Weekly Sunday School Lesson
God Grants Israel a King
Lesson Text: I Samuel 8:1-18
Related Scriptures: John 1 5:18-25; Deuteronomy 17:14-20; i Kings 21:1-16; Proverbs 1:20-33
TIME: 1043 B.C. PLACE: Ramah
GOLDEN TEXT:
And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them" (1 Samuel 8:7).
Introduction
Have you ever known a good leader with a blind spot? How about a good leader with a blind spot when it comes to his or her children? Few leaders in the Bible exceeded the spiritual integrity of the prophet, priest, judge, and kingmaker Samuel. Even this great leader, however, was not perfect.
Samuel seems to have blundered in making his sons judges over Israel, but the way the nation responded was also flawed. Specifically, the motivation they provided for wanting to have a king was a problem. How would God respond to His people sinning and rejecting Him?
LESSON OUTLINE
1. Israel's Political Setting—I Sam. 8:1-3
2. Israel's Political Request—I Sam. 8:4-5
3. Israel's Political Idolatry—I Sam. 8:6-9
4. Israel's Political Warning—I Sam. 8:10-18
Exposition: Verse by Verse
ISRAEL'S POLITICAL SETTING 1 SAM. 8
1 And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.
2 Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba.
3 And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.
Seemingly Samuel's only major blunder came in his old age when he appointed his crooked sons as judges. Maybe they did not show-signs of spiritual unfaithfulness until after they were appointed as judges. The Bible never says, however, that Samuel sought to correct their destructive behavior.
{Samuel's decision to appoint his sons as judges is suspicious for two reasons. First, Samuel's decision broke the leadership trend of the period. The book of Judges describes God taking the initiative to raise up judges rather than making it a hereditary affair. Deuteronomy 16:18 explains how to appoint judges, so the issue was not about whether Samuel should appoint them but rather that he chose his sons.
Only two other judges were succeeded by their sons. Gideon's son Abimelech brought disaster and bloodshed to Israel in Judges 9. Judges 10:4-5 may suggest that Jair tried to make his sons his successors, but the text does not specify how it worked out. At best, Samuel's decision to appoint his sons as judges is strange.
Second, Samuel's blind spot was similar to that of his priestly mentor Eli. He too had two sons that abused positions of leadership—something that led to God's discipline on him and his sons (cf. 1 Sam. 2:31. )}Q1 Interestingly, the text never records God rebuking Samuel for his sons' destructive leadership. Whether Samuel should have known not to appoint his sons as judges or not, it led to a painful situation for those under their leadership.
{Samuel's sons, Joel and Abijah, were indicted for four reasons. First, they did not follow the leadership example of their father. They could not claim ignorance, for they were raised by one of Israel's best leaders. Second, they profited dishonestly from their position of leadership. The Hebrew word for "lucre" in 1 Samuel is also used in Exodus 18:21 ("covetousness") when Jethro recommended that Moses delegate judicial responsibility to other leaders. Jethro warned that leaders needed to hate the idea of using their position for profit. The next two indictments alluded to Deuteronomy 16:18-20, which gave guidelines for Israelite judges and governing leaders.
Third, Joel and Abijah took payment for their verdicts. Deuteronomy 1 6:19 explains that to do that would ruin the leader's perception of right and wrong and make Israel a difficult place to do the right thing. Fourth, Joel and Abijah made a mockery of justice.)Q2 Because of their desire to gain by bribes, they twisted justice to line their pockets. Deuteronomy 1 6:20 warned that this kind of leadership jeopardizes the nation. Joel and Abijah's judgments were malleable, but God's judgment is not. The writer graded them against Deuteronomy, and they failed.
ISRAEL'S POLITICAL REQUEST
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah,
5 And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
{Even though Samuel's sons were causing trouble in one of Israel's southernmost towns, Beersheba, the outcry made it to the nation's elders. The damage must have been significant. That is one reason the elders gave for their request. The other was Samuel's age. He could not lead them forever. So far, these were good reasons to want to explore another leadership structure. Judges 2:19 and 21 :25 explains the role of bad leadership in Israel's continual cycles of sin, so it was reasonable to conclude that Samuel's successors could lead to deteriorating national health.}Q4
Necessary ends do not guarantee righteous motivations and means, though. {The narrator laid breadcrumbs for readers of this passage that demonstrate the detrimental flaw in the Israelite elders' request. In 1 Samuel 8:5, the elders' request ended with the phrase "like all the This exact phrase occurs in Deuteronomy 17:14, which begins the code or charter of kings.
Through Moses, the Lord had regulated kingship with six rules in Deuteronomy 17:14-20. {First, the king must be an Israelite. Second, the king must not amass horses. That would tempt idolatry of military power. Third, the king must not form an economic alliance with Egypt. That would be tantamount to reversing the exodus. Fourth, the king must not amass wives. That would lead him to idolatry (as it did for Solomon). Fifth, the king must not amass wealth. That would tempt idolatry of money. Sixth, he must copy, read, and obey the book of Deuteronomy.)Q5 That would help ensure conviction and humility before God and the people.
All. six rules can be summarized in one phrase: kings must not be like all nations. The writer of Samuel emphasized that Israel's elders were disregarding Moses' warning. Notice that the narrator assessed judges like Samuel's sons and would-be kings with the same plumbline: Deuteronomy. The Lord Jesus thrice quoted Deuteronomy when tempted to misuse His divine, kingly power by the devil (Matt. 4:1-11)!
Why did Moses care so much to avoid Israel's monarchy being like all the nations? The answer probably lies in the mission God gave Israel. Exodus 19:5-6 explains that obeying the Lord's covenant would enable Israel to be different from the nations—the opposite of being like all the nations—so that they could be a set-apart priestly nation representing the Lord to the nations. Samuel recognized in the elders' request a rejection and inversion of Israel's mission. Rather than being set apart to witness to the nations, Israel wanted to be like the nations.
ISRAEL'S POLITICAL IDOLATRY
6 But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD.
7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.
9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.
Since Samuel was Israel’s final judge, Israel still existed in the era characterized by people doing what seemed right in their own eyes (Judg. 176; 21:25). The elders of Israel in 1 Samuel 8 were following the same trend and making political decisions that seemed right in their eyes. Unlike the last few judges, Samuel provided a masterclass in making sure one's moral compass is tuned by God. The elders' request displeased Samuel. But rather than letting his perception have the final word the way Israel was doing, Samuel submitted his moral compass to the Lord. Instead of lashing out at the Israelite elders, Samuel took his offense to the Lord in prayer. First Samuel 12:23 reveals that praying for Israel was a core conviction for Samuel. He believed it would be a sin not to do so.
The Lord's reply to Samuel overflowed with tender care for the prophet. God bore the shame of rejection for Samuel, assuring the prophet that the twilight of his leadership had this spiritual problem at the root: God's kingship was not enough for Israel.
{First Samuel 8:6-9 may be the most important verses in the passage because they drill down to the heart of the matter. The next section (vss. 10-18) offers a stiff critique of misusing government power, but that is not the central issue. Verses 6-9 peel back the secondary issues such as political systems and authority structures to show the real The essence of idolatry is to seek from another source what should come from God, be it security, rest, significance, provision, or salvation. Sure, 1 and 2 Kings detail how the monarchy would lead to more and more idolatry; but before those developments, the Israelite elders' rejection of the Lord's kingship was itself an act of idolatry. .)Q6
To demonstrate the idolatrous nature of the Israelite elders' request, the Lord described how it continued a history of idolatry. That was not just an Israelite problem but a worldwide problem. The Israelites proved the worldwide rule that sinners reject the Lord's rightful rule over their lives. Ever since the nation's inception, Israel was unfaithful to Him. The golden calf incident of Exodus 32 demonstrated the Lord's point that from the beginning of Israel's covenant relationship with God, idolatry had nipped at their heels.
{God used two vivid words to describe the continuous history of Israelite idolatry in 1 Samuel 8:8. The first word can be translated as "abandon," or "forsake. "Israel’s covenant with God contained commitments, as the ones described in Deuteronomy 6:4-5. The Israelite refusal to fulfill those commitments was tantamount to forsaking God. The good news is that God does not abandon those who trust Him. The second word that describes Israelite idolatry is usually translated as "serve" but can also connote worship when it refers to God or idols.}Q7
The Israelite elders were not bowing down to an idol, but they Were trusting a political system rather than God. They were paving the way for a monarchy characterized by idolatry. Graciously, the Lord charged Samuel to warn the Israelite elders of what life would be like when their misguided request was granted. Warnings like this can function as kindness to God's people and simultaneously be a witness to them. Now they could not claim they did not know what the monarchy would yield in their shared national' life.
Samuel's warnings in the next section of the passage explains how kings in all the nations treated their underlings. The Lord told Samuel to explain what the text calls "the manner of the king" (1 Sam. 8:9). This is an apt description but contains irony. The Israelite elders were fed up with the lack of justice from Samuel's sons. They were willing to trade it for a more demanding and corruptible kingly justice.
ISRAEL'S POLITICAL WARNING
10 And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king.
11 And he said, This will e the manner of the king that shall Feign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.
12 And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.
13 And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers,
14 And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.
15 And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.
16 And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.
17 He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.
18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.
What would the manner of the king mean for Israel? {Three keywords dominated Samuel's description: "take," "appoint," and "your." Four times, Samuel described what the king would take. "Appoint" occurs two times in the passage to describe what the king would do with the resources he would take. The word “your" implies the impact of the king's taking on the people and wealth of Israelite families.
Deuteronomy 17:14-20 decrees six rules for Israelite kings. Three of them guarded against taking. So, Samuel was not describing kingship as it should be but as it would be when sinful men received royal power.} Q8 Samuel likely would have agreed with the maxim that power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
{Samuel's warning covered four areas of royal life. First, kings would take Israel's sons for military purposes. In 2 Samuel 11, even good King David would let the sons of Israel fight while he sat at home. Second, kings would take Israel's sons and daughters for agricultural, palace, and general labor. King Solomon was notorious for using forced labor to support his ambitious building projects (1 Kgs. 9:15). Third, kings would take land from Israelite citizens. The most notorious instance of this occurred in 1 Kings 21 with the murderous theft of Naboth's vineyard. Fourth, kings would take wealth from Israelite people by taxing their produce and animals.}Q9 Again, King Solomon filled his lavish royal table by rotating through food cultivated in his twelve national districts (4:7, 22).
Samuel's waring list was tame compared to what else Israelite kings would take. King David would take another man's wife. King Manasseh would take innocent lives (2 Kgs. 21:16). The examples from David's and Solomon's reigns show that even good kings would do the things described by Samuel. {Samuel concluded his chilling warning by describing the outcome that Israel would cry out in pain.}Q10 Perhaps the best example of this collective cry comes in 1 Kings 12, when Israel begged King Rehoboam not to take as much as his father, Solomon, had taken from them. Sadly, he resolved to take even more from the people!
Samuel's description of the people crying out to God in pain sounds like what they often did in the era of the judges when foreign kings oppressed them. Unlike the time of the judges, when God overthrew the foreign oppressors, He would allow the Israelite monarchy to continue for several centuries. When the monarchy eventually crumbled, Israel would see that the King of Kings never abandoned them.
