Topical Bible: Israel: Under the Judges: They Demand a King

◄ Israel: Under the Judges: They Demand a King ►

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Topical Encyclopedia

During the period of the Judges, Israel was a confederation of tribes without a centralized government, relying on judges raised by God to deliver them from oppression and lead them in times of crisis. This era, marked by cycles of sin, oppression, repentance, and deliverance, is detailed in the Book of Judges. However, as the narrative progresses into the Book of 1 Samuel, the Israelites' demand for a king becomes a pivotal moment in their history.

Context and Background

The period of the Judges was characterized by a decentralized form of governance where each tribe operated independently, often leading to moral and spiritual decline. The refrain, "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25), encapsulates the anarchy and moral relativism of the time. The lack of a unifying leader often resulted in internal strife and vulnerability to external threats.

The Demand for a King

As the narrative transitions to 1 Samuel, the Israelites, weary of the instability and corruption that marked the latter days of the judges, sought a more stable and unified form of governance. The demand for a king is recorded in 1 Samuel 8:4-5: "So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. '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.'" .

The request for a king was driven by several factors:

1. Corruption of Samuel's Sons: Samuel, the last judge, appointed his sons as judges over Israel, but they were corrupt, taking bribes and perverting justice (1 Samuel 8:1-3). This corruption disillusioned the people and fueled their desire for a different form of leadership.

2. Desire for National Unity and Security: The Israelites sought a king to unify the tribes and provide a centralized military leadership to defend against persistent threats from neighboring nations, particularly the Philistines.

3. Influence of Surrounding Nations: The Israelites were influenced by the political structures of surrounding nations, who had kings to lead them. They desired to be "like all the other nations" (1 Samuel 8:5), seeking the perceived stability and prestige that a monarchy could provide.

Samuel's Warning

Samuel, displeased by the people's request, sought the Lord in prayer. God instructed Samuel to heed the people's demand but to solemnly warn them about the implications of having a king. Samuel conveyed God's warning in 1 Samuel 8:10-18, detailing how a king would draft their sons into his army, take their daughters for his service, and levy taxes on their produce and livestock. Despite these warnings, the people persisted in their demand, saying, "No, but there shall be 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" (1 Samuel 8:19-20).

Divine Response and Appointment of Saul

God instructed Samuel to anoint Saul, a Benjamite, as the first king of Israel. Saul's anointing is described in 1 Samuel 10:1: "Then Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, 'Has not the LORD anointed you ruler over His inheritance?'" . Saul's reign marked the transition from the period of the judges to the establishment of the monarchy in Israel.

This demand for a king, while fulfilling the people's immediate desires, also set the stage for future challenges and complexities in Israel's relationship with God and their understanding of divine kingship.

Nave's Topical Index

1 Samuel 8:5-20
And said to him, Behold, you are old, and your sons walk not in your ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
Nave's Topical Index

Hosea 13:10
I will be your king: where is any other that may save you in all your cities? and your judges of whom you said, Give me a king and princes?
Nave's Topical Index

Library

'Make us a King'
... There were many inconveniences in the rule by judges. ... Further, the granting to Israel
of the king whom they ... and find out the poison that lurked under the fair ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture f/make us a king.htm

Samuel, the Child of Prayer
... Israel for years had been under bondage to the Philistines and the ark was housed ...
Lawmakers, law judges, and law executives need leaders in Israel to pray ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/bounds/prayer and praying men/ix samuel the child of.htm

Introduction
... peoples, and amid a succession of these judges the incidents ... The prophets of Israel
were not only statesmen and ... a single volume of this series under the name ...
/.../various/select masterpieces of biblical literature/introduction.htm

The Israelites
... had lost coherence; they had ranged themselves under different "judges" or "deliverers ...
Israel was a house divided against itself, and planted in the ...
/.../sayce/early israel and the surrounding nations/chapter i the israelites.htm

Author's Preface.
... The Judges. Ruth the Moabite. ... Important events in the history of Israel. Principal
events in the history of Judah. ... Under the rule of Greek kings. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/tidwell/the bible period by period/authors preface.htm

Pilate
... Thus, before each of His judges in turn, Jesus avowed Himself the Messiah and then
held ... Renounced by Israel, and about to become a curse under the law ...
/.../chadwick/the gospel of st mark/chapter 15 1-20 pilate.htm

Jesus, Son of God.
... Porch, where at all events He was under cover and ... He cites; and in it the judges
of Israel are rebuked ... they called sons of God; their own judges they called by ...
/.../dods/the expositors bible the gospel of st john vol i/xxii jesus son of god.htm

Knox's Writings from Abroad: Beginning of the Scottish Revolution ...
... Gospel as well as the records of pre-Christian Israel. ... 2) That prelates shall not
be judges in cases ... challenged previously, and as often allowed, under fear of ...
/.../lang/john knox and the reformation/chapter viii knoxs writings from.htm

Judas Hangs Himself.
... be used for some useful purpose under the sanction ... which thou hast pronounced this
night before thy judges?". ... Caiaphas, "Fathers of the people of Israel, it is ...
/.../stead/king of the jews/chapter vi judas hangs himself.htm

Imprisonment and Death of John
... The dissolute king had trembled under the call to repentance ... who had stood as critics
and judges of the ... paid to Herod when this daughter of Israel's priests and ...
/.../white/the desire of ages/chapter 22 imprisonment and death.htm