1 Samuel 8

Rebellion against the Lord is costly. Each day we are given the choice to swim upstream or downstream in His river of blessing. Join Dr. Marty Baker as he takes us through 1 Samuel 8 and gives us a snapshot of the joy that comes when we stop running from the Lord and instead turn to Him.

Since I received counseling training from Minrith and Meier of the famous Christian counseling clinics, and I was in a small church at the time, I spent a good deal of my time dealing with people's problems. Now that I am in a larger church, my time is more limited, plus we have a skilled staff and professional counseling center to assist with the wide variety of needs. Yet, I used to pour a lot of my time into a wide array of people.

One couple stands out in my memory.

They did not attend my church and lived about thirty miles away; however, they wanted to talk with me because they knew of my training and I did not charge. Their marriage could not have been a bigger mess. After eight 1 ½ sessions, I  isolated their issues and provided biblical solutions they needed to apply to restore their marriage to health.

When I presented these solutions to them at the end of our last session, I’ll never forget what the wife said:  “Pastor Marty, I appreciate the time you gave us. I also agree with your analysis of our struggling marriage, and your solutions for us to fix this, be they biblical or otherwise, are spot on. I, however, have no intention of doing anything you have said.” With that, she ended the session, got up, and walked out of my office. Her husband slowly trailed along behind her. I never saw them again, nor did I ever hear about what happened to their marriage. All I have is the memory of a saint who had absolutely no intention of conforming her life to the Word and will of God. She was a saint, but she was also a hardcore rebel.

Does she describe you? Do you hear what God wants from your life, but you stiffen your spine, push back against that, and devise your own path forward? How is that going for you? How will that go for you? It will not go well because you are swimming against the river of His intended blessing.

Historically, Israel struggled with being rebellious toward God. Before he died in Moab, listen to Moses’ instructions to the Levites in charge of the Ark:

²⁶ Take this book of the law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may remain there as a witness against you. ²⁷ For I know your rebellion and your stubbornness; behold, while I am still alive with you today, you have been rebellious against the LORD; how much more, then, after my death? (Deut. 31)

Unfortunately, his prophetic words were verified in the ensuing years. During the Conquest of the Promised Land, rebellion cropped up repeatedly. During the Cycles, or the 300 years covering the period of the Judges, Israel enjoyed moments of spiritual maturity, yet their rebellion against God remained a constant issue.

As the Cycles period of the Judges drew to a close with Samuel, the nation continued to struggle with rebelling against God’s Word and will. Even after many years of peace and prosperity under Samuel's political and spiritual leadership, the cancer of rebellion suddenly and shockingly metastasized at the end of his career. It was a sin the nation had struggled with since its inception, and it erupted again to lead them away from God’s blessing.

Can you identify? Has your rebellion against your Lord been an issue? Is it costing you? Has it cost you? I’m sure the answer to both questions is Yes. If so, listen and learn from this tragic snapshot of Israel’s sin and how God responded.

We will begin with what I’ll call . . .

The Ruination (1 Sam. 8:1-3)

Chapter 7 ended on a high note, detailing how great things became under the leadership of Samuel. Ancient enemies were subdued and controlled (1 Sam. 7:13), formerly seized lands were returned (1 Sam. 7:14), one enemy, the Amorites, established a peace treaty with Israel (1 Sam. 7:14), and Samuel, for years, faithfully led the nation politically, spiritually, and militarily (1 Sam. 7:15-17). The golden years, however, did not remain golden. Read on, and you will see what I mean.

¹ And it came about when Samuel was old that he appointed his sons judges over Israel. ² Now the name of his first-born was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in Beersheba.

All leaders grow old and need to be replaced. Since Israel did not have a formal political mechanism for selecting a new leader, and Samuel realized the importance of having a smooth transition at his future death, he thought it wise to place not one but both of his sons at the nation's helm. The Hebrew meanings of their names suggested a bright future remained on the horizon. Joel means “The Lord is God,” and Abijah means “Yahweh is my father.”  As we shall see, the names should have been changed to “The Lord is not God,” and " Yahweh is not my father” because Samuel’s sons chose rebellion over obedience.

Verse three gives us a summary of their compromised leadership:

³ His sons, however, did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain and took bribes and perverted justice. (1 Sam. 8)

Let’s back up for a moment.

