1Sa 8:5-7 | TNotes | STEP | 8:5 you are now old, and your sons are not like you: Judges tended to be local leaders; kings, as national leaders, were more capable of uniting a whole nation in times of crisis (8:20 ). However, a spiritual problem underlay the request for a king (8:7-8 ). • Other nations, such as Egypt and Sumer, had monarchies for almost 2,000 years before Samuel’s time.

a8:5►

b8:20►

c8:7-8►

d8:6►

e8:7►

f8:7►

g2 Sam 7:8-17►

h1 Sam 12:1-17►

‏ 1 Samuel 8:5-7

8:5 ^a you are now old, and your sons are not like you: Judges tended to be local leaders; kings, as national leaders, were more capable of uniting a whole nation in times of crisis (8:20 ^b). However, a spiritual problem underlay the request for a king (8:7-8 ^c).

• Other nations, such as Egypt and Sumer, had monarchies for almost 2,000 years before Samuel’s time.
8:6 ^d Samuel was displeased: He probably felt personally rejected (8:7 ^e).
8:7 ^f Do everything they say: God rarely instructed a prophet to heed the voice of the errant populace. The will of the people and the will of God would converge in King David (see 2 Sam 7:8-17 ^g).

• they are rejecting me: Their rejection of judgeship was a deeper rejection of God’s rule and sovereignty (see also 1 Sam 12:1-17 ^h).