They Asked for a King

By Dan & Brenda Cathcart

The video version is available at: https://youtu.be/AiTMSynnDJA

The scripture reading is 1 Samuel 11:14-12:22

When the children of Israel entered the land, they lived in tribal communities coming together only during the pilgrimage feast days three times a year. Each tribe had their own elders and leaders. During this nearly four hundred year period, the children of Israel repeatedly turned away from the LORD and worshiped other gods. God responded by allowing them to fall into the hands of their enemies. In their distress, Israel eventually repented and turned back to the LORD. Then, God would raise up a judge to deliver them and rule over them for the period of the judge’s lifespan. This cyclical pattern continued until the time of Samuel. Like so many of the judges’ sons before him, Samuel’s sons were corrupt and took bribes.  Further, there was yet another threat rising up against Israel. This time it was a resurgence of the Ammonites who were attacking from the east. Who would lead the children of Israel this time? It certainly wouldn’t be the sons of Samuel! How could Israel stop these constant infringements on their territory? How could they come together as more than a collection of tribes?

As the time of the judges of Israel comes to a close, we see that Israel was not united as God intended it to be. The second half of the book of Judges contains vignettes that illustrate this division. The book of Judges ends with this declaration in Judges 21:25:

Judges 21:25 NKJV 25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

The elders of Israel decided that they needed a new form of government. They decided that they needed a king who would rule over all the tribes of Israel.

1 Samuel 8:4-5 NKJV 4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5 and said to him, "Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations."

This was not the way it was supposed to be! God was supposed to be the king over Israel. They weren’t supposed to need a human king. In the Song of the Sea, Moses sings of God’s sovereignty over Israel.

Exodus 15:17-18 NKJV 17 You will bring them in and plant them In the mountain of Your inheritance, In the place, O LORD, which You have made For Your own dwelling, The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established. 18 "The LORD shall reign forever and ever."

Samuel understood the request for a king as a rejection of his own leadership, but God knew it as a rejection of Himself as king.

1 Samuel 8:7 NKJV 7 And the LORD said to Samuel, "Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.

God told Samuel to accept their request for a king, but to first warn them of the additional rules, taxes, and service that would be required of them under a human king. In spite of the warning, the elders insisted that they have a king like all the other nations.

1 Samuel 8:19-20 NKJV 19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, "No, but we will have a king over us, 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."

They wanted a king who would do three specific things for them, one who would judge them, go out before them and fight their battles. They thought that they needed a human king to lead them out in battle when God had always been the one to go out before them! In Joshua’s battles to take possession of the land, the battle was led by the priests whose job it was to blow the silver trumpets.

Numbers 10:8-9 NKJV 8 "The sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow the trumpets; and these shall be to you as an ordinance forever throughout your generations. 9 "When you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the LORD your God, and you will be saved from your enemies.

However, this did not seem to be a foolproof recipe for defeating their enemies. When Samuel’s predecessor Eli judged Israel, Eli’s sons along with the Ark of the Covenant led the battle against the Philistines. God’s hand was against Eli’s sons and the battle was lost. The Ark of the Covenant was taken captive by the Philistines. It was soon returned and eventually brought to Kirjath Jearim, a city on the border of the tribal lands between Benjamin and Judah. The ark remained there until it was taken into Jerusalem by King David. However, it seems that the tabernacle of Moses that was to house the Ark of the Covenant was at Gibeon.

1 Chronicles 21:29 NKJV 29 For the tabernacle of the LORD and the altar of the burnt offering, which Moses had made in the wilderness, were at that time at the high place in Gibeon.

At the time the elders of Israel asked for a king, the ark resided in Kirjath Jearim, the tabernacle with the altar of the burnt offering was in Gibeon and Samuel judged Israel from his hometown of Ramah where he had built an altar to the LORD!

1 Samuel 7:16-17 NKJV 16 He went from year to year on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all those places. 17 But he always returned to Ramah, for his home was there. There he judged Israel, and there he built an altar to the LORD.

The time was certainly right for changes! In fact, God had made provision for change to a central form of government. He had given Moses instructions about selecting a king.

Deuteronomy 17:14-15 NKJV 14 "When you come to the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, 'I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,' 15 "you shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.

