Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, keep the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them, according to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day, with which they have forsaken me and served other gods. So they are doing to you also. Now therefore keep their solemnly forewarn them and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them." So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who asked him for a king.
And he said, this will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you. He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties. will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers, and he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants.
He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. He will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of your sheep, and you will be his servants, and you will cry out in that day because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day.
The People's Demand for a King (vv. 19–22)
Nevertheless, the people refused to obey 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 judge us and go out before us and fight our battles. Samuel heard all the words of the people and he repeated them in the hearing of the Lord. So the Lord said to Samuel, heed their voice and make them a king. And Samuel said to the men of Israel, every man go to his city.
Amen.
Introduction and Chapter Overview
So when we go through this particular chapter, we'll notice that the monarchy or kingship is not evil in and of itself. We'll see that clearly in the book of Deuteronomy, but it's the desire and the motivation for the monarchy that is condemned here by God very specifically. And the chapter breaks down into four sections. We'll look first at the state of Samuel and his sons in verses 1 to 6.
Secondly, the Lord's response to Samuel in 7 to 9. The description of the monarchy in verses 10 to 18. And then finally, the people's demand for a king in verses 19 to 22. So initially, the elders ask for a king.
By the time we get to the end of the chapter, the entirety of the people are demanding a king from Samuel. They want a man to lead them rather than the sovereign God of heaven and earth, even after they're told what manner of king he will be.
Samuel and His Sons (vv. 1–6)
So let's look first at the state of Samuel and his son, verses 1 to 6. First of all, there is a period of time that has lapsed between chapters seven and eight. Remember chapter seven, Israel responded favorably. They were broken, they were actually lamenting after the Lord.
Notice in chapter seven, at verse two, the ark had been returned, it was in Kirjath-Jerim a long time, it was there 20 years, and according to 7-2, all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord, their foreign gods, their veils, out to Samuel and Samuel speaks to all the house of Israel and essentially tells them you need to repent you need to humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and in his time he will lift you up and so they actually do according to verse 4 it says so the children of Israel put away the bales and the ashtrays and serve the Lord as the Philistines away. The children of Israel give pursuit. Cities that the Philistines had formerly taken have been given back. And so things were good.
There was a summary statement in chapter 7 at verses 15 to 17. It says Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. He went from year to year on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah and judged Israel in all those places. He always returned to Ramah, for his home was there.
There he judged Israel, and there he built an altar to the Lord. We come to the end of the life of Samuel, so there is a distance, a period of time between chapters 7 and 8. But the location of chapters 7 and 8 should suggest to us that the people of Israel did not have a good memory. They did not reflect on that Ebenezer. they would not now be crying out for a human king rather than having the king that was over them, even God the Lord.
So it came to pass that Samuel was old and he made his sons judges over Israel. Now the judgeship was not hereditary in nature. That's something unique to the kingship. When a king dies, then his son rises up and takes the throne.
Remember the judge Gideon. They wanted to take his sons and make them judges after the death of Gideon. And Gideon said, no, don't do that. The judges were appointed by God.
Eli's sons were not judges. They served as priests in the house of the Lord in Shiloh. But what we have here could be something of a foreshadowing of the monarchy. It could be a breach in protocol by Samuel.
The text really doesn't tell us. It only simply says that he made his sons judges over Israel. That didn't happen in any of the other judges. It was God who installed the judge.
It was God who made the judge. It was God who called them into service. Now notice the similarity between Samuel and Eli. So verse 2 tells us the name of his firstborn was Joel, this is not the prophet Joel, and the name of his second was Abijah, they were judges in Beersheba.
But his sons did not walk in his ways, they turned aside after dishonest gain, they took bribes and perverted justice. The young men in Israel at this particular time were certainly not model Israelites, they were certainly not faithful men. Remember Eli's sons did not know the Lord, they perverted sacrifice, at the house of God. They also lay with the women and assembled there at the house of God.
So it seems that Samuel's sons are in the running for bad sons of the year, and they certainly fit, or they're certainly in competition here. Samuel, but one does wonder what Samuel learned by watching Eli raise his sons in such a way that they ended up miserable apostates. Samuel, in the final analysis, his sons didn't turn out any better, tells us. They did not walk in his ways.
Again, we need the grace of God. We can model Christ to our children, we can preach to our children, but we always need to pray for the power of the Holy Spirit. magic. Conversion doesn't come because we're earnest. Conversion doesn't come because we're nice or we're splendid people.
Conversion comes as an act of the sovereign God most high. So Samuel was a faithful man. Samuel was a godly man. But that does not necessarily ensure that your children will be faithful and your children will be godly.
Perhaps this is one of the biggest challenges for parents is to rear their children in the fear and the admonition of the Lord. But we need to do so prayerfully, and we need to understand that God is sovereign over all things. And in this, we greatly rejoice. We have the God who is represented to us in that story concerning the prodigal son.
In that particular instance, in Luke 15, who does the father of the prodigal represent? You're right if you answer God. raised this particular prodigal, nevertheless he rises up, leaves his father's home, goes out and wastes his money, squanders it, and then ultimately comes back. And initially he doesn't come back because he's converted. He doesn't come back because he's had a change of heart.
No, he's sitting there looking at what these pigs are eating, and he says, I'll cast myself on the mercy of my father. Not for conversion. He just doesn't want to eat pig food anymore. He just wants to be brought in as a hired servant.
Conversion doesn't happen until the father falls on him, and the father takes that righteous robe and lays it upon him. It is God the Lord who saves sinners, and in this we ought to greatly rejoice. If our children have breath in their lungs, then God in his grace and mercy is able to save them. So Samuel's sons turned aside after dishonest gain, they took bribes, and they perverted justice. precisely what you don't want in judges.
The exact opposite of the sorts of traits that you want in men that are leading in a particular nation. These men are the very opposite and contrary to what they should have been. And it's based on this that the elders then come. Notice in verse And all the elders of Israel came together and came to Samuel at Ramah.
Remember, this is where Ramah, or Ramah was where Samuel lived. That's where he made his home. And they said to him, look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. You can see their logic.
You can see their rationale. They're thinking humanistically, however, or atheistically. They're not thinking concerning the fact that they live in a nation governed by a sovereign God. That God, most high, has sustained them from the This is the case.
I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, and they continually forsake me. They continually seek after other gods. So they're operating as if the sovereign God of heaven and earth doesn't exist. So they say to him, look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways.
We know that you're about to die, and we certainly don't want your judges to have the reigns over the entirety of Israel, so the request
Monarchy in Deuteronomy 17
Now you may turn to Deuteronomy 17 for a moment. I just want us to appreciate that monarchy in and of itself is not wicked. That means kingdom or kingship. The monarchy in and of itself is not wicked.
In Israel's history, God legislated or God gave laws specifically to govern the presiding king. Notice in Deuteronomy 17, 14, when you come to the land which the Lord your God has given you and possess it and dwell in it and say, I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me. So God sees that this is an eventuality. God knows that this is going to happen.
Of course God knows, he knows all things. He's determined the end from the beginning and he's ordained all the means to pursue that particular end. Nevertheless, what he does here is he stipulates or he specifies over them so that they are like all the nations that are around me. So that's where there is some similarity.
They're gonna have a king like all the nations around them, but God then decrees or God then stipulates that the king that governs over Israel will not be like all the kings that govern the nations around Israel. On the one hand, he will be a king like those other nations, But on the other hand, he will not be a king like those other nations. Now, unfortunately, when the monarchy comes into play, they function just like the Canaanites all around them. But notice what God says concerning the king that was to govern in Israel.
Ironically, David says, the rest of Deuteronomy 17 makes sure that Israel will not have a king like all the nations. For he must be a man of God's choosing, 15a, a brother Israelite, not a foreigner, 15b, without the customary royal perks. Notice what the king is to avoid, weapons, women, and wealth. Now he's going to have a certain amount of weapons because he has to protect the people from foreign enemies and from domestic dispute.
He's certainly going to have some wealth because he is a king. And he's going to have a woman. hopefully just one. The idea is that he's not to multiply weapons, women, or wealth, because this inevitably leads to apostasy. If a king has too many weapons, he gets too proud.