QUESTIONS
1. What are two reasons Samuel's decision to appoint his sons over Israel is suspicious?
2. What four things were Samuel's sons indicted for?
3. What reasons did the elders want to explore another leadership structure?
4. What was wrong with the elders' request?
5. What six rules for kings are found in Deuteronomy 17?
6. What primary issue does 1 Samuel 6. 8:6-9 reveal?
7. What two words did God use to describe Israel's idolatry?
8. What forbidden action did Samuel emphasize kings would perform?
9. What four areas of life did Samuel warn about?
10. How did Samuel conclude his warning?
Preparing to Teach the Lesson
Imagine you have worked for someone day after day for years, sacrificing your own wants to help the person. Then one day, that person approaches you and says, "You are no longer good enough. I want someone different." In today's passage, 1 Samuel 8:1-18, that was the attitude of the Israelites toward God. Despite their rejection of Him, however, we see God's mercy in response. God is slow to anger, and even when we deserve judgment, He is gracious to continue drawing us back to Himself.
TODAY'S AIM
Facts: to know what happened when the Israelites demanded a king.
Principle: to understand that, although the Israelites request was sinful, God was merciful and used their sin for good.
Application: to examine our own sinful desires in which we seek control and to surrender those desires to God.
INTRODUCING THE LESSON
As the history of the Israelites progressed, they became more established as a nation. At first, they were simply wanderers, a disorganized family group (Deut. 26:5). God multiplied them in Egypt, and they left Egypt as a more unified people group under Moses and Aaron's leadership. Settling in the Promised Land made them more like a nation under the guidance of judges.
Those judges were more like military leaders than anything else. God raised them up to deliver His people when they sinned and their enemies oppressed them. Samuel was the last of the judges, a transitional figure who functioned as a prophet, a judge, and almost as a king. At this point in Israel's history, we find them on the cusp of kingship, ready to take the next step (a step allowed by the Torah) (cf. Deut. 1 7:14-20). However, there was a problem. Their desire for a human king led them to reject God.
DEVELOPING THE LESSON
1. The people ask for a king (1 Sam. 8:1-5).
As Samuel neared the end of his life, it was natural for the Israelites to look for his successor. However, Samuel's two sons, whom he had appointed as judges in his stead, were ungodly. Because of this, the elders of Israel approached Samuel and requested a king to judge them, a king like those of the other nations.
The sinfulness of the Israelites' request did not lie in their desire for a king in general. By setting up his sons as judges after him, Samuel was taking a step toward kingship. In addition, the book of Judges consistently mentions the lack of a king as one of the reasons why the Israelites did what was right in their own eyes (17:6; 18:1; 19: 1; 21:25). A good, godly king would have advanced the nation of Israel and drawn them closer to the true King. But the Israelites wanted a king like the nations visible, one whom they could control or influence.
2. God grants the people a king (1 Sam. 8:6-9).
Although the people had rejected Samuel, that was not the main problem. Instead, they had reject ed God, who had guided their fathers and rescued them from Egypt. This was no new attitude—the people had been rejecting God consistently, even in the land of Egypt, worshipping false gods and bringing those idols along with them in the wilderness.
To put it simply, the Israelites did not trust God. They forgot that God's presence with them made them a distinct people and that He was the one who fought their battles. They did not need a visible king to make decisions for them.
Despite the Israelites' lack of trust, God showed His mercy to them again, and He told Samuel to grant their request. This would be an act of mercy and judgment—mercy because God was still guiding His people and judgment because the kings would act in worldly ways to harm the people out of self-interest.
3. Samuel warns the people about the king (1 Sam. 8:10-18).
Having conceded the request for a king, God told Samuel to warn the people •about what would happen. Instead of being only under the just leadership of the rightful King. the people would experience injustice just as the subjects of kings in other nations did. The kings of Israel would take the best of the people for their service, would exact heavy taxes in various forms, and would subject the people to bondage.
We find this very problem just three kings in. Solomon, a great and powerful king, was a harsh taskmaster (1 Kgs. 12:34). His leadership was a far cry from the ideal kingship mentioned in Deuteronomy 17:14-20. A godly king was to avoid getting horses from Egypt (military might) since the Lord had delivered them out of Egypt. A godly king was to avoid marrying many wives (making foreign political alliances) since they would lead his heart astray to false gods. A godly king was to avoid ac7 cumulating excessive wealth since the Lord was the provider. A godly king Was to write a copy of the law and meditate on it, ensuring his heart was steadfast to God. Solomon broke all of these, and the nation split after his reign.
