1Sa 8:1-6 | KingComments | STEP | Here begins a new phase in the book. After the priest Eli and the prophet Samuel, a new person comes on the stage: the king . Samuel has appointed his sons judges and that is not right. Nowhere in Scripture does it appear that anyone becomes judge because his father is a judge. Someone does not become judge by succession. A judge is given by God. Samuel appoints his sons when he is old. With this appointment he will certainly have had the well-being of the people in mind. Yet his act is an independent one. Is God not able, just as He once did with Moses, to support him in his old age for his task, until God Himself has appointed a successor? We see Samuel act several times later. His age is therefore not such that he is incapable of serving and that therefore immediate follow-up seems necessary. Our concern for the future of God’s people can also easily lead us to wrong acting. Maybe, however well-meaning we may be, we want to arrange things in the church according to our insight. However, our arrangement ensures that for the next generation we will eliminate the trust in the Lord. The hand of the creature does not need to reach out to prevent the ark from falling ( ), for God is mighty to take care of that himself. “Joel” means ’the LORD is God’ and “Abiah” means ’my father is the LORD’. These names show what Samuel and his wife wanted for these sons. They hoped that their lives would bear witness to what their name means. It is possible that Samuel had this in mind when he appointed his two sons judges in Berseba to judge there. Berseba is situated in the south ( ), far away from the places where he exercises his service as judge and prophet. This means that they are judge in a limited area and not over the whole people. Most Israelites have nothing to do with them at all. Normally the behavior of Samuel’s sons would not interest them either, but now they can use it to motivate their own carnal desires. It seems Samuel has overlooked the fact that the office of judge is not an office that can be transferred from father to son. Something else seems to have escaped Samuel’s attention and that is that his sons cannot cope with this task. He does not see the faults of his sons, while the people have an eye for it. In it he is reminiscent of Eli and his sons. We should not compare Samuel’s mistakes with the mistakes Eli made with his two sons. Because of what Eli did, the priesthood failed completely. However, this does not alter the fact that the prophet Samuel also makes such a mistake. He too does not see the mistakes of his sons. There is always the danger that we will easily perceive the mistakes of others, while equally easily overlooking the mistakes of our own children. We may wonder why such a God-fearing father has such bad sons. Could that be because of his many trips and therefore his long absence? God’s Word does not express itself about it. We find more often, both in Scripture and in daily life, that God-fearing parents have children who do not follow in the footsteps of their parents’ faith. It is not always clear why. In any case, let us be cautious in criticizing the education. The sins of Samuel’s sons are threefold. 1. They turn aside after dishonest gain. God’s Word warns those who care for God’s people not to seek financial gain ( ). 2. They take bribes. As a result, their jurisdiction does not become a fair one. The best-paying or most bidding person is right. 3. As a result of the two preceding points, they pervert justice. By this practice they show the features of a wicked man ( ; ; ).

‏ 1 Samuel 8:1-6

Introduction

Here begins a new phase in the book. After the priest Eli and the prophet Samuel, a new person comes on the stage: the king.

The Sons of Samuel

Samuel has appointed his sons judges and that is not right. Nowhere in Scripture does it appear that anyone becomes judge because his father is a judge. Someone does not become judge by succession. A judge is given by God. Samuel appoints his sons when he is old. With this appointment he will certainly have had the well-being of the people in mind. Yet his act is an independent one. Is God not able, just as He once did with Moses, to support him in his old age for his task, until God Himself has appointed a successor? We see Samuel act several times later. His age is therefore not such that he is incapable of serving and that therefore immediate follow-up seems necessary.

Our concern for the future of God’s people can also easily lead us to wrong acting. Maybe, however well-meaning we may be, we want to arrange things in the church according to our insight. However, our arrangement ensures that for the next generation we will eliminate the trust in the Lord. The hand of the creature does not need to reach out to prevent the ark from falling (2Sam 6:6-7), for God is mighty to take care of that himself.

“Joel” means ’the LORD is God’ and “Abiah” means ’my father is the LORD’. These names show what Samuel and his wife wanted for these sons. They hoped that their lives would bear witness to what their name means. It is possible that Samuel had this in mind when he appointed his two sons judges in Berseba to judge there.

Berseba is situated in the south (1Sam 3:20), far away from the places where he exercises his service as judge and prophet. This means that they are judge in a limited area and not over the whole people. Most Israelites have nothing to do with them at all. Normally the behavior of Samuel’s sons would not interest them either, but now they can use it to motivate their own carnal desires.

It seems Samuel has overlooked the fact that the office of judge is not an office that can be transferred from father to son. Something else seems to have escaped Samuel’s attention and that is that his sons cannot cope with this task. He does not see the faults of his sons, while the people have an eye for it. In it he is reminiscent of Eli and his sons.

We should not compare Samuel’s mistakes with the mistakes Eli made with his two sons. Because of what Eli did, the priesthood failed completely. However, this does not alter the fact that the prophet Samuel also makes such a mistake. He too does not see the mistakes of his sons. There is always the danger that we will easily perceive the mistakes of others, while equally easily overlooking the mistakes of our own children.

We may wonder why such a God-fearing father has such bad sons. Could that be because of his many trips and therefore his long absence? God’s Word does not express itself about it. We find more often, both in Scripture and in daily life, that God-fearing parents have children who do not follow in the footsteps of their parents’ faith. It is not always clear why. In any case, let us be cautious in criticizing the education.

