Scriptural text: 1 Samuel 8:1-9; 10:17-26
Lesson Context: Samuel is sometimes referred to as the last of the judges. Samuel was one of the greatest judges of Israel’s judges. After freeing the country from oppressions, he established a circuit court to administer justice (1 Samuel 7:16). His decisions were respected, for they were according to the law.
The Call for a King (1 Samuel 8:4-7):
Rejection of Samuel. Samuel was displeased: 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 Samuel prayed unto the Lord (6b). It drove him to his knees. When anything disturbs us, it is our interest, as well as our duty, to show our trouble before God.
“For they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them (7b).” Samuel is to tell them that they shall have a king. Not that God was pleased with their request, but as sometimes he opposes us from loving-kindness, so at other times he gratifies us in wrath; he did so here.
The Acclamation of a King (1 Samuel 10:17-24):
Gathering the Tribes (vv. 17-19a). Samuel convoked the national assembly or “congregation of Israel” which had made the request known for a king through its representatives elders. This body was composed of all Israelites of twenty years old and upwards who had not forfeited their privileges, together with foreigners admitted under certain conditions. Its political functions were necessarily limited by nature of a theocracy, and consisted rather in accepting the declared will of Jehovah than in originating measures of its own.
Choosing Saul (vv. 21-24).
“When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken: and when they sought him, he could not be found.” Nothing more is known of the family of Matri, lending credence to Saul’s protest of being from an insignificant family. But Kish was “a mighty man of power,” which could be understood to mean he was wealthy, especially as he had both livestock and servants. Still, the choice of the tribe of Benjamin was strange due to its small size and checkered history (Judges 20-21).
24a. “And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people.” Samuel’s words can be taken as praise and delight in Saul, or they can be taken simply as a statement of fact regarding Saul’s imposing physical stature. Samuel probably intended this ambiguity, not speaking out directly against God’s chosen man but not giving him glowing endorsement either.
24b. “And all the people shouted, and said, God gave the king.” God gave the king is a prayer to the Lord. Though the people’s desire was at its heart a rejection of the Lord, they did not desire to lose the Lord’s blessings and protection.
References: Matthew Henry Bible Commentary, KJV 2022-2023 International Sunday School Lessons, Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges