We come to 1 Samuel 8, a transition from the time of the judges, ad hoc rulers, to the monarchy. It begins with the failure of Samuel’s sons:

When Samuel got to be an old man, he set his sons up as judges in Israel…But his sons didn’t take after him; they were out for what they could get for themselves, taking bribes, corrupting justice. Fed up, all the elders of Israel got together and confronted Samuel at Ramah. They presented their case: “Look, you’re an old man, and your sons aren’t following in your footsteps. Here’s what we want you to do: Appoint a king to rule us, just like everybody else.” (1 Samuel 8.1 – 5, MSG)

Appoint us a king because your sons aren’t doing a good job. This demand makes no sense. So when there’s a king, and he dies leaving the kingdom to his son(s), the king’s sons will do a good job?

GOD answered Samuel, “Go ahead and do what they’re asking. They are not rejecting you. They’ve rejected me as their King. From the day I brought them out of Egypt until this very day they’ve been behaving like this, leaving me for other gods. And now they’re doing it to you. So let them have their own way. But warn them of what they’re in for. Tell them the way kings operate, just what they’re likely to get from a king.” (1 Samuel 8.7, MSG)

The people’s idea was that our “king will rule us and lead us and fight our battles” (verses 19, 20). Samuel told them the truth about a king in this prescient paragraph:

So Samuel told them, delivered GOD’s warning to the people who were asking him to give them a king. He said, “This is the way the kind of king you’re talking about operates.

• He’ll take your sons and make soldiers of them—chariotry, cavalry, infantry, regimented in battalions and squadrons.
• He’ll put some to forced labor on his farms, plowing and harvesting, and
• others to making either weapons of war or chariots in which he can ride in luxury.
• He’ll put your daughters to work as beauticians and waitresses and cooks.
• He’ll conscript your best fields, vineyards, and orchards and hand them over to his special friends.
• He’ll tax your harvests and vintage to support his extensive bureaucracy.
• Your prize workers and best animals he’ll take for his own use.
• He’ll lay a tax on your flocks and
• you’ll end up no better than slaves. (1 Samuel 8.10 – 17, MSG, bulleted for clarity)

It is always thus. People like to have a king, and this is what kings do. The Russians deposed the Tsars and are now ruled by “presidents” instead: men like Lenin, Stalin,…, Putin. See the difference? Adolf Hitler was called “Der Fuhrer” – the leader – but the “Fuhrer” concept already existed in Germany. Hitler just put himself into it. The US Presidency has ballooned into a royal position of sorts, quite unlike when, say, Thomas Jefferson was inaugurated:

When [the inauguration] was over, he simply walked back. Returning to the boarding house late for dinner, Jefferson took one of the only remaining seats at the far end of the table. Given the occasion, someone offered him a better seat near the fireplace. Staying true to his egalitarian platform, Jefferson refused. From an official account of Jefferson’s inauguration

God is clear about the dangers of not looking to God as our leader but looking to men instead.

The day will come when you will cry in desperation because of this king you so much want for yourselves. But don’t expect GOD to answer. (1 Samuel 8.18, MSG, bulleted for clarity)

It’s chilling that the nation of Israel wanted a king so they could “be like everyone else.” But when God sent them their true King, they rejected him, the very series of events we commemorate starting tomorrow.

They shouted back, “Kill him! Kill him! Crucify him!” Pilate said