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Commentary on 1 Samuel 8 verses 4–22
We have here the starting of a matter perfectly new and surprising, which was the setting up of kingly government in Israel. Perhaps the thing had been often talked of among them by those that were given to change and affected that which looked great. But we do not find that it was ever till now publicly proposed and debated. Abimelech was little better than a titular king, though he is said to reign over Israel (Jdg 9:22), and perhaps his fall had for a great while rendered the title of king odious in Israel, as that of Tarquinius did among the Romans; but, if it had, by this time the odium was worn off, and some bold steps are here taken towards so great a revolution as that amounted to. Here is,
I. The address of the elders to Samuel in this matter (Sa1 8:4, Sa1 8:5): They gathered themselves together, by common consent; and not in a riotous tumultuous manner, but with the respect due to his character, they came to him to his house as Ramah with their address, which contained,
1.A remonstrance of their grievances: in short, Thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways. Many a fairer occasion that people had had to ask a king, when they were oppressed by their neighbours or embroiled at home for want of a king in Israel, but a small thing will serve factious spirits for a colour to desire a change. (1.) It was true that Samuel was old; but if that made him less able to ride the circuit, and sit long on the bench, yet it made him the more wise and experienced, and, upon that account, the fitter to rule. If he was old, had he not grown old in their service? And it was very unkind, ungrateful, nay, and unjust, to cast him off when he was old, who had spent his days in doing them good. God had saved his youth from being despicable (Sa1 3:20), yet they make his old age so, which should have been counted worthy of double honour. If old people be upbraided with their infirmities, and laid aside for them, let them not think it strange; Samuel himself was so. (2.) It was true that his sons did not walk in his ways; the more was his grief, but they could not say it was his fault: he had not, like Eli, indulged them in their badness, but was ready to receive complaints against them. And, if that had been the thing desired, we may well suppose, upon the making out of the charge of bribery against them he would have superseded their commissions and punished them. But this would not content the elders of Israel; they had another project in their head.
2.A petition for the redress of these grievances, by setting a king over them: Make us a king to judge us like all the nations. Thus far it was well, that they did not rise up in rebellion against Samuel and set up a king for themselves, vi et armis - by force; but they applied to Samuel, God's prophet, and humbly begged of him to do it. But it appears by what follows that it was an evil proposal and ill made, and was displeasing to God. God designed them a king, a man after his own heart, when Samuel was dead; but they would anticipate God's counsel, and would have one now that Samuel was old. They had a prophet to judge them, that had immediate correspondence with heaven, and therein they were great and happy above any nation, none having God so nigh unto them as they had, Deu 4:7. But this would not serve; they must have a king to judge them with external pomp and power, like all the nations. A poor prophet in a mantle, though conversant in the visions of the Almighty, looked mean in the eyes of those who judged by outward appearance; but a king in a purple robe, with his guards and officers of state, would look great: and such a one they must have. They knew it was in vain to court Samuel to take upon him the title and dignity of a king, but he must appoint them one. They do not say, "Give us a king that is wise and good, and will judge better than thy sons do," but, "Give us a king," any body that will but make a figure. Thus foolishly did they forsake their own mercies, and, under pretence of advancing the dignity of their nation to that of their neighbours, did really thrust themselves down from their own excellency, and profane their crown by casting it to the ground.
II. Samuel's resentment of this address, Sa1 8:6. Let us see how he took it. 1. It cut him to the heart. Probably it was a surprise to him, and he had not any intimation before of their design, which made it the more grievous. The thing displeased Samuel; not when they upbraided him with his own infirmities and his children's irregularities (he could patiently bear what reflected on himself and his own family), but it displeased him when they said, Give us a king to judge us, because that reflected upon God and his honour. 2. It drove him to his knees; he gave them no answer for the present, but took time to consider of what they proposed, and prayed unto the Lord for direction what to do, spreading the case before him and leaving it with him, and so making himself easy. Samuel was a man much in prayer, and we are encouraged in every thing to make our requests known to God, Phi 4:6. When any thing disturbs us, it is our interest, as well as our duty, to show before God our trouble, and he gives us leave to be humbly free with him.
