1 Samuel 8:19

THE PEOPLE INSIST ON HAVING A KING

"But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; and they said, `No! but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.' And when Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, `Hearken to their voice, and make them a king.' Samuel then said to the men of Israel, `Go every man to his city.'"

"That we also may be like all the nations" (1 Samuel 8:20). How natural it is for people to SUPPOSE that what seems to be "successful" in the world of unbelievers would also be helpful among the people of God. Willis believed that the principal sin of Israel was precisely in this matter of their wanting to be like the nations around them.[9] Of course, this also was sin on the part of Israel.

"He repeated them in the ears of the Lord" (1 Samuel 8:21). Fred Young has an interesting comment on this. "The word `repeated' here is also translated `rehearsed'; and the word comes from Old French word "rehercier" meaning `to harrow over again.' Samuel once more went over the matter as a farmer harrowing again a plot before planting it."[10]

"Go every man to his city" (1 Samuel 8:22). The abbreviated nature of this narrative is conspicuous here. Samuel evidently told the elders that their request would be granted, and he may have requested on his own behalf that he be allowed some time in which to pray and consult the Lord concerning the man who would be appointed king of Israel.

There is a marvelous lesson in prayer in this chapter. When the request of the elders for a king came as a severe stroke of disappointment and grief to Samuel, he took his sorrow to the Lord in prayer. And when, despite all the warnings, Israel's elders said, "No! we will have a king," once more, it is stated that Samuel repeated all the words of the people in the ears of the Lord (1 Samuel 8:21). This is the great example for all believers, "Take it to the Lord in prayer."