Sin destroyed the kings of Israel and the Israelites (1 Sam. 12:25), but that is not the end of the story. God did not leave us to suffer under sinful human kings but used the kingship to point to Bible Expositor and Illuminator His Son, Jesus, the true King (cf. Rev. 5:5). It is to Him we must •submit. In Him we find eternal mercy.
ILLUSTRATING THE LESSON
We must not succumb to our desire for control, crowning someone other than God as our ultimate leader. lnstead, we must worship Jesus as King, surrendering control to Him and asking for His mercy.
SURRENDER CONTROL TO GOD
TRUST IN SELF TRUST IN OTHERS TRUST IN JESUS
CONCLUDING THE LESSON
The Israelites sinned when they wanted a visible king like the other nations. Instead of submitting to God, they wanted visible leadership like the nations. Most of us do not live in a monarchy, yet we can fall into this same sin. We may put our trust exclusively in political leaders, expecting them to right all our perceived wrongs. We may simply put our trust in ourselves, seeking to be the "masters of our fate." Ask God to depose these idols from your heart and replace them with an increased desire to follow Him.
ANTICIPATING THE NEXT LESSON
In lesson 5, we will begin a new unit on God's promises. Despite our faithlessness, God is always faithful to His promises. —Katherine Robinson
PRACTICAL POINTS
1. Godly parents do not guarantee godly children (1 Sam. 8:1-3).
2. One can rightly identify a problem or even a solution but have bad motives (vss. 4-5).
3. When we are frustrated, we should take our frustrations to God (vs. 6).
4. People may reject us if we faithfully represent God (vss. 7-9).
5. We must faithfully represent God even to those who will not listen (vs. 10).
6. Ungodly leadership is marked by taking, not serving (vss. 11-17).
7. God's people sometimes follow sinful paths that hinder their prayers (1 Sam. 8:18, cf. Isa. 59:1-2). —Tom Greene
RESEARCH AND DISCUSSION
1. How often is familial succession in leadership successful?
2. What are some challenges of familial succession in leadership?
3. Do motivations matter if we want something the Lord promised?
4. Why does God sometimes give people their unrighteous desires?
5. What is the right place of government in a Christian worldview?
6. How is a Christian view of government different from or similar to the Old Testament nation of Israel?
7. Are things like taxation always wrong (cf. Matt. 22:15-22)?
8. Are forms of government (monarchy, democracy, republic) morally neutral?
9. Are the prayers of Christians today ever hindered by sins?
ILLUSTRATED HIGH POINTS
Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations (1 Sam. 8:5)
When Jesus' disciples squabbled over who was the greatest, He told them, "Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them" but that His kingdom is to be different (Matt. 20:25). Throughout history, pagan rulers have exalted themselves at the expense of their subjects. It may be more subtle today, but unjust governments still oppress the needy. Sinful humanity consistently elevates itself at the expense of others.
He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen (vs. 11)
In the twentieth century, every war that involved a draft had at least some people avoid the draft. Famously, the Vietnam War generated hundreds of thousands of "draft dodgers." Some fled the country, others hid, and some conscientiously accepted jail time. Forcing people to fight a war they do not believe in can be traumatic, yet the kings of Israel would do that.
And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall fi have chosen you (vs. 18)
A few years ago, a song by an unknown musician hit number one on the music charts, lamenting greedy politicians and decrying the state of politics. Throughout world history, the have been many rulers far worse than those the song decries. In Exodus, the people of Israel cried out because the Egyptian pharaoh. In Judges, that cried out because of the surrounding nations. But one day, just as the nations did, they would cry out because of their own rulers. Tom Greene
Rev. Poleon L. Griffin
3057 Havenwood Way
Lithonia, Ga. 30038
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