If a king has too much wealth, then he starts to live in a manner that is inconsistent with the word of God. is far away from the true and living God. Solomon serves as a case study in that particular situation. Solomon was led astray by his wives. He goes on to say, or what Davis says, without the customary royal purse, military machine, multiple wives, and massive wealth, and subservient to the rule of God's law, verses 18 to 20.
So you see, on the one hand, he will be a king like all the other nations around Israel had, but on the other hand, he won't be a king like any of those nations because he is to submit to Yahweh. He is to fear the Lord. In fact, the first order of business when the king is in Saul is that he takes out his own pen, he takes out his own paper, and he copies for himself the law of God. There is help in doing this.
There is help in writing out the word of God or the law of God. supposed to do. Now certainly the kings in Israel did not follow that law, they certainly did not obey this particular injunction, and as a result they took the nation into idolatry and wickedness and godlessness. So monarchy is not bad.
The Motive Behind the Request
Davis says the fault in 1 Samuel 8 was not in the fact of the request, but in the motive for the request. It was not the request itself, but what was behind the request that tainted it. Now God tells Samuel very clearly what the problem is. Notice when Samuel is displeased in verse six.
The thing displeased Samuel when they said, give us a king to judge us. Literally these things or this matter was evil in Samuel's eyes. So Samuel prays for the Lord and the Lord says, Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me." Well, monarchy is not bad. It was to come through the appointment of God.
It was not to come through people that were simply looking for protection or people that were simply looking for a man that was not older, judges that were not corrupt. Though there was a time lapse between the events of chapter 7 and 8, because of their close proximity, we ought not to forget the great victory that God did bring for his people in chapter 7. Not only did they say that Samuel was old, not only did they say that the sons were wicked, but they were seeking military aid. This was one of the ultimate factors that played into this.
Look at 820. In 820 they say, so that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles. And then in 1 Samuel 12, which in many respects is commentary on this situation. 1 Samuel 12.12, and when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, You see, monarchy's not bad, but we want an earthly king to fight our battles. In light of what's happened in Chapter 7, you ought to see that their motive is wicked, their motive is evil.
They forgot the reality, they neglected that Ebenezer that had been erected, and now they are turning to some earthly means to try and get vindication, to try and get protection and stability. The issue is not monarchy, but the motive for monarchy that is condemned in this particular chapter. Gil says they entirely rejected the sole and peculiar government of God over them. See, God defines for us in verse 7 what is going on.
They have rejected me. essentially said, we do not want you, we want this king to reign over us. Sounds just like the mob at the time when the Lord Jesus was going to be crucified. We don't want this man, give us Barabbas. They even cry out, these are Jews, these are Israelites that say, we have no king but Caesar.
They're ready to produce fidelity or bow to Caesar that has gone a-whoring from the living and true God. And chapter 8 manifests that and magnifies that. Davis, again, concerning this situation. He says, in the current emergency, there was no crying out to Yahweh for deliverance, but a demand for a king.
You see, in chapter 7, what do they do? They lament after the Lord. So they cry out to God. They pray.
They humble themselves. They pour out that water. So here, we've still got this problem with these pesky Philistines. We want a king so that he'll deliver us.
We want a king so that he'll go into battle with us. So he says, in the current emergency, there was no crying out to Yahweh for deliverance, but a demand for a king, a clear, if subtle, substitution. Their help now was not in the strong name of God, but in a new form of government. It is not monarchy, but trust in monarchy. that is the villain.
You see, this is, in many respects, like Chapter 4. We have a contrast between 7 and 8. We have a parallel with Chapter 4. Remember when they had the problem with the Philistines in Chapter 4?
What was their decision? Let's get the Ark of the Covenant and roll it out there. Not because we fear God, we honor God, we want to worship God. We want the Ark of the Covenant to breathe fear Yahweh.
They sought to use the Ark of the Covenant as if it was a rolling magic implement. Well, the same thing is here. Here they're forsaking Yahweh, seeking an earthly king, simply so that they can have deliverance from their Philistine brethren, that we put what we want, or what we desire, or what we need, and we pursue that to the exclusion of God, we have forgotten the fundamental kingdom principle of Matthew 6.33. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and these things will be added to you.
We are not to pursue these things to the neglect of God. Israel is failing in this very instance. They want a king like the nations. So we have a parallel with Chapter 4.
