begged to know his mind in this important business. read more
They have rejected me - They wish to put that government in the hands of a mortal, which was always in the hands of their God. But hearken unto their voice - grant them what they request. So we find God grants that in his displeasure which he withholds in his mercy. read more
EXPOSITION SAUL ( CHS . 8-31). THE great interest of the First Book of Samuel lies in the fact that we have in it the orderly consolidation of two of the main factors in the preparation for the manifestation of our Lord, namely, prophecy and the kingdom. The first seven chapters give us the history of Samuel's birth, and of the gradual development in him of those spiritual powers which finally made him not merely a prophet, but the founder of prophecy as a permanent and... read more
Discontent with God's methods. The facts are— 1 . In Samuel's old age his sons, being judges over Israel, abuse their office by accepting bribes. 2 . This fact is adduced by the people as a reason for asking Samuel to make them a king. 3 . Samuel in his grief seeks counsel of God. 4 . Samuel is instructed to yield to their request, while protesting against it. 5 . The conduct of the people is declared to be an expression of the perverse tendency characteristic of their... read more
The name of his firstborn was Joel. The names of Samuel's sons are pledges of his faith—Joel meaning Jehovah is God, and Abiah Jab is Father. The name given in 1 Chronicles 6:28 , Vashni, is a mistake. It means, "and the second," the name of Joel the firstborn having somehow been omitted. The names of Saul's sons, and even of Jonathan's, unlike those in Samuel's family, bear witness to their religion having been of a curiously mixed character. In Beer-sheba. Not, therefore, in any... read more
His sons …took bribes. This sin was expressly forbidden in Exodus 23:6 , Exodus 23:8 ; Deuteronomy 16:19 , and it marks the high spirit of the nation that it was so indignant at justice being thus perverted. They walked not in his way (singular—so the written text); for Samuel's own administration of justice had been most upright ( 1 Samuel 12:4 ), nor is it laid to his charge that he connived at the misconduct of his sons. On the contrary, after remonstrance indeed, not for his... read more
The elders of Israel. Here, as elsewhere ( 1 Samuel 15:30 :2Sa 1 Samuel 5:3 ; 1 Kings 8:3 , etc.), we have traces of a popular assembly, representing the Israelite nation, and composed probably of the chiefs and heads of fathers houses. Already in Egypt ( Exodus 3:16 , etc.) we find stone such body in existence, and it seems to have lasted throughout the whole history of the nation; for it outlived the monarchy, gained increased power after the exile, and continued down to New... read more
But the thing displeased Samuel, and justly so. For, in the first place, they had determined to have a king without consulting the will of God. Granting that it would give them the security necessary for the nation's welfare and progress, yet so weighty a matter ought not to have been decided without an appeal to Jehovah. Samuel did make it a matter of prayer; the elders were actuated solely by political motives. And, secondly, they undervalued their own religious privileges. They wanted a... read more
Get Bible verse every day in your inbox
Read on Mobile
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Samuel 8:3
His sons walked not in his ways - Their iniquity is pointed out in three words: They turned aside after lucre; the original ( בצע batsa ) signifies to cut, clip, break off; and therefore Mr. Parkhurst thinks that it means nearly the same with our clipping of coin. It however expresses here the idea of avarice, of getting money by hook or by crook. The Targum says, "They looked after דשקר ממון mamon dishkar , the mammon of unrighteousness;" of which they did not make... read more