III. The instruction God gave him concerning this matter. Those that in straits seek to God shall find him nigh unto them, and ready to direct them. He tells him,
1.That which would be an allay to his displeasure. Samuel was much disturbed at the proposal: it troubled him greatly to see his prophetic office thus slighted, and all the good turns he had done to Israel thus ungratefully returned; but God tells him he must not think it either hard or strange. (1.) He must not think it hard that they had put this slight upon him, for they had herein put a slight upon God himself: "They have not rejected thee only, but they have rejected me. I share with thee in the affront," Sa1 8:7. Note, If God interest himself in the indignities that are done us, and the contempts that are put upon us, we may well afford to bear them patiently; nor need we think the worse of ourselves if for his sake we bear reproach (Psa 69:7), but rather rejoice and count it an honour, Col 1:24. Samuel must not complain that they were weary of his government, though just and gentle, for really they were weary of God's government; this was what they disliked: They have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. God reigns over the heathen (Psa 47:8), over all the world, but the government of Israel had hitherto been, in a more peculiar manner than ever any government was, a Theocracy, a divine government; their judges had their call and commission immediately from God; the affairs of their nation were under his peculiar direction. As the constitution, so the administration of their government, was by Thus saith the Lord; this method they were weary of, though it was their honour and safety, above any thing, so long as they kept in with God. They were indeed so much the more exposed to calamities if they provoked God to anger by sin, and found they could not transgress at so cheap a rate as other nations could, which perhaps was the true reason why they desired to stand upon the same terms with God that other nations did. (2.) He must not think it strange, nor marvel at the matter, for they do as they always have done: According to all the works which they have done, since the day that I brought them out of Egypt, so do they unto thee, Sa1 8:8; They had at first been so very respectful and obsequious to Samuel that he began to hope they were cured of their old stubborn disposition; but now he found himself deceived in them, and must not be surprised at it. They had always been rude to their governors, witness Moses and Aaron; nay, They have forsaken me and served other gods; the greatness of their crime, in affecting new gods, may make this crime of affecting new governors seem little. Samuel might expect they would deal treacherously, for they were called transgressors from the womb, Isa 48:8. This had been their manner from their youth up, Jer 22:21.
2.He tells him that which would be an answer to their demand. Samuel would not have known what to say if God had not instructed him. Should he oppose the motion, it would bespeak a greater fondness of power and dominion than did become a prophet, and an indulgence of his sons. Should he yield to the motion, it would look like the betraying of his trust, and he would become accessory to all the bad consequences of a change. Aaron sinned in gratifying the people when they said, Make us gods; Samuel dares not therefore comply with them when they say, Make us a king, but he gives them, with assurance, the answer God sent them.
(1.)He must tell them that they shall have a king. Hearken to the voice of the people, Sa1 8:7, and again, Sa1 8:9. Not that God was pleased with their request, but, as sometimes he crosses us in love, so at other times he gratifies us in wrath; he did so here. When they said, Give us a king and princes he gave them a king in his anger (see Hos 13:10, Hos 13:11), as he gave them quails, Psa 106:15; Psa 78:29. God bade Samuel humour them in this matter, [1.] That they might be beaten with their own rod, and might feel, to their cost, the difference between his government and the government of a king; see Ch2 12:8. It soon appeared how much worse their condition was, in all respects, under Saul, than it had been under Samuel. [2.] To prevent something worse. If they were not gratified, they would either rise in rebellion against Samuel or universally revolt from their religion and admit the gods of the nations, that they might have kings like them. Rather than so, let them have a king. [3.] God knows how to bring glory to himself out of it, and to serve his own wise purposes even by their foolish counsels.