Just like they trot the Ark of the Covenant out to deal with the enemy invasion, so here. We don't need Yahweh. We want an earthly king that will deal with our enemies so that we can render them ineffective. Now, I submit that it's easy to see this in Chapter 8.
I hope you see it. I hope you see how easy it is to view chapter 4, when they bring the Ark of the Covenant out, thinking that its presence alone is going to save them. We see 4, we see 8, but we don't always see it in our own lives. We don't always see the attempt to manipulate God.
We don't always see the way that we approach religion as if it's magic, but we don't always see the fact that and New Covenant. If you have trouble with this, then may I suggest that you spend time in Matthew Chapter 6. Jesus gives very clear statements that we're not to worry, we're not to fret, we're not to be anxious, but we are rather to seek first the Kingdom of God. He must be first.
He must be everything. And in this instance, the children of Israel and now seek an earthly king to bring deliverance. Chapter 7 is an obvious contrast because they're doing the right thing in chapter 7. What's the right thing?
Humble repentance under the mighty hand of God Most High. If you ever wonder, what is God's will for my life? Humble repentance before the mighty hand of God. If you're ever scratching your head and saying, I wonder what the Lord would have me to do?
Humble repentance is always going to be the answer. God never despises those who tremble at his word. He does not despise those who are contrite in spirit. The prophet Isaiah, he says, to this one will I look, in the context of being the high and lofty God who has heaven as his throne and earth as his footstool, but to this one will I look, to him who is humble, lowly, and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at my word.
You see, there's something more important in our lives than results. There's something more important in our lives than our goals. There's something more important than the objectives that we desire to obtain. That most important thing is to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
And Israel has despised this. Israel has rejected this. Israel has thrown it in the face of the living and true God. The request of the elders.
Notice in this section finally the response of Samuel. Think displeased Samuel when they said, give us a king to judge us. Samuel is a godly man. Samuel doesn't want to see Israel function this way.
Samuel no doubt wants to see revival at Mizrahi continue in their bones until the eternal state. A godly man doesn't want to see people call into or reject the God of absolute goodness. So it displeases Samuel. As I said, it was evil in his eyes.
So what does Samuel do as a godly man? He sees this and he prays for the Lord.
The Lord's Response to Samuel (vv. 7–9)
That brings us to the Lord's response to Samuel in verses seven and nine. The Lord said to Samuel, keep the voice of the people in all that they say to you. You will learn a lesson in this chapter. here in chapter 8. Be very careful what you ask for.
Another lesson that I think we learned here is that it's a great mercy when God doesn't always give us what we ask for. It is a wonderful mercy that God does not always give us what we ask for. Think about that. And think about the reality that these Even after they're told the nature of the king, the type of kings they're going to get, they still want him.
I mean, if you leave 1 Samuel 8 and you still struggle with total depravity, I can't convince you. I really can't. Because it is as clear and obvious as a doctrine could possibly be. Notice what God says, the Lord said to Samuel, heed the voice of the people and all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
Notice, according to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day, with which they have forsaken me and served other gods, this particular vision it's not anybody I know but sometimes when you're out in the world you see I think Rebecca saw some kid shoving its mom one time the kid wanted something and the mother said no Johnny or Billy or Lucy or whatever name was and the kid was so rebellious and shoving this mother like I want what I want sure you've all seen kids like that maybe they've been in your own house but you see how imagine going over to that parent and saying, are you going to let your kid talk to you like that? They might actually be surprised and say, what do you mean? They always talk to me like that. You say, wait a minute, what do you mean they always talk to you like that?
That's what God's saying to Samuel. They've always behaved like this. They have rejected me from the time that I brought them out of the house of bondage until this day. If they want a king, they can have a king.
You see, sometimes when sinners cry out for something, God says, go ahead and have it. See if it satisfies, see if it brings happiness, and see if it brings the victory that you are longing for. You see, just like they learned in chapter 7, when they finally lamented after Yahweh, they had seen after that period of time that Baal and Asherah was not, or were not able, to deliver. a little bit. refrain with these people. It's not you Samuel that they've rejected, they've rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day with which they have forsaken me and served other gods, He identifies the specific objects of their rejection. It's not you, Samuel. It's me. It's God.