However, Israel’s motivation for appointing a king over them was so that they would be like all the other nations! God called them to be a set apart nation with ways different than the ways of the nations around them. So, God gave them a king just like the kings of the other nations! God pointed Samuel to a man of the tribe of Benjamin named Saul. Saul’s name in Hebrew is “shaw-uwl,” #7586 meaning “asked.” The children of Israel asked for a king and God gave them “asked!” Saul’s outward appearance is everything anyone would expect of a king!

1 Samuel 9:1-2 NKJV 1 There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. 2 And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.

After being anointed by Samuel to lead Israel, Saul proved himself in battle against the Ammonites. At the end of the battle, he properly gave credit to God for the victory.

1 Samuel 11:13 NKJV 13 But Saul said, "Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the LORD has accomplished salvation in Israel."

It looked like Israel got exactly what they asked for, a king who would fight their battles for them! It was time to formally accept Saul as king and renew their covenant with God.

1 Samuel 11:14-15 NKJV 14 Then Samuel said to the people, "Come, let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there." 15 So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal. There they made sacrifices of peace offerings before the LORD, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.

The covenant renewal ceremony took place at Gilgal, the same place that the children of Israel renewed their covenant with God right after they crossed the Jordan River to come into the Promised Land. When the children of Israel crossed the Jordan River, they picked up twelve stones from the dry riverbed which they set up at Gilgal as a memorial that God dried up the waters of the Jordan River for them to cross on dry ground.

Joshua 4:20-24 NKJV 20 And those twelve stones which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up in Gilgal. 21 Then he spoke to the children of Israel, saying: "When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, 'What are these stones?' 22 "then you shall let your children know, saying, 'Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land'; 23 "for the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over, 24 "that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever."

The kingdom had now been officially established. Samuel had previously written all the provisions of the kingship in a book and laid it before the LORD.

1 Samuel 10:25 NKJV 25 Then Samuel explained to the people the behavior of royalty, and wrote it in a book and laid it up before the LORD. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.

At Gilgal, they brought the covenant sacrifices and established that there would be a king over Israel. This passage about the selection of Saul as king is the first place the word “kingdom” is associated with Israel! Although all the men of Israel rejoiced, Samuel was not happy! The men of Israel did not understand what they had given up by demanding a human king. Samuel begins to explain exactly what they had rejected by first establishing his credentials as a righteous leader.

1 Samuel 12:3 NKJV 3 "Here I am. Witness against me before the LORD and before His anointed: Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I received any bribe with which to blind my eyes? I will restore it to you."

These words are the same words that Moses spoke to God in response to Korah’s accusation that Moses was lording it over the people.

Numbers 16:15 NKJV 15 Then Moses was very angry, and said to the LORD, "Do not respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, nor have I hurt one of them."

After Samuel reminded Israel of his credentials, I can picture Samuel pointing to the twelve stones and reminding them of who their king was supposed to be!

1 Samuel 12:6-7 NKJV 6 Then Samuel said to the people, "It is the LORD who raised up Moses and Aaron, and who brought your fathers up from the land of Egypt. 7 "Now therefore, stand still, that I may reason with you before the LORD concerning all the righteous acts of the LORD which He did to you and your fathers:

Samuel proceeded to rehearse how God had acted for Israel right up until the present day. As Samuel was speaking, the men of Israel were convicted of their sin and cried out in repentance.

1 Samuel 12:10 NKJV 10 "Then they cried out to the LORD, and said, 'We have sinned, because we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and Ashtoreths; but now deliver us from the hand of our enemies, and we will serve You.'

Samuel continued to remind them that it was God who had given them Gideon, Deborah and Barak, Jepthah, and finally himself to deliver them out of the hands of their enemies. Then, the final condemnation was their demand for a king when the Ammonites threatened.

1 Samuel 12:12 NKJV 12 "And when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, 'No, but a king shall reign over us,' when the LORD your God was your king.

Their choice could not be taken back; the covenant ceremony had been completed; the book was written and presented before the LORD! They had to deal with the king they had asked for.

1 Samuel 12:13 NKJV 13 "Now therefore, here is the king whom you have chosen and whom you have desired. And take note, the LORD has set a king over you.

The word “desired” in this verse is number 7592, the root word of the name Saul, meaning to inquire, ask, demand, or desire. The new covenant requirements now included a king to whom they were accountable as well as being accountable to God.

1 Samuel 12:14-15 NKJV 14 "If you fear the LORD and serve Him and obey His voice, and do not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then both you and the king who reigns over you will continue following the LORD your God. 15 "However, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you, as it was against your fathers.