(2.)But he must tell them, withal, that when they have a king they will soon have enough of him, and will, when it is too late, repent of their choice. This he must protest solemnly to them (Sa1 8:9), that, if they would have a king to rule them, as the eastern kings ruled their subjects, they would find the yoke exceedingly heavy. They looked only at the pomp or magnificence of a king, and thought that would make their nation great and considerable among its neighbours, and would strike a terror upon their enemies; but he must bid them consider how they would like to bear the charges of that pomp, and how they would endure that arbitrary power which the neighbouring kings assumed. Note, Those that set their hearts inordinately upon any thing in this world ought, for the moderating of their desires, to consider the inconveniences as well as the conveniences that will attend it, and to set the one over against the other in their thoughts. Those that submit to the government of the world and the flesh are told plainly what hard masters they are, and what a tyranny the dominion of sin is; and yet they will exchange God's government for it.
IV. Samuel's faithful delivery of God's mind to them, Sa1 8:10. He told them all the words of the Lord, how ill he resented it, that he construed it a rejecting of him, and compared it with their serving other gods, - that he would grant their request if they insisted on it, but withal had ordered him to represent to them the certain consequences of their choice, that they would be such that if they had any reason left them, and would allow themselves to consult their own interest, they would withdraw their petition, and beg to continue as they were. Accordingly he lays before them, very particularly, what would be, not the right of a king in general, but the manner of the king that should reign over them, according to the pattern of the nations, Sa1 8:11. Samuel does not speak (as bishop Patrick expounds it) of a just and honest right of a king to do these things, for his right is quite otherwise described in that part of Moses's law which concerns the king's duty, but such a right as the kings of the nations had then acquired. This shall be the manner of the king, that is, "thus he must support his dignity at the expense of that which is dearest to you, and thus he will abuse his power, as those that have power are apt to do; and, having the militia in his hand, you will be under a necessity of submitting to him."
1.If they will have such a king as the nations have, let them consider, (1.) That king must have a great retinue, abundance of servants to wait on him, grooms to look after his chariots and horses, gentlemen to ride about with him, and footmen to run before his chariots. This is the chief grandeur of princes, and the imaginary glory of great men, to have a multitude of attendants. And whence must he have these? "Why, he will take your sons, who are free-born, have a liberal education, and whom you now have at your own disposal, and will appoint them for himself," Sa1 8:11. They must wait upon him, and be at his beck; those that used to work for their parents and themselves must work for him, ear his ground, and reap his harvest (Sa1 8:12), and count it their preferment too, Sa1 8:16. This would be a great change. (2.) He must keep a great table; he will not be content to dine with his neighbours upon a sacrifice, as Samuel used to do (Sa1 9:13); but he must have a variety of dainty dishes, forced meats, and sweet-meats, and delicate sauces; and who must prepare him these? "Why, he will take your daughters, the most ingenious and handy of them, whom you hoped to prefer to houses and tables of their own; and, whether you be willing or no, they must be his confectioners, and cooks, and bakers, and the like." (3.) "He must needs have a standing army, for guards and garrisons; and your sons, instead of being elders of your cities, and living in quiet and honour at home, must be captains over thousands and captains over fifties, and must be disposed of at the pleasure of the sovereign." (4.) "You may expect that he will have great favourites, whom, having dignified and ennobled, he must enrich, and give them estates suitable to their honour; and which way can he do that, but out of your inheritances? Sa1 8:14. He will take your fields and vineyards, which descended to you from your ancestors, and which you hoped to leave to your posterity after you, even the best of them; and will not only take them to himself (you could bear that better), but he will give them to his servants, who will be your masters, and bear rule over that for which you have laboured, How will you like that?" (5.) "He must have great revenues to maintain his grandeur and power with; and whence must he have them but from you? He will take the tenth of the fruits of your ground (Sa1 8:15), and your cattle, Sa1 8:17. You think the tenths, the double tenths, which the law of God has appointed for the support of the church, grievous enough, and grudge the payment of them; but, if you have a king, there must issue another tenth out of your estates, which will be levied with more rigour, for the support of the royal dignity. Consider the expense with the magnificence, and whether it will quit cost."