The problem's a lot bigger than, they don't want an old man, or they don't want a wicked boy, or wicked sons. They don't want God. They don't want the Lord of heaven and earth, who brought them to this place. The God who covenanted with their father Abraham to give them this land.
The God who brought them from wickedness and bondage and instructs him again, verse nine, now therefore heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them. Now, this does not simply refer to Saul. Of course, David was a good king.
You have certain bright lights. After the monarchy divides, initially there's one king In 1 Kings chapter 12, however, there is a split, there is rebellion. You've got ten northern tribes and you've got two southern tribes. In the history of the monarchy, there was never a good king in the north.
In the history of the monarchy, in the south, you had a handful of good men there. So this isn't a statement about one specific king, it's a statement about kingship in general, monarchy in general. You've heard the saying before, it's good to be the king. Well certainly when a sinful man becomes the king and he's given that kind of power and authority, you must imagine that the potential for abuse is very large, right?
What he describes here in verses 10 to 18 isn't one particular king. Samurai says that the section, which is procedural discourse, is not a narrative description of deeds of the king. In other words, not every king is going to do all these things all the time. But just realize that kingship or monarchy, because we live in a sinful world, you've got kings who are sinful, And the potential for abuse is huge, right?
You give a man authority, you give a man a position, you give a man rule. Now, thankfully, not everybody abuses that, but a lot of them have. Just study history for a moment. Not just Bible history, but look at Kings.
Are they the most upright? Godly men. When we read 1 Samuel 8, we as well ought to agree You see, whether it's monarchy, whether it's democracy, whatever the system of government is, you've got this one fundamental problem. You've got sinners involved, and if sinners can abuse and distort something, sinners will abuse and distort.
He says that's a literary genre, that means a type of literature, it is more like a manual that explains what a king would do normally to conscript military and administrative personnel. Make no mistake, the king is building his military here, he's going to take it from your family. The king is staffing his bureaucracy here, he's going to take it, he's going to fund it with your money. That's everything that you see that is abusive in our own generation has its roots here in 1 Samuel chapter 8.
You don't like unjust taxation? Well, this is what God told Israel they were going to get. You don't like whatever it is that you see as an abuse in government? It's all right here, right before our eyes.
He says it simply lists the king's right according to the rule or regulations in a monarchic society. and show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them, or the right or judgment, not a legal right or form of government, but an assumed arbitrary and despotic power, such as the kings of the East exercised over their subjects, a king like whom the Israelites desired to have, namely, what unbounded liberties he would take with them, what slaves he would make of them, and what of their as is afterward related. Now think about it. Israel goes into the land of Canaan. Israel is forbidden from entering into political alliances with the Canaanites.
Israel is forbidden from entering into social alliances, vis-a-vis marriage, with the Canaanites. And of course, Israel is forbidden from bowing to Canaan's gods. Now do they obey any of that? Absolutely not.
And typically they go out seeking after political alliances. That's probably why many of the kings in Israel multiplied wives. It wasn't just for pleasure at home, but it was rather for political alliances. There's a lot of that going on here.
As well, when you have the regular rank and file, marry other people. What inevitably happens? We make political alliances, we make social alliances, and the next thing we know we are bowing in religious alliance to their veils and ashram. You see, this is why the New Covenant stipulates that believers are to marry in the Lord.
You see, because the idea is that if you enter into a marriage as a believer with an unbeliever, with the view to being a missionary and recovering this person from their sin or depravity, I'm going to win them to the Lord. That's not typically what happens. It's not typically the case that you wear white pants and walk through the mud and make the mud white. It just doesn't happen that way.
Not that I think anybody should ever wear white pants. making sure no one had white pants on. If you do, more power to you. The idea is that we need to do what James says. We need to keep ourself unspotted from the world.
You enter into politics, you enter into marriage, you're going to enter into their worship services. And you're going to say, Baal is good. Look at what he does for his people. So what we find in this instance is that the kings of Israel would go into the land of Canaan and guess where they take their cues in terms of political leadership.
It certainly wasn't Deuteronomy 17. They certainly were not writing the law of the Lord and keeping it in their shirt pocket and pulling it out several times a day and reading it. That's not what these kings in Israel were doing. They were watching the pagans around them.