These two men ruled Israel from Beersheba, not Ramah. Interesting. Beersheba was around 40-50 miles south of Ramah, and about 15 miles due east of Gaza. Why didn’t they set up shop near their godly father? Because they did not want him to interfere with their desire to live like corrupt and compromised politicians. Far from their father’s presence, they could abandon his godly way of leading, devise political ways to steal money from the people and distort justice so their unjust activities would not face judgment. It is sad but true how quickly a nation can pivot from peace and prosperity by selecting self-serving, power-hungry, and sinful leaders. This is why we must always be careful and prayerful when choosing leaders, be they political or spiritual.

With two corrupt leaders, Israel, in blitzkrieg fashion, went from rejuvenation to ruination. You name it, and these two men dismantled the governmental structure built by their godly father and rebuilt it so it would profit and elevate them.

However, people will only tolerate corruption for so long before they cry out for action to stop the madness. Eventually, people grow weary of the government stealing their money in clever ways to line the pockets of politicians. Eventually, the gross injustices corruption brings to the courts, where the unrighteous go free while the righteous are criminalized, causes people to rise up for radical change. This is what eventually occurred, as we see in the historical panel I classify as . . .

The Response (1 Sam. 8:4-9)

Tiring of the corrupt leadership of Joel and Abijah, the elders of Israel scheduled a meeting to discuss the sordid situation with Samuel:

⁴ Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah; ⁵ and they said to him, "Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations."

Everything sounded good until that last sentence. They were tired of the corrupt judges, and their solution was not for Samuel to secure more upright leaders but for Samuel to change the political paradigm altogether. Mark this well: The elders did not have a prayer meeting to discover God’s way forward. On the contrary, they had a committee meeting with a highly offensive and secular request. Remember, the propensity of leaders is, as we saw in Chapter 7, to emphasize the political at the expense of the spiritual when it should be the other way around. It is interesting how quickly the right and wrong way of leadership is reversed.

Why did the leaders want a king and not a judge? Judges rose, by God’s calling, to lead Israel over the 300 years of the Cycles. When they rose, then troops were amassed to address the activity of enemies on Israel’s borders (Philistines, Midianites, etc.). Once the enemies were dealt with, Israel returned to its somewhat loose form of governance. This model, of course, called for greater faith and obedience to the Lord, for they had to really depend on Him pulling through for them in tough, trying times.

To have a king like that of the nations meant a king was always ruling, reigning, and ready to take on enemies and issues. Verse 20 reveals their ultimate motivation for desiring a king: “ . . . that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”  Pagan kings represented their gods on the battlefield, so Israel wanted that tangible leader to lead them to victory. They no longer wanted to depend on their unseen God temporarily raising up leaders to organize them to repel enemies. They no longer wanted to wait and see if God would “thunder” from the heavens and disorient their enemies so they could defeat them. They no longer wanted to trust their unseen God when they could see well-organized and armed armies assembled on their borders (Deut. 20:1-4). That model called for too much faith. So they wanted God’s representative tangibly before them now and in the future.

Was a kingship model evil? No. Jacob’s blessing on his son, Judah, promised a king who would one day rule and reign over Israel (Gen. 49:8-12). In Deuteronomy 17:14-20, God informed Moses to tell Israel the day would come when they would desire a king, but that king would be one of God’s choosing, not theirs. That king would also function within God’s limited parameters, not ones devised by the people. Israel’s ask here, however, was a big, bad ask because they wanted to see God’s representative and his military power on their time and terms, not God’s. They were tired of waiting to see if God would show up when the nation faced a crisis posed by enemy intrusion. They, therefore, wanted a man who represented God and would always be present to guide them to victory. They hadn’t thought their new political paradigm through too well.

How did Samuel respond to the carnal request?

⁶ But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." And Samuel prayed to the LORD.

Why did this “ask” trouble Samuel? It represented the fact that the leaders had just cast aside his faithful years of service, during which they had seen God work miraculously to bring peace and security to the nation. It troubled him because it illustrated that they wanted to walk by sight, not faith. They wanted the world’s model for politics and protection, not God’s. It troubled him because they had still failed to grow from all the biblical teaching he gave them during his tenure as prophet-priest-politician.

