God’s warned us about Kings – but we don’t listen

For those of you who read the Bible, have you ever read 1 Samuel? It’s Old Testament. Far enough into it that many have stopped reading after all those laws in Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. But not well known enough to be a starting point like the famous prophets. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t important.

The adjacent AI image ¹the king image is AI generated art from: https://openart.ai depicts a modern fantasy king. And yet, the trappings are all too real. Huge throne of gold. Golden robes. A small golden crown on is head, but the appearance of a huge crown built into the throne.

As over the top as that is, it’s minor compared to what God actually warned about.

The people want a king

In 1 Samuel, God was still the King of Israel. Meanwhile, all the other nations had human kings.

Israel, for various reasons, thought they’d be better off without God as their king.

So, they went to Samuel, God’s prophet. Samuel went to God with the demand.

Samuel then passed on God’s warning about what would happen if they had a human king to replace God. Samuel then went back to the elders of Israel, gave them the warning from God – but they still insisted on having their own King.

In what turned out to be a case of “be careful what you ask for”, Samuel took that refusal to God, who told Samuel to “give them a king”.

That’s the high-level backdrop for what happen back in those days. However, more information is till need to properly understand what happened and why.

Who was Samuel?

Samuel was a man who had many roles during his lifetime. As far as I can remember, or can find through research, Samuel had more roles than any other person in the Bible. To get more details on Samuel, I asked the Faithlife/LOGOS AI agent to do some research through their eLibrary of Christian books.

My question was: What are the various roles that Samuel fulfilled for God & Israel, and what is the timing for them in his life, especially with respect to Israel wanting a King?

Here’s the response, along with some additional explanations from me.

Samuel’s ministry, from Faithlife/LOGOS AI Agent

Samuel’s ministry unfolded across distinct phases, each shaped by Israel’s spiritual and political circumstances. Early in his life, while still young, Samuel encountered God and received his initial prophetic calling¹. Following the death of Eli’s sons in battle against the Philistines, Samuel emerged as Israel’s religious leader². During this formative period, Samuel spearheaded a spiritual renewal centered at the Shiloh sanctuary¹.

¹ Holman Bible Editorial Staff, Holman Concise Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: B&H Books, 1997).
² Larry Richards, Every Man in the Bible (Nashville: T. Nelson, 1999), 108.

The thing is though – doesn’t it really come down to all the choices we make in our lives? God doesn’t force us to do anything in this life. People do illegal things so often, but only complain about the things that specifically impact them with little to no concern for the laws they like or ignore that are beneficial to someone else.

Notice this part: The success or failure of Samuel’s efforts were shaped by Israel’s spiritual and political circumstances. Of course, the tendency is to want to blame God. Or blame Samuel.

So let’s be honest about it. A leader, like Samuel, will only be as successful as the people he leads will allow.

Now, let’s move on to some of the things Samuel did during his time as religious leader.

Twenty years of unfaithfulness, from Faithlife/LOGOS AI Agent

After Eli and his sons died, Israel endured 20 years of national unfaithfulness and Philistine domination, until Samuel called the people to repentance and delivered them from foreign oppression¹. As the final judge, Samuel administered civil authority throughout Israel³, while he also functioned as a priest despite lacking Aaronic descent³, and established prophetic schools that would later shape Israel’s royal accountability³.

¹ Holman Bible Editorial Staff, Holman Concise Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: B&H Books, 1997).
³ Garnett Reid, Genesis–Esther, Broadening Your Biblical Horizons (Evangelical Training Association, 2009), 1:60.

OK – 20 years of national unfaithfulness and Philistine domination, until Samuel called the people to repentance and delivered them from foreign oppression. This is a reflection of something we read in the Old Testament so many times. God says to His people – “I will be your God and you will be my people”. That’s a promise for as long as they continue to follow Him. Then, when they turn away from God – and He “turns away from them”, in a sense. What He does is leave them to do what they want. Eventually, they always turn back and God’s their God again.

As we see, in spite of the efforts, Israel endured 20 years of national unfaithfulness and Philistine domination. The inclination is to blame it on Samuel, but if the people don’t listen, there’s no dictator type secret police or anything to force a behavior change. Others will blame God, but the reality of how things played out tells a different story. You see, contrary to what some/many think, God doesn’t force people to behave either. When we turn away from God, it takes time to turn back. It’s the way we are. The bottom line though is that we have choices, and we don’t always make good ones.

Next, let’s turn to the demand for a king. A human King.

The people demand a human king, from Faithlife/LOGOS AI Agent

The demand for monarchy marked the pivotal transition. The failures of Samuel’s own sons, combined with Philistine threats, prompted Israel’s elders to request a king “like all the nations”¹. Samuel correctly perceived this petition as a rejection of God’s direct rule¹. Before anointing Saul, Samuel warned Israel about monarchy’s costs—conscription, property seizure, and taxation¹. Samuel then documented the constitutional limits of kingship, establishing a standard by which later prophets would hold monarchs accountable¹.