They were seeing how political alliances function. They played the political game. And so they started to inflict this kind of kingship upon the children of Israel. What should have been a good thing because of the perversion and the wickedness of Ben's heart turned out to be something that was brutal for the nation of Israel.
Again, I'm thankful to the Lord Imagine having a bad kink for 55 years. I mean, 8 years seems like an eternity, but 55 with Ahab at the helm? That is just not a good proposal. So you see, when Israel cries out to the Lord here, they do not know what they are asking.
Description of the Monarchy (vv. 10–18)
Now let's get into this description of the monarchy. Again, not a particular kink. You know what the primary verb in this whole section is, 10 to 18? Take.
Take. Take. Take. Six times.
He will take your sons. He will take your daughters. He will take the best. He will take a tenth.
He will take your male servants. He will take a tenth of your sheep. Now, certainly you would think that if a people heard that, they were then given the choice, do you want him? They'd say, no way!
Why'd they say yes? Indicates to me that total depravity and total inability equal total stupidity. Total falling. People would rather have this than God.
People would rather have Ahab than Yahweh. People would rather have Saul, which is interesting. They wanted a king to fight their battles and to win. Where does Saul die?
In battle. Isn't that ironic? Saul ends up becoming a menace to the very good king that Yahweh does appoint. Everything these people do is wrong.
It's backward. It's polluted. It's sinful. And I think our author wants us to appreciate that.
Six times he will take. I've categorized this description in four heads.
The King Will Exploit Your Families
First, the king will exploit your families. He does not care about your happiness. He does not care about your security. He does not care about your hearth and home.
He's going to take your son Verse 11, he said, this will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you. He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen and some will run before his chariots. Conscription, he needs a military entourage. He's not going anywhere without protection.
It's like all these people that say, oh yeah, it's bad for, you know, a private individual to have a gun and then march around surrounded by guys unless he's got a secret service with their earpieces and their black suits and their guns on their sides and they're going to come from here to Canada. Your son's not going to be a farmer anymore. He's not going to help you grow food. The king needs him and he will be in the king's service.
But it won't stop there. He won't take our daughters, will he? Oh yes he will. you nurtured her when she was a little girl, and you taught her how to bake, you taught her how to cook, so that she could marry a godly man, or while she was in your home, she could make good baked goods. Well, the king wants those baked goods.
The king wants that food. If she's got a talent, she's coming to the king's palace, and she'll make perfume there. Your servants, verse 16. Now, when we read servants in the Bible, we're not to necessarily think of chattel slavery.
Such has occurred in America, when they went and kidnapped men from a country and brought them back and enslaved them. There was a servanthood in the Old Testament that was perfectly legitimate and perfectly just. A man didn't have money to pay back the debt, he would be an indentured servant. your finest young men and your donkeys, and put them to His work. What kind of situation is that?
You see the folly here? They would rather have this than God. It just doesn't make sense, does it? Your goods, notice verses 14 and 15.
He will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to His servants. Isn't that beautiful? You work hard. That's my second, or verse 17.
He will take a tenth, that's a tithe of your sheep, and you will be his servants. Now this is not the religious tithe stipulated or commanded in the book of Deuteronomy. This is taxation, okay? This is he will take from you so that he can fund his palace, he can fund his ventures, he can fund his political alliances, and he can feed all these fat bureaucrats.
He will appoint captains over his thousands, and captains over his fifties. He will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. Now, I don't doubt that a king needs help, and I don't think that a king shouldn't have help. What happens when a man is corrupt?
He starts to multiply help, because it makes him look that much more important. The more people I have under me, the more people I have working for me, the more powerful I am. This is bureaucracy. This isn't just getting men in there to do a particular job.
Notice what happens as well. Verses 14 and 15 again. He will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, your olive groves, and give them to his servants. You're gonna pay for their food.
You're gonna grow for them. You're gonna make sure they eat. Verse 15, he will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage and give it to his officers and servants. Again, I'm not advocating do not pay your taxes But because Paul tells us to do this, that does not give the right and the liberty to governments to engage in unjust taxation.
That's not good. You're killing people. If you don't have the ability to feed your family, you don't have the ability anymore to not have, you know, the wife at home. Those people have to work just to make ends meet.
