1 Samuel 8:4

THE ELDERS OF ISRAEL REQUEST A KING

"Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, "Behold, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint for us a king to govern us like all the nations." But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to govern us." And Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel. "Hearken to the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. According to all the deeds which they have done to me, from the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. Now then, hearken to their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them."

The critical complaint that the reason for Israel's request for a king, "Here (in this passage), is motivated by maladministration of justice, whereas in 1 Samuel 8:20 it is due to a desire for a leader in war,"[3] is a strange complaint indeed. Apparently, the critic had never heard of multiple motivations! A more discerning scholar listed a number of motivations for the request of Israel's elders:

"The elders gave several reasons why Israel should have an earthly king: (1) Samuel is near the end of his career; (2) Samuel's sons do not have godly qualities; (3) a king would be a permanent judge; (4) the surrounding nations all have kings; and (5) a king would effectively lead them in battle."[4]

There is even a sixth motivation suggested by the elders in their use of the words of Deuteronomy 17:14, a quotation that was perhaps intended to, "Remind Samuel that they were only asking what had virtually been promised by Moses."[5] However, that passage from the Book of Moses may be understood not as a promise of what God would require, but a prophecy of what Israel would demand. When Israel indeed finally demanded a king, it is clear enough that God was displeased by their request.

"They have rejected me from being king over them" (1 Samuel 8:7). The sin of Israel here was not merely in the kind of king they requested, but in their rejection of the king they already had, the Lord himself.

"According to all the deeds they have done to me" (1 Samuel 8:8). What were those deeds? They are described in the last clause, "forsaking me and serving other gods." The entire record of the nation of Israel was one long succession of doing the very things mentioned here.