The question of whether it was wrong for the Israelites to ask for a king is a complex one that requires looking at the biblical context. In 1 Samuel 8, the elders of Israel approach Samuel and request a king to judge and lead them, like the other nations around them. Samuel is displeased and goes to God, who tells Samuel that by asking for a king the people have rejected God as their king. However, God tells Samuel to appoint a king for them anyway. This leads to the question – was it inherently wrong for Israel to desire a king?
There are several aspects to consider:
- God had intended for Israel to be different from the nations – they were to be a holy nation ruled directly by God, not an earthly king (Exodus 19:6). By asking for a king, they were in a sense conforming and rejecting the unique calling God had placed on them.
- The desire for a king stemmed from dissatisfaction with Samuel’s leadership and the leadership of his sons (1 Samuel 8:5). Instead of praying or seeking God’s will, the elders took matters into their own hands.
- The request seems motivated by fear and a lack of trust in God’s protection. The elders say they want a king “to govern us and go out before us and fight our battles” (1 Samuel 8:20). They were looking for security in a human king rather than God.
- Samuel warns the people that a king will take their sons, taxes and the best of their fields and servants (1 Samuel 8:11-18). The desire comes with a cost – servanthood to a human king.
At the same time, while the desire for a king showed a lack of faith and dissatisfaction with God’s plan, God does not reject the people entirely for asking. God had already predicted kings over Israel long before this (Genesis 17:16). The kingship was perhaps inevitable given the pattern of other nations. God allows the human desire for a king, while still asserting His ultimate kingship and plan.
Some additional factors to consider when evaluating this complex issue:
- While God clearly desired His own direct kingship over Israel, His plan ultimately was to one day send a divine king – Jesus – as Messiah. In that sense, Israel having a human kingship pointed toward and prepared the way for Christ as the true King.
- God worked through the subsequent kings of Israel – both good and bad – to accomplish His purposes. So God was able to use even a second best choice (like having a human king) to bring about His will.
- Asking for a king was perhaps less an outright rejection of God as it was a failure to embrace their calling to trust God and be led directly by Him as a holy nation.
In summary, while Israel’s demand for a king reflected a lack of faith and dissatisfaction with God’s original plan, God nevertheless worked through this choice to further His purposes. Their desire for a king was an imperfect choice stemming from fear and distrust, but it did not completely undermine God’s broader plan. God bore patiently with their weaknesses and still raised up important kings like David and Solomon. At the same time, the dangers and costs of a human kingship ultimately pointed Israel back to their need for God Himself as their ultimate King and Deliverer.
Israel’s Demand for an Earthly King
Israel had been guided by God Himself from their very beginnings as a nation. From the calling of Abraham to the Exodus from Egypt led by Moses, God had revealed Himself as their Deliverer and Lawgiver. Under Joshua, Israel was led to conquer the Promised Land. They were then led by a succession of judges whom God raised up to guide the people. This was meant to be a nation specially chosen by God to fulfill His purposes, led directly by His word.
But in 1 Samuel 8, the elders of Israel approached the judge Samuel with a bold request. Referring to Samuel’s sons who had begun judging Israel, they said “Now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have” (1 Samuel 8:5). Though Samuel is displeased, the Lord instructs him to listen to the people. Samuel warns them of the cost of having a king, but they refuse to listen and continue to demand a king. God ultimately tells Samuel “Listen to them and give them a king” (1 Samuel 8:22).
This was the first human king of Israel, as they had been led directly by God prior to this. Samuel’s warning reveals key reasons why this demand was ultimately problematic:
Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.” (1 Samuel 8:10-18)
Samuel makes it clear that this human kingship will be costly – it will create greater bureaucracy, administration, and extract wealth from the people. But ultimately, the biggest warning is that “you yourselves will become his slaves.” Rather than being subject directly to God, they would become subjects of a human king. This desire came with a hefty spiritual price tag.
Evaluating Israel’s Demand
Given God’s clear intentions for Israel to follow His direct rule and the stern warnings from Samuel, it seems on the surface that demanding a king was an outright rejection of God’s plan. Yet God does not dismiss their request entirely. This shows the complexity of evaluating whether Israel made a clear moral mistake or whether their request contained some nuance. There are several perspectives to consider:
1. Israel was rejecting God’s original ideal plan
Early in Israel’s history, God had expressed His ideal for Israel as a holy nation under His direct rule and authority:
“Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:5-6)
Rather than following in the pattern of other nations, Israel was called to model something special – a people ruled only by God, reflecting His holiness. Their request for a king contradicted this ideal plan and calling. In effect, they were conforming to the world rather than being set apart.
2. The request revealed dissatisfaction with God’s current leadership through Samuel
The immediacy of Israel’s request also reflects their frustration with the leadership of Samuel and specifically his sons who had begun judging Israel:
But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.” (1 Samuel 8:6-9)
Rather than pray and seek God’s will, Israel reacted hastily based on dissatisfaction with current leadership. Their rush to demand a king reflected rejection of both Samuel and God’s current provision.
3. It reflected fear and lack of trust in God’s protection
Beneath the request for a king was perhaps most fundamentally a failure to fully trust in God’s protection and ability to defend Israel:
“We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.” (1 Samuel 8:19-20)
They looked horizontally to the other nations who had visible human kings, rather than remembering how God had proven Himself faithful. This exposed their weak faith in God’s presence and power.
4. God worked through their disobedience and lack of faith
While Israel’s demand revealed key weaknesses and was less than God’s ideal, God does not utterly reject them or abandon His plan. Rather, He works through their disobedience to appoint Saul and eventually David as kings to unite the nation. Though flawed, these kings would help prepare the way for the coming of the ultimate King predicted to come through David’s lineage (Isaiah 9:7).
God bears patiently with Israel’s lack of faith, while still asserting His ultimate authority. After warning them through Samuel, God says “Listen to them and give them a king.” (1 Samuel 8:22). God acquiesces to their lower desire in order to continue working through their weaknesses and moving His redemptive plan forward.
Lessons and Principles
While Israel’s demand reveals key lapses in faith and obedience, there remain important lessons and principles that can be drawn from this complex situation:
- Following God’s ideal plan brings the greatest blessing and fruitfulness. When we disregard His design, it leads to greater complications and often painful consequences.
- Fear and dissatisfaction with current circumstances tempts us to hastily run ahead of God rather than waiting patiently for His timing and direction.
- God seeks to lead through patient love. When we fail and fall short, God works creatively through even our disobedience to accomplish His sovereign purposes.
- Our weakness is an opportunity for God’s strength. Israel would fail again and again with their kings, reminding them of their need for God as their true King.
- Long-range vision is key. While a human kingship seemed pragmatic in the moment, God had a greater plan to one day send an eternal King.
This complex moment in Israel’s history provides many lessons for those seeking to follow God’s leadership. It calls us to match Israel’s boldness in asking – but boldness for God’s ideal plan, not simply pragmatic solutions. Though we often fall short, God continues working patiently to bring about His purposes through our lives. Our weakness simply reminds us of our need to depend fully on Him as our true King and Leader.