Well, why is that? It's taxation because of all this bureaucracy. Notice,
The King Will Enslave Through Taxation
thirdly, this is another beauty, the king will enslave you through taxation. That these people said yes, it's just amazing to me, it baffles the mind. He will take a tenth of your sheep, verse 17, and you will be his servant. The king is there for the people to defend, to rule, to govern, to help, to aid, and in a certain sense to leave them alone so that they can grow food, so that they can have families, so that they can do those things that God has said is a blessing.
Blessed be God for King Jesus. And then
The King Will Cause You to Cry Out
notice finally, the king will cause you to cry out. Verse 18. And you will cry out in that day, because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you in that day. John Gill says, and the Lord will not hear you in that day, will not regard them, have no compassion on them, suffer them to remain under their oppressors, and not deliver them out of them, because they rejected him from being their king. and put themselves out of his protection into the hands of another, and therefore it was just to leave them to their own choice.
So could you imagine anything more miserable being presented to you than verses 10 to 18? He's going to exploit our families. the man for king. Verse 19, nevertheless, the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel, and they said, no, but we will have a king over us. Yeah, if you struggle with depravity, go here, please, just, if you ever talk to an Arminian or Pelagian, well, I don't know if men are sinful, hey, come here.
How could they not be sinful when they reject a good If that word is offensive, it's in John Gill's commentary. You've seen James use the stupid in the Proverbs. I know we tell our little kids, don't say stupid, don't call your brother stupid, don't call your sister stupid, and that's good. But you know, that doesn't remove the fact that there is stupidity in this world, and it's driven by depravity and total inability.
Nevertheless, the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel, and they said, no, but we will have a king over us. Interesting, because in 319, there's a summary statement concerning the prophetic ministry of Samuel. It says, none of his words fell to the ground. Samuel was a faithful prophet.
Samuel's sons didn't turn out well, but that does not militate against the fact that he was a godly prophet, a godly judge in Israel. None of his words fell to the ground. That means they were faithful, true, and sure. What should these people have done?
They should have listened to Samuel. They should have obeyed Samuel. They should have humbly bowed before God. They should not have said, no, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.
Spiritual Application: Rejecting God
Do you see a spiritual picture arising here? It's almost as if sinners are told, look, there is this gracious, wonderful, merciful God. He forgives sin, He provides your righteousness, He sustains you all your days, He tells you to be still and to know that He is God. One of His commands is that you rejoice always in Him.
I mean, come on, what kind of a command is that? Isn't that beautiful? We are commanded to be happy. On the other hand, you've got this king.
He's over the realm of hell, and he's about murder, and he's about lies, and he's about deceit, and he's about wickedness, he's about evil, he's about everything contrary to this good master that's an abbot. And nine times out of ten, what do sinners do? I want Satan, right? I want this.
I want slavery. I want high taxation. I want every bad thing, because I will not have this God. and the monarchy and the rule that will go on in Israel, but it certainly illustrates for us the spiritual reality that we can preach the gospel, we can, in 10 to 18, like in 10 to 18, tell all the repercussions of sin, here's all the implications of sin, here's all the things that sin will bring, and then we get to the end and the people say, no, I still want my son. We were all presented 10 to 18.
We all heard the ramifications and the repercussions of rejecting God, and we all rejected God. But in his grace and in his mercy, there was a time and a day and an instance where he gave us a new heart so that we would receive the word of truth. Now, Israel here should have repented and humbled themselves under the mighty hand of God. As I have argued in the past, and as I will continue to argue, the Old Testament shows us continually people's need for Jesus.
Never forget that in the Old Testament. Yes, the people should have obeyed perfectly. Can anyone obey the law perfectly? No.
The law, one of its uses in the Old Testament was to show the people their sin and to show the people their need for a Savior. And certainly 1 Samuel 8 would have come up several times along subsequent history to show them their sin. Look at what you did here. They want a king just to be like the other nations.
And then, the end of the chapter, verse 21, Samuel heard all the words of the people. If he was depressed when the elders came to him, if it was evil in the eyes of Samuel when the elders came, imagine, after outlining all these things, and then they say, no, we want the king. Imagine how Samuel felt then. He probably realized at this point, this is a no-win situation.