¹ Holman Bible Editorial Staff, Holman Concise Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: B&H Books, 1997).

Now we see the end result of the twenty years of unfaithfulness. The people appear to think Samuel is the problem – that God’s seemingly not doing enough – and therefore that they need a king.

True – Samuel’s sons were a problem. But then, were they a product of the unfaithfulness, or did they cause it? We just don’t know. As often happens in the Bible, I have to believe there’s a reason we don’t know. If we’re told they caused the unfaithfulness problem, then we can feel justified for blaming the leadership and taking no blame ourselves. But then, if they were a product of it, then we can blame God for allowing it to happen, and ignore the reality that our free will choices made us what we are.

Also, maybe Samuel could’ve been a tougher leader. But then, he was a religious leader, not the government. Plus, if Samuel was tougher, the people would likely have rejected him as well for not allowing them to do what they wanted.

Finally, let’s turn to the last phase of Samuel’s responsibilities.

In his final phase, Samuel served as counselor to Saul during the early years of his reign². When Saul’s disobedience led God to reject his kingship, Samuel obediently anointed David as his successor¹. As Samuel advanced in age with the monarchy now established, he transitioned from active leadership while calling Israel to remember its covenant obligations⁴. Thus Samuel’s roles—prophet, priest, judge, and ultimately king-maker—evolved to shepherd Israel through its most fundamental institutional transformation.

¹ Holman Bible Editorial Staff, Holman Concise Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: B&H Books, 1997).
² Larry Richards, Every Man in the Bible (Nashville: T. Nelson, 1999), 108.
⁴ Bryan E. Beyer, “1 Samuel,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 426.

The final phases of Samuel’s service were certainly a mixed bag. In his final phase, Samuel served as counselor to Saul during the early years of his reign². When Saul’s disobedience led God to reject his kingship, Samuel obediently anointed David as his successor¹.

If you don’t remember, Saul was a complete disaster as the first human king. Then God led Saul to appoint David, the greatest king. But even he had problems – such as adultery and essentially the murder of the woman’s husband by way of battle commands.

And so, that’s the background on Samuel. At the same time, it also gives is a picture of the people.

To get a more complete picture, let’s also look at the culture of the time. We saw a bit of it, but need more information.

What was the cultural background at the time?

Once again, I did the research on the cultural at the time by way of the eLibrary Faithlife/LOGOS AI agent.

My questions was: What is the cultural backdrop for 1 Samuel where Israel wanted a human king?

Cultural backdrop, from Faithlife/LOGOS AI Agent

Israel’s request for a king emerged from converging pressures—both internal institutional failure and external military threat. The immediate catalyst was corruption within the judicial system: Samuel’s sons, whom he appointed as judges, accepted bribes and perverted justice¹, mirroring earlier scandals in the priesthood. Rather than a simple desire for new leadership, the population harbored broader frustration with the judge system, which had produced moral degeneration, social injustice, and political vulnerability². Without an established succession mechanism, each leadership transition created power vacuums that neighboring powers regularly exploited².

¹The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2019), 299–300.
² K. M. Heim, “Kings and Kingship,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books, ed. Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 617.

What shows up here is mirrors so many occurrences throughout human history. Notice: the population harbored broader frustration with the judge system, which had produced moral degeneration, social injustice, and political vulnerability.

The next entry shows more details on the situation.

External pressures (not God), from Faithlife/LOGOS AI Agent

Alongside these internal failures, Israel faced external pressures. During Samuel’s era, Israel achieved limited military success, likely stemming not only from Samuel’s leadership and divine intervention but also from population growth, which fostered increased self-confidence and desires for cultural self-assertion, economic independence, and political autonomy². In the broader Ancient Near Eastern context, kings were expected to provide both social justice and national security³—precisely what Israel believed a centralized monarchy could deliver.

² K. M. Heim, “Kings and Kingship,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books, ed. Bill T. Arnold and H. G. M. Williamson (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 617.
³ 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), 50–51.

We also have external pressures today as well. And that includes some self-inflicted pressures caused by, among other things, increased self-confidence and desires for cultural self-assertion, economic independence, and political autonomy. The demand for “things” – whatever those “things” happen to be, never seems to end. In the same way, the number of “things” demanded also grows. Even different froups demanding competing interests.

Therefore. the more people want, the more it costs. That cost includes money of course. But it also involves sacrifices above and beyond money.

The cost of rejecting God, from Faithlife/LOGOS AI Agent

Yet the request carried deeper theological significance. Israel wanted a king to ensure social justice and national security³, but the royal bureaucratic apparatus inevitably grows and requires subsidization, and as it accumulates power, it readily becomes oppressive³. God understood the demand as fundamentally a rejection of himself as their king¹. By demanding a king like other nations, Israel’s covenant community ignored God’s self-revelation, rejected his authority, and conformed to surrounding cultural patterns³. The transition from judges to monarchy thus represented not merely political reorganization but a watershed moment in Israel’s relationship with its divine sovereign.

¹The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2019), 299–300.
³ 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), 50–51.