Then, to make the message memorable, Samuel turned to God and asked that He would send a sign of His displeasure.

1 Samuel 12:16-18 NKJV 16 "Now therefore, stand and see this great thing which the LORD will do before your eyes: 17 "Is today not the wheat harvest? I will call to the LORD, and He will send thunder and rain, that you may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking a king for yourselves." 18 So Samuel called to the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.

The time of the year was early June, the time of the wheat harvest. Rain usually fell in the early spring in March and April. Once the wheat harvest had begun, rain would damage the crops! This rain and thunder came out of season and must have had an effect on their food supply for the year. Further, the time of the wheat harvest is the time when God met with the children of Israel at Mt. Sinai. The word for thunder is “kol” number 6963 in Strong’s Concordance meaning to call aloud, a voice, or thunder. This is the same word used for the thunderings heard at Mt. Sinai. God was pleased with the people at Mt. Sinai, but was not pleased with the people at this ceremony at Gilgal.

The men of Israel began to recognize not only that they had sinned, but the magnitude of that sin and pleaded with Samuel to intercede for them.

1 Samuel 12:19 NKJV 19 And all the people said to Samuel, "Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, that we may not die; for we have added to all our sins the evil of asking a king for ourselves."

Samuel, like Moses before him, promised to continue to intercede for the people. Even though they rejected Samuel like they tried to reject Moses, Samuel did not abandon his anointed calling from God.

1 Samuel 12:23 NKJV 23 "Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and the right way.

Their rebellion did not nullify the covenant God made with them at Mt. Sinai. Samuel reiterates the promise that God had made to them while at Mt. Sinai.

1 Samuel 12:22 NKJV 22 "For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name's sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you His people.

The children of Israel are still His people that He had chosen from out of the nations to be a set apart people for Him! The covenant they made at Gilgal added the provision for a king. However, God’s specific covenant with Saul is a conditional covenant! If he turned away from following God, God’s hand would be against him.

1 Samuel 12:24-25 NKJV 24 "Only fear the LORD, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. 25 "But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king."

Saul was God’s anointed king. As long as Saul followed the LORD, the LORD was with him and he was victorious in battle. When Saul became proud and began to do things his way, when he cared more about his image before the people than his obedience before the LORD, God “swept him away.” David wrote about Saul’s demise.

1 Samuel 26:10 NKJV 10 David said furthermore, "As the LORD lives, the LORD shall strike him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall go out to battle and perish.

The word for “perish” in this verse is the same word translated as “swept away” in 1 Samuel 12:25. In God’s timing, He swept away Saul. However, the next king, David, received an unconditional covenant that his house would be established before God forever. Yeshua, our king and Messiah comes from the line of David. He is the king, who like God, will act in righteousness towards His people. Isaiah fifty three says that He is not handsome so that He would be outwardly desirable. Instead, He is a king who chooses to serve and protect His people. David wrote of the King.

Psalms 24:8-10 NKJV 8 Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, The LORD mighty in battle. 9 Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. 10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah

God gave the children of Israel the king they asked for in order to bring in the kingdom. His plan all along was to bring in the line of David from the tribe of Judah. God gave them what they asked for to show them that the king they really desired was Him. He is the one who judges righteously. He is the one who will lead His people in battle. He is the only one who can bring His people together as one.

Study Questions:

1. Discuss the connection of this teaching to the Torah Portion Korach Numbers 16:1-18:32.

2. What evidence is there that God was with Saul at least in the beginning? How did this change over time? Compare this with the situation when the ten tribes chose Jeroboam over Solomon’s son Rehoboam? What lesson can we learn from these examples?

3. This haftarah starts off with the instruction by Samuel to go to Gilgal to “renew the kingdom.” The word for renew is #2318 Chadash, the same word used in Jeremiah 31:33.  How is each situation both a renewing and a new covenant?

4. The kingdom of Israel first takes place when Saul is anointed king and Samuel writes the provisions for the kingdom in a book in 1 Samuel 10:25. Why was the step to a kingdom necessary?

5. How does this event at Gilgal compare to the events at Mt. Sinai? How does it compare to the events at Shavuot described in Acts 2? Why did Samuel choose Gilgal for this covenant ceremony?

6. What new insight did you gain from this teaching? How do you respond to this new insight? How will you realign your life based on this new understanding?

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