He hears the words of the people and repeats them in the hearing of the Lord. So the Lord said to Samuel, heed their voice and make them a king. Samuel said to the men of Israel, every man go to his city.
Application
Well, in conclusion, have covered, and we need to re-appreciate or appreciate afresh, this idea that Chapter 4 and Chapter 8 brings up, is that we do not use God for our ends. We do not manipulate God. We do not treat God like He's a holy horseshoe. Simply, He's got what we want.
And we don't reject God for some earthly means, because we think that earthly means will deliver the goods. You see, there's a fundamental disconnect when the goods are more important Revelation, magic for aping the pagans around us, but by faithfulness to our God. Aping in that context means to imitate. I love that word.
Not just the big nasty gorilla looking thing, but aping the pagans. Imitating the pagans. We're not going to get military victory by aping the pagans so that we can deal with the philistine. Just because we have a king doesn't ensure victory.
As well, we need to understand the rejection No, but what God did in those positive laws, or what we might call ceremonial laws, that we serve the living and true God. So many of those laws in the Holiness Code are what we call the ceremonial laws, which are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. By all means, put, you know, eat shrimp, that's acceptable. Jesus taught, it's not what goes into a man, but it's what comes out of the man that defiles him.
The problem isn't the shrimp you're putting in your mouth, the problem is that cesspool in your chest. Yeah, that's his issue. Okay, so what we find in this cry to be like the nations around us is a rejection of holiness. We don't want to be different.
We want to eat bacon with the pagans. We want to marry their women. We want to enter into political alliance with them. We want to take on Baal and Asherah.
We'll keep you too, Yahweh, but we want to keep our options open. Now when we jump into the New Testament, certainly we don't have those ceremonies stipulating that we can't eat this or we mustn't eat that or we can't wear mixed fibers. There's a holiness code in the New Testament as well. We are to pursue holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
It ought to be the case that in business, we don't rip people off the way the pagans do. It ought to be the case that in commerce, we don't try to rip off a seller the way the pagans do. It ought to be the case that in our homes, we love our children and we bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. It ought to be the case that we work hard.
You see a man who excels in his work, he shall stand before kings. It ought to be the case in our work. We're not the grumblers and the whiners and the complainers. We're distinct. 8th Old Covenant is real in being like the nations.
We must, by the grace of God, maintain the holy nation, which is the Church. As well, there is the utter folly of refusing God's warning. Now, when God tells you something, you need to obey, right? I don't know where we ever got this idea that it's okay to say, no, I think I You know, it's easy to see it in 1 Samuel 8.
It's easy to see it in these Old Testament books, but it's not so easy to see it when we're reading our Bibles and God says, Brethren, it's not just an old covenant arrangement where the people of God actually have to obey God. It is a new covenant arrangement where the people of God actually have to obey God. Let your conduct be worthy of the gospel, Paul says. That's the reality of it.
And then another interesting lesson is that they reject God, so what then does God can't leave the chapters. Well, that's not fair. God refuses to help them. They refused him.
He offered help, assistance, aid to be their God at the front end. They rejected that. So should it surprise us that at the back end he rejects them? Again, he's teaching Israel something.
He is tutoring them in this school. They are failing with reference to the law.
The Blessing of Christ's Kingship
And finally, the blessing of divine monarchy. The blessing of the kingship of Christ is that he perfectly executes the office of a king. As good as David was. As good as Solomon's reign was. to the kingship of our Lord Jesus.
The Westminster Shorter Catechism says, how does Christ execute the office of a king? Christ executes the office of a king in subduing us to himself. Isn't that beautiful? We need to be subdued to him because we're these kinds of people.
In subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and Let's pray.
Closing Prayer
Our Father, we thank you for your word and we thank you for the clarity here in chapter 8. I pray that you'd help us to learn the lessons well, that we would not seek to manipulate you, Father, that we would not seek to replace you with something else that we perceive will work. Help us to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and help us as well, Father, to obey the word as it's been given to us by the Spirit through the man you ordained. Go with us now, watch over us again, bless our brothers and sisters in our church that are not feeling well, may you give them great grace and we pray these things