Here is the big problem in a nutshell: Israel wanted a king to ensure social justice and national security³, but the royal bureaucratic apparatus inevitably grows and requires subsidization, and as it accumulates power, it readily becomes oppressive.

Having both is seemingly a pipe dream in this world. Plus, whichever way wins out, oppressiveness is still a result when the ruling power sees themselves as the solution to everything that matters – and what matters us their continuing power.

Summarizing Israel’s demand for a human king

The second phase of this article will be to look at the passage in 1 Samuel for comparisons to the world today.

Before we do that, the previous portion was a number of details, all adding up to what could be called an impossible situation. Competing sides with competing goals – and with groups ever more willing to take drastic measures to deliver for one of the sides. So, let’s check out a summary of all those details / supporting references and put them together.

Reflective Insight on how Israel got to the point of rejecting God

Israel’s demand for a king didn’t arise from a single failure but from a convergence of internal breakdown and external pressure. Samuel’s sons—appointed as judges—corrupted the legal system through bribery and injustice, echoing earlier priestly failures and exposing the fragility of Israel’s decentralized leadership. The judge system had no succession plan, so every transition created a power vacuum that neighboring nations exploited. After decades of spiritual drift, foreign domination, and inconsistent leadership, the people longed for stability, justice, and security. In the wider Ancient Near Eastern world, kings were expected to provide exactly those things, so Israel concluded that a centralized monarchy was the only path to national strength.

But beneath the political logic lay a deeper spiritual rupture. Israel wasn’t just asking for a king—they were asking for a king “like all the nations,” signaling a desire to trade covenant identity for cultural conformity. God interpreted the request as a rejection of His kingship, knowing that royal power inevitably expands, demands resources, and risks becoming oppressive. Samuel warned them of conscription, taxation, and the loss of personal freedoms, yet the people insisted. The moment marked a turning point: Israel shifted from a God‑led community to a human‑led monarchy, hoping political structure could deliver what only covenant faithfulness ever had. And the pattern is painfully familiar today—nations frustrated by institutional failure, anxious about external threats, and eager for strong leaders often repeat Israel’s move, placing their hopes in centralized power while overlooking the spiritual and moral costs that come with it.

And it’s at this point—where fear, frustration, and longing converge—that the biblical story picks up in 1 Samuel 8.

Israel asks for a King – U.S. gets a king

A problem with judges

Israel Asks for a King 🔍

Since the very beginning, the U.S. has had judges with different opinions. Primarily though, they used to be based on how the viewed the Constitution. For instance, the idea that anything that wasn’t in the document was given to the states to decide – yes or no. But decisions were usually based on law theories – not on who was making the request or what was in it for the judges. Of course – not always. But usually.

In my lifetime, which isn’t all that short anymore, I’ve never seen anything like the current state of the courts at all.

In these verses, “walking in your ways” is a reference to how Samuel followed God, but his sons don’t.

What about today? People who are give no evidence that they even try to follow Jesus are claiming to be Christian. Or even the best thing for religion since Jesus. And yet, the way they talk to people, about people, and treat people is very vary from what Jesus commanded.

Of course, this part cannot happen today, since people rejected God a long time ago. And those who occasionally try to set up a community or something “for God”, it turns out to be corrupt, a cult, human slavery, even child sex, and on and on.

And when it comes to leaders, there’s a reason for the saying about politics and religion making strange bedfellows. It’s just not possible, as Jesus said, to serve two masters. It’s going to be politics – or religion – or a mix of both that serves neither well at all.

For this post, I’ll just ask you to reflect on what you jest read. I will be writing about these things, but not in here. Today, the focus is really on showing that the issues of today aren’t because of God. They’re blamed on God because people who seemingly don’t know God at all claim to be working on His behalf, doing things for Him, doing “religious” things for us, etc. And yet – it cannot be true.

God warned is way back when His own chosen people rejected Him as their leader. The same warning applies to us. If we even took the time to read it, we know that.

But, have we learned anything from it?

Oops. did you catch that warning: When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day.

Yeah – maybe we’re in that day. But here’s the problem/question. Have we even called out to God? Or do we just keep calling out to another political party, another person promising something they know they can’t deliver, or just plain given up?

So, be careful what you ask for. And in this case, be careful of what God warned us about. And know that if/when we do call out – the reply may not be what we want.

Conclusion – God’s warned us about Kings – but we don’t listen

Do you know why we might not like it?

Because the only solution is to have God as the King.

And do you know when that’s going to happen?

If you’re not familiar with this passage, and/or don’t know what it’s talking about, it, OK.

If you want to know, and woo really should want to know, I invite you to check out the last book of the Bible. Revelation.

That’s when Jesus comes to return and rule the earth. At least, for those who want to be ruled by Him. There is another place for those who don’t want to be ruled by God.

That’s why I invite you to read Revelation. If you don’t like this world the way it is, and you still think people can make it better, it’s a book you really need to read.

Footnotes:

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  the king image is AI generated art from: https://openart.ai