You get a taste of this emotion from those who want to abandon our Judeo-Christian constitutional form of government for a socialist one. In the socialistic model, which has a proven historical record of destroying the peace and prosperity of nations, the State is all-powerful. It tells you what food it thinks you need. It tells you that those who oppose the State must be persecuted and silenced. It offers fewer choices and freedoms. It provides higher taxes to support the dictates of the State. It destroys innovation, for everyone strives to be equal with everyone else. It tells you that the current political and judicial model must be altered to make way for the wonder of State power, which can bring us to a place of peace and prosperity. The mere talk of this causes any God-fearing, freedom-loving Samuel-types to be saddened and concerned.

I'm sure God’s response to Samuel was not what he expected.

⁷ And the LORD said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.

God just gave Samuel a dose of reality and comfort. He told him to get in line behind Him because they had not rejected Samuel, their earthly ruler, but God, their heavenly ruler. And they rejected Him despite all the times He had miraculously and magnificently delivered them from their enemies. Can you say they were ungrateful? Indeed. They wanted their way, not God’s way, and in so doing, they had utterly spit in His face.

They had a track record of rejecting Him, as God revealed to Samuel. It’s as if God said, “Hey Samuel, if you feel bad for Israel rejecting your leadership during your lifetime, these people have been doing this to me since I miraculously delivered them of Egypt some 400 years ago.”  Gulp.

⁸ Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day-- in that they have forsaken Me and served other gods-- so they are doing to you also. (1 Sam. 8)

Israel’s rebellion was not new. This is how they typically rolled. Moments of tremendous spiritual growth were followed by extended periods of open rebellion.

• They built and worshipped a golden calf in the wilderness (Deut. 9:7ff)
• They complained about food provisions in the wilderness (Num. 11)
• They complained that the Promised Land was impenetrable because of giants (Num. 14:1-4)
• They complained about Moses’ and Aarons’ authority (Num. 16:3)
• They complained that Moses and Aaron brought about the deaths of Korah and his co-conspirators (Num. 16:4)
• They failed to drive the enemies out of the Promised Land per God’s command (Jud. 2:2-3).

Unfortunately, this list is not exhaustive. It is merely illustrative, and God remembered every time He said, “Go this way,” and the people said, “No, we will go our own way.”

What happened here should make you stop and ask yourself some personal questions: What is my spiritual track record? Do I typically follow God’s Word, way, and will, or do I rebel and push back, by nature, wanting my way? Where am I running from God right now? What will I do to stop running from Him so I can start running toward Him? Where am I being a rebel in my life? Is it in my dating life? Is it in how I fail to raise my children according to what the Scriptures say? Is it in my failure to apologize for a situation I created when I went off the proverbial rails?

As you consider where rebellion might be occurring in your life, realize this additional truth from these verses: When you rebel long enough, God can eventually conclude, “Okay, I’ll give you what you want, but you aren’t going to like it.”  Translated, be careful what you wish for. Knowing their request will pose a series of unattended negative consequences, God commands Samuel to level with the people.

The Reality (1 Sam. 8:10-18)

The Lord gave Israel a significant reality check regarding their request:

⁹ "Now then, listen to their voice; however, you shall solemnly warn them and tell them of the procedure of the king who will reign over them."¹

Why does God warn the people when the Law provided for a king? Dr. Robert Chisholm, who taught me Hebrew in grad school, offers this insightful answer:

How does one harmonize this negative view of kingship with the epilogue of Judges, which views the institution positively? The narrator of Judges suggests that the moral anarchy of the period could have been avoided if Israel had only possessed a king (Judg. 17:6; 21:25). However, this does not mean that any king will do. The statement in Judges reflects the Deuteronomic ideal of a king who promotes the law by his teaching and example (Deut. 17:18–20). This will entail regulating the cult, ensuring social justice, and unifying the nation.¹¹ As noted above, the Deuteronomic model of kingship differs in several respects from the cultural model of kingship that the people are demanding.^[1]

The leader God had in mind would be mindful of the spiritual and the Law of God first, not the military and earthly power and prestige. The leader the people had in mind, it appears, was the opposite of this. He would be a taker, not a giver, in his quest to build and maintain a mighty military. Read the ensuing verses, and you will see what I mean:

¹⁰ So Samuel spoke all the words of the LORD to the people who had asked of him a king. ¹¹ And he said, "This will be the procedure of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and place them for himself in his chariots and among his horsemen and they will run before his chariots. ¹² "And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and of fifties, and some to do his plowing and to reap his harvest and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. ¹³ "He will also take your daughters for perfumers and cooks and bakers. ¹⁴ "And he will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. ¹⁵ "And he will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards, and give to his officers and to his servants. ¹⁶ "He will also take your male servants and your female servants and your best young men and your donkeys, and use them for his work. ¹⁷ "He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants.

As I said, the bureaucracy of a future king would suck the life out of the country, all for the sake of building a robust and impressive military machine. That was not the case under the model of the Judges, but it would be with this untimely request for a king. Once instituted, a king would control every facet of the country. No family would be immune from his requests, rules, and regulations. Everything about the nation would ensure the military machine was well-oiled, funded, and staffed. Money that typically went elsewhere would be directed to the King, his officers, and troops.

As a side note, with a budget of $841.4 billion for 2024, the Department of Defense claims a significant part of our national budget. Imagine if a large chunk of this money could go elsewhere because we knew God would protect us. That was the tension and reality in Israel at the time of this request.

The last warning God gave Israel should have arrested their attention:

¹⁸ "Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day." (1 Sam. 8)

Put differently, “When the king you have asked for turns out to not be what you asked for when his kingdom does not give you what you thought you would get, and when this utopian idea becomes dystopian, because it will, at that point God says He will not respond because this is what you clamored for in your rebellion.”   Yes, God will give you over to your wicked request founded upon your rebellion against Him. Do you know that? Are you ready for that? Far wiser to repent and return to Him. That is not what Israel did, however, as we see in the next movement of the narrative:

The Release (1 Sam. 8:19-22)

This is one of the saddest statements in the Old Testament:

¹⁹ Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, "No, but there shall be a king over us, ²⁰ that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles."

Concerning their statement, Pastor Warren Wiersbe offers this salient observation:

"In spite of these warnings, the people insisted that God give them a king. Pleasing the Lord wasn’t the thing uppermost in their minds; what they wanted was guaranteed protection against their enemies. They wanted someone to judge them and fight their battles, someone they could see and follow. They found it too demanding to trust an invisible God and obey His wonderful commandments. In spite of all the Lord had done for Israel from the call of Abraham to the conquest of the Promised Land, they turned their back on Almighty God and chose to have a frail man to rule over them." ^[2]

Rebellion to God’s Word, will, and way is terrible. What happens when you choose to live this way? Although we don’t see this answer in the immediate context, we will see it as we continue to study what happened when Israel moved from a theocracy to a monarchy: Our propensity to reject God’s authority leads to inferior versus superior living. Inferior living is riddled with guilt, chaos, and bondage. On the contrary, superior living enjoys peace and prosperity because God’s face shines on you as you obey instead of shaking your fist in His face. So, what will it be in your life? Will you submit to Christ as your King, or will you seek to create a king of your own making?

How did Samuel respond to God’s command? Let’s read the text and see:

 ²¹ Now after Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the LORD's hearing. ²² And the LORD said to Samuel, "Listen to their voice, and appoint them a king." So Samuel said to the men of Israel, "Go every man to his city." (1 Sam. 8)

Instead of giving the leaders the direct word of God, he dismissed them. Why did he do this? He probably did this because the emotion of it all was just too much to process. He chose, therefore, to wait to walk obediently in this situation on another day. I can’t blame him for that, can you?

But don’t let Samuel’s lack of response keep you from doing some much-needed soul-searching. Here’s a prayer for the day: “Lord, show me where I am being rebellious toward your Word, will, and way, and give me the will to come clean so I can enjoy superior living instead of the inferior living that has entangled me.”

^[1] Robert B. Chisholm Jr., 1 & 2 Samuel, ed. Mark L. Strauss, John H. Walton, and Rosalie de Rosset, Teach the Text Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2013), 54.

^[2] Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Successful, “Be” Commentary Series (Colorado Springs, CO: Victor/Cook Communications, 2001), 48.