UNROLL
Ramah at the end of the day: flat-roofed stone houses along a ridge, olive terraces below, and in the shadowed gateway an empty stone bench with an old man’s wooden staff leaning against it.

The Book of

1 Samuel 8

Samuel is old. His sons take bribes. And the elders want what every other nation has.

22 verses≈ 4 min2 peopleBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

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In this chapter

Where we are

  1. 1–7SamuelA boy who listened
  2. 8–15SaulA king like the nationsChapter 8
  3. 16–20David risesThe LORD looks at the heart
  4. 21–27David huntedThe anointed one waits
  5. 28–31Saul fallsEndor and Gilboa

Israel Demands a King

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So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.

The elders of Israel

“Look,” they said, “you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king to judge us like all the other nations.”

But when they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” their demand was displeasing in the sight of Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD.

God

And the LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you.

For it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their king.

1 Samuel 8:7

Just 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 their voice; but you must solemnly warn them and show them the manner of the king who will reign over them.”

Question

Quick question

Samuel made his two sons judges, far from his home at Ramah.

Where were Samuel’s sons judges?

Samuel’s Warning

So Samuel spoke all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king.

On a village threshing floor at harvest, a king’s steward with a tally stick watches his men scoop a share of a farmer’s grain into large storage jars on a donkey cart, while the farmer’s family stands silent.

The king will take

The manner of the king

  1. Sons

    Sons for his chariots

    He said, “This will be the manner of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them to serve his own chariots and horses, and to run in front of his chariots.

  2. Officers, plowmen, smiths

    He will appoint some for himself as commanders of thousands and of fifties, and others to plow his ground, to reap his harvest, and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.

  3. Daughters

    Daughters for his kitchens

    And he will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers.

  4. Land

    The best fields and groves

    He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his servants.

  5. Harvest

    A tenth of grain and grapes

    He will take a tenth of your grain and grape harvest and give it to his officials and servants.

  6. Household

    Servants, cattle and donkeys

    And he will take your menservants and maidservants and your best cattle and donkeys and put them to his own use.

  7. Flocks

    A tenth of the flocks

    He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves.

you yourselves will become his slaves

1 Samuel 8:17

When that day comes, you will beg for relief from the king you have chosen, but the LORD will not answer you on that day.”

Reflect

Like all the other nations

Israel wanted a king they could see, “like all the other nations,” someone to “fight our battles.” Samuel told them plainly what such a king would take. What do you lean on because it feels safer than trusting God? Write down what it quietly takes from you, and what it would look like to bring that to the LORD instead.

God Grants the Request

Before Ramah’s gate under a heavy gray sky, a great crowd of Israelite men with arms raised in clamor, seen from behind; small and alone at the top of the gate steps, old Samuel stands silent with his staff.

Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We must have a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to judge us, to go out before us, and to fight our battles.”

0:13

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

Night on the flat roof of a stone house at Ramah: old Samuel kneeling alone on a mat with his hands open, a single clay lamp beside him, dark hills and a sky of stars beyond.

Samuel listened to all the words of the people and repeated them in the hearing of the LORD.

God

“Listen to their voice,” the LORD said to Samuel. “Appoint a king for them.”

Samuel

Then Samuel told the men of Israel, “Everyone must go back to his city.”

Why a king?

reallystillSamuel is oldhis sons take bribes(8:3, 5)Fight ourbattlesa king to go outbefore us (8:20)Like thenationsthe heart of therequest (8:5, 20)Rejected Meas their king (8:7)The king willtakesons, fields, flocks(8:11–17)Yet a kinggiventhe LORD still answers(8:22)

Whiteboard

The elders gave reasons that were true: Samuel was old, and his sons did not walk in his ways. But the heart of it was “like all the other nations,” a king to “fight our battles.” The LORD named it for what it was: “they have rejected Me as their king.” He had Samuel warn them what such a king would take. And still He said, “Appoint a king for them.”

Pray

The LORD is King

Israel wanted a king they could see, and the LORD listened, warned them and stayed their God. Thank Him that He is King even when we want another. Thank Him that He heard Samuel’s prayers, and hears ours. Lord, I so easily trust what I can see. Fight my battles, rule my heart, and keep me from wanting to be like everyone else when You have made me Your own. Amen.

You’ve experienced

1 Samuel 8

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A verse to carry with you

Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you. For it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their king.

1 Samuel 8:7

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