2.These would be their grievances, and, (1.) They would have none but God to complain to. Once they complained to the prince himself, and were answered, according to the manner of the king, Your yoke is heavy, and I will add to it, Kg1 12:11. (2.) When they complained to God he would not hear them, Sa1 8:18. Nor could they expect that he should, both because they had been deaf to his calls and admonitions, and this trouble, in particular, they had brought upon themselves by rejecting him, and would not believe when he told them what would come of it. Note, When we bring ourselves into distress by our own irregular desires and projects we justly forfeit the comfort of prayer and the benefit of divine aids, and, if God be not better to us than we deserve, must have our relief in our own hands, and then it is bad with us.
V. The people's obstinacy in their demand, Sa1 8:19, Sa1 8:20. One would think such a representation of the consequences as this was, coming from God himself, who can neither deceive by his word nor be deceived in his knowledge, should have prevailed with them to waive their request: but their hearts were upon it, right or wrong, good or evil: "We will have a king over us, whatever God or Samuel say to the contrary; we will have a king, whatever it cost us, and whatever inconvenience we bring upon ourselves or our posterity by it." See their folly. 1. They were quite deaf to reason and blind to their own interest. They could not answer Samuel's arguments against it, nor deny the force of them, and yet they grow more violent in their request, and more insolent. Before it was, "Pray, make us a king;" now it is, "Nay, but we will have a king; yea, that we will, because we will; nor will we bear to have any thing said against it." See the absurdity of inordinate desires, and how they rob men of their reason. 2. They could not stay God's time. God had intimated to them in the law that, in due time, Israel should have a king (Deu 17:14, Deu 17:15), and perhaps they had some intimation that the time was at hand; but they are all in haste: "We, in our day, will have this king over us." Could they but have waited ten or twelve years longer they would have had David, a king of God's giving in mercy, and all the calamities that attended the setting up of Saul would have been prevented. Sudden resolves and hasty desires make work for a long and leisurely repentance. 3. That which they aimed at in desiring a king was not only, as before, that they might be like the nations, and levelled with the one above whom God had so far advanced them, but that they might have one to judge them, and to go out before them when they took the field, and to fight their battles. Foolish people and unwise! Could they ever desire a battle better fought for them that the last was, by Samuel's prayer and God's thunder? Sa1 7:10. Was victory hereby too sure to them? And were they fond of trying the chance of war at the same uncertainty that others did? So sick, it seems, were they of their privileges: and what was the issue? Their first king was slain in a battle, which none of their judges ever were; so was Josiah, one of the last and best.
VI. The dismissing of them with an intimation that very shortly they should have what they asked. 1. Samuel rehearsed all their words in the ears of the Lord, v. 21. Not but that God perfectly knew it, without Samuel's report; but thus he dealt faithfully between God and Israel, as a prophet, returning the answer to him that sent him; and thus he waited on God for further direction. God is fully acquainted with the state of the case we are in care and doubt about, but he will know it from us. His rehearsing it in the ears of the Lord intimates that it was done in private; for the people were not disposed to join with him in prayer to God for direction in this matter; also it bespeaks a holy familiarity, to which God graciously admits his people: they speak in the ears of the Lord, as one friend whispers with another; their communion with God is meat they have to eat which the world knows not of, Joh 4:32. 2. God gave direction that they should have a king, since they were so inordinately set upon it (Sa1 8:22): "Make them a king, and let them make their best of him, and thank themselves if that very pomp and power which they are so eager to see their sovereign in be their plague and burden." So he gave them up to their own hearts' lusts. Samuel told them this, but sent them home for the present, every man to his city; for the designation of the person must be left to God; they had now no more to do. When God saw fit to notify the choice to Samuel they should hear further from him; in the mean time let them keep the peace and expect the issue.