The sins of Samuel’s sons are threefold.

1. They turn aside after dishonest gain. God’s Word warns those who care for God’s people not to seek financial gain (1Pet 5:2).

2. They take bribes. As a result, their jurisdiction does not become a fair one. The best-paying or most bidding person is right.

3. As a result of the two preceding points, they pervert justice.

By this practice they show the features of a wicked man (Pro 17:23; Exo 23:6 ; 8; Deu 16:18-20).

The People Want a King

The desire to have a king is expressed by “all the elders of Israel”. The leaders, the fathers of the people, lead the people. Wisdom is not always to be found with the older, as Elihu says: “The abundant [in years] may not be wise, nor may elders understand justice” (Job 32:9). It is a general wish. In the wickedness of Samuel’s sons, the people found an excuse to desire a king. To give a reason for their desire for a king, the people misused Samuel’s mistake in the appraisal of his sons. It is proof that they are blind to their own failure and to the fact that a king will not do better. In 1Sam 8:7 the LORD says what the real reason is, and this is that they no longer want to listen to Him.

This is also the real reason for introducing all kinds of offices into professing Christianity. Religious man wants visible dominion. The invisible guidance of the Holy Spirit does not meet the wishes of man. Man must be able to point to a qualified pastor or a pope with his staff. The church must learn from business. The church has become a business that has to be run. There is a product that needs to be sold.

Things must be recognizable to all people, to believers and unbelievers. The unseen God is too far away and must be brought closer, made tangible, perceptible to man’s senses. You must be able to smell, hear, see, and experience Him.

The elders substantiate their request for a king with two arguments. The first is that Samuel is old, and the second is that his sons are bad. If these were real arguments, they should have complained earlier about Eli’s age, who was much older, and about the behavior of his sons, who were much worse. We do not hear that they have ever complained about that. Therefore, these are worthless reasons. If you want something, you will always find a reason.

It has been calculated that Samuel must have been here between sixty and seventy years old. Then you are at an advanced age, but not really old. There is no evidence that he became forgetful or began to show other signs of old age. He was still powerful. This becomes clear when he later hews Agag with the sword to pieces (1Sam 15:33). There is a third reason why the people want a king. That will come to light later (1Sam 12:12).

The desire to have a king is not wrong in itself. God wants to give His people a king, they may even ask for it (Deu 17:14-20). But the people want one according to their own taste, to be able to compete with the nations. They do not want a king who reveals to them the will of God and rules according to His will. Nor do they want to wait for God’s time and God’s choice. They want a king and they want him now. Therefore their question here is wrong and not according to God’s will. It is not only about what one asks, but with what intension and in what mind. They want something visible, something for which they can prostrate.

Their desire stems from what they see in the nations around them. They want to be “just like all the nations”. The nations have a king, so they also want a king. This word must have been particularly painful for the LORD because He separated them from all other nations to be His people, a people that proclaims His excellencies. It is their fame that they are not like the other nations (Num 23:9).

Samuel Must Listen to the People

The LORD’s answer in 1Sam 8:7 gives reason to think that Samuel’s personal feelings have been hurt and that he does not like the people’s request. Yet that is only a guess. If there is any hurt at all, Samuel does not let himself be led by it. He brings these things to the LORD. Samuel’s reaction is prayer. This may be the reaction for every disappointment that can happen to someone in life. He is the spiritual leader and is put aside, but he does not complain or sue the people – unlike Elijah (Rom 11:2b).

He does not feel offended either. A man with his spirit and mind can bear this. He has never sought himself. He has not claimed his position either. It is the position the LORD has given him. He did not suddenly appear as a prophet but grew in this position. Everyone has been able to observe his whole life. He also did not use the death of Eli and his sons to become the leader of the people. He has always waited for God’s time and God’s command. That the people reject this man is not to be excused.

The LORD soothes Samuel’s displeased feelings by reminding him of the people’s continued ingratitude to Him Himself. God therefore tells Samuel that by asking for a king like all nations, the people in fact reject Him as their King. God is wronged more by His people than they wrong Samuel. This answer of the LORD is also an encouragement to Samuel in case he should wonder if they reject him because he failed in some way. The spiritual minded person will first examine himself in such situations.

Samuel must listen to the voice of the people. He must show them what they ask, although they do not ask in accordance with God’s will. They need to learn what it is like to have a king to their own taste. Only when they have experienced this, God gives them the king to His heart. In the book of Hosea God comes back to their request here. There we hear that God has given them a king in His anger (Hos 13:10-11).

Listening to the voice of the people is democracy. We find this in politics and in the church. Nothing is more unclear and fickler than the will of the people (cf. Acts 19:32; Lk 23:23). If man absolutely wants something, God sometimes gives what he demands (Psa 106:15 ; Psa 78:26-31). Sometimes God withholds something in His love and sometimes He gives us something in His anger.

God tells how the people constantly rejected Him. Samuel is now gaining the same experience. The rebellion of the people has also proved itself in more than one occasion toward Moses and Aaron. The desire to have a king is the lowest point of centuries of dissatisfaction with the place where grace has brought them. In His grace God connects Samuel to Himself and lets him share in the reproach that the people have done to Him over and over again (cf. Mt 10:24; Jn 15:18 ; 20). Paul longed for such conformity to Christ (Phil 3:10-11).