1 Samuel 8
22 verses
In Samuel's old age, the people demand a king ('to judge us like all other nations,' 8:5)—a request that Samuel interprets as a rejection of the LORD's direct kingship ('They have rejected me as their king,' 8:7) and which the LORD grants while warning of the consequences: a king will conscript sons as soldiers, daughters as servants, levy taxes, and appropriate property (8:11-18), establishing a human monarchy that replicates and mirrors the rule of the pagan nations. Samuel's warning is precisely the inverse of covenantal kingship: where a theocratic ruler would govern by the LORD's word and statute, a human king will establish his own will and dominion, leading to servitude and loss. Yet the people insist: 'We want a king over us...then we shall be like all other nations' (8:19-20), prioritizing conformity to pagan norms over covenantal uniqueness, and the LORD authorizes Samuel to grant their request. The chapter introduces the central tension of 1 Samuel: Israel's desire for human kingship stands in fundamental tension with the theocratic covenant, and though the LORD will provide a king 'after his own heart' (David), the trajectory toward monarchy represents a compromise of Israel's covenantal identity.
VERSES IN THIS CHAPTER
1
And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.
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2
Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beer–sheba.
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3
And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.
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4
Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah,
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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.
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6
But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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10
And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people that asked of him a king.
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What a reminder that God's ways are not our ways. The promise here is not conditional on our strength but on His charact...
11
And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign 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.
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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.
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13
And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.
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14
And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.
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15
And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.
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16
And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.
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17
He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.
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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.
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19
Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;
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20
That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.
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21
And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the Lord.
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22
And the Lord said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city.
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