Account these worthy to be esteemed your rulers and your kings, and bring them tribute as to kings; for by you they and their families ought to be maintained. As Samuel made constitutions for the people concerning a king [1 Samuel 8:11-18], in the first book of Kings, and Moses did so concerning priests in Leviticus, so do we also make constitutions for you concerning bishops. For if there the multitude distributed the inferior services in proportion to so great a king, ought not therefore the bishop much more now to receive of you those things which are determined by God for the sustenance of himself and of the rest of the clergy belonging to him? But if we may add somewhat further, let the bishop receive more than the other received of old: for he only managed the affairs of the soldiery, being entrusted with war and peace for the preservation of men's bodies; but the other is entrusted with the exercise of the priestly office in relation to God, in order to preserve both body and soul from dangers. By how much, therefore, the soul is more valuable than the body, so much the priestly office is beyond the kingly. For it binds and looses those that are worthy of punishment or of remission. Wherefore you ought to love the bishop as your father, and fear him as your king, and honour him as your lord, bringing to him your fruits and the works of your hands, for a blessing upon you, giving to him your first-fruits, and your tithes, and your oblations, and your gifts, as to the priest of God; the first-fruits of your wheat, and wine, and oil, and autumnal fruits, and wool, and all things which the Lord God gives you. And your offering shall be accepted as a savour of a sweet smell to the Lord your God; and the Lord will bless the works of your hands, and will multiply the good things of the land. "For a blessing is upon the head of him that gives." [Proverbs 11:26]
And you will cry out on that day from the face of your king, etc. This prophecy is clear, and until today, it continues to be fulfilled among the Jews; who, as it is written in the seventeenth Psalm: They will cry (and there is no one to save them) to the Lord, and He did not hear them. To whom the Lord says: I will not hear your prayers. For your hands are full of blood (Isa. I). Namely, the blood that they were calling down upon themselves in the choice of this wicked king by saying: His blood be upon us, and upon our children (Matt. XXVII). Let them wash this off with the water of baptism, and they will cry out to the Lord from their tribulation, and He will deliver them from their necessities (Psalm CVI). Otherwise, they hear from the apostle James: You ask, and do not receive, because you ask wrongly (Acts IV). But even in the moral understanding, vices are difficult and conquered late, which for a long time lying down willingly, and voluntarily casting themselves down, had oppressed.
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SUMMARY
1 Samuel 8:18 delivers a profound and sobering prophecy to the Israelites, who, in rejecting God's direct rule, insisted on having a human king "like all the nations." This verse foretells a future day of severe distress and oppression under their self-chosen monarch, a day when their desperate cries for deliverance would tragically go unanswered by the LORD. It underscores the severe consequences of prioritizing human desires, worldly conformity, and self-will over divine wisdom and perfect governance, revealing that the very king they demanded would become the source of their anguish, and their pleas for relief would meet with divine silence as a direct consequence of their rebellious choice.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The verse employs several powerful literary devices to convey its solemn message. Foreshadowing is prominently used, as Samuel's prophecy paints a vivid and dire picture of future suffering that will directly result from Israel's present choice. This warning serves as a premonition of the oppression, injustice, and anguish that many of Israel's future kings would indeed inflict upon the people, culminating in the division of the kingdom and subsequent exiles. Irony is also powerfully at play: the very king they desire for security, stability, and national prestige will become the source of their deepest oppression and distress. Furthermore, their cries for help, usually directed to the God who miraculously delivered them from Egypt and sustained them, will now be met with silence from that same God, highlighting the tragic reversal of their fortunes due to their misguided choice. Finally, the entire verse functions as a Prophecy, a divinely inspired declaration of future events and their consequences. This serves both as a severe warning to Israel and as a profound demonstration of God's foreknowledge and sovereign control over history, even when His people deviate from His perfect will, allowing them to experience the natural outcome of their rebellion.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
1 Samuel 8:18 stands as a stark theological declaration about the nature of divine sovereignty, human responsibility, and the profound consequences of rejecting God's perfect will. It teaches that while God grants humanity the freedom to choose, those choices have immense spiritual and practical ramifications. When humanity insists on a path contrary to divine wisdom, even when clearly warned, God may, in His sovereign justice and pedagogical wisdom, allow them to experience the full weight of their self-chosen consequences, including a temporary withholding of His immediate intervention in their distress. This is not an act of divine indifference or a lack of compassion, but often a form of severe divine discipline, designed to teach the profound lesson that true security, well-being, and flourishing are found only in humble submission to God's benevolent rule, not in reliance on human systems, worldly conformity, or the pursuit of self-will.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
This ancient warning from 1 Samuel 8:18 resonates deeply with contemporary life, serving as a timeless cautionary tale for individuals and communities alike. It compels us to critically examine our motivations when making significant life choices, urging us to prioritize God's revealed will and wisdom over our own desires, popular opinion, or the allure of worldly norms. When we choose self-reliance, seeking solutions and security apart from God's guidance, we often invite hardship and regret, finding ourselves "crying out" under the weight of self-inflicted burdens. The sobering truth that "the LORD will not hear you in that day" is a powerful reminder that while God is infinitely merciful and patient, there are indeed consequences for persistent rebellion against His loving authority. It challenges us to cultivate a posture of humble submission, trusting that God's plan, though sometimes counter-intuitive to human wisdom, is always for our ultimate good and leads to true flourishing. Our choices have profound spiritual ramifications, and sometimes, the Lord allows us to experience the bitter fruit of our own decisions as a means of profound teaching and discipline, drawing us back to dependence on Him and revealing the emptiness of self-reliance.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Does "the LORD will not hear you" mean God stops caring about His people?
Answer: No, "the LORD will not hear you" does not imply that God ceases to care for His people or that His compassion is exhausted. Instead, it signifies a specific, deliberate divine response to their persistent rejection of His direct rule and their insistence on a human king. It means God will not intervene to deliver them from the very consequences of the choice they made against His explicit warning. This is often a form of divine discipline, allowing them to experience the natural and spiritual repercussions of their self-willed path, thereby teaching them the profound lesson that true security and well-being are found only in submission to His benevolent governance. Other passages, like Proverbs 1:28-31 and Isaiah 1:15, illustrate similar principles where God withholds His immediate response when His people have stubbornly rejected His wisdom or engaged in unrepentant sin. His ultimate purpose remains redemptive, even through allowing hardship, aiming to draw His people back to Himself.
Was it inherently wrong for Israel to have a king at all?
Answer: No, it was not inherently wrong for Israel to have a king. In fact, the Law of Moses, specifically Deuteronomy 17:14-20, anticipates and provides regulations for the establishment of a monarchy, indicating that kingship could be part of God's plan for Israel. The problem was not the institution of kingship itself, but Israel's motivation and timing. They demanded a king "like all the nations" (1 Samuel 8:5), rejecting God as their direct ruler (1 Samuel 8:7) and seeking a visible leader out of a lack of faith and a desire for worldly conformity, rather than waiting for God's appointed time and chosen leader. Their choice was a rejection of theocracy and a demonstration of distrust in God's provision, not just a request for a new form of governance.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
The warning in 1 Samuel 8:18, forecasting the oppressive reign of a human king and God's silence in the face of their cries, powerfully foreshadows the ultimate failure of all human kingship and the profound, desperate need for a divine, perfect King. Israel's self-chosen king would bring them bondage and unanswered prayers, illustrating humanity's pervasive tendency to choose self-rule and worldly conformity over God's perfect reign, leading inevitably to suffering and alienation. This brokenness and the futility of human-centered governance point directly to Jesus Christ, the true King of Israel and the world, who does not oppress but liberates. Unlike the kings who would "take" from their people, Jesus came "not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28). He is the King who hears the cries of His people, not turning a deaf ear, but inviting all who are weary and burdened to find rest in Him (Matthew 11:28-30). He is the empathetic High Priest who understands our weaknesses and intercedes for us, enabling us to "approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Hebrews 4:15-16). The silent heavens of 1 Samuel 8:18 are shattered by the Incarnation, where God Himself dwells among us, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16), fulfills the longing for a perfect ruler, providing not oppression but everlasting peace, justice, and salvation, ensuring that those who choose Him will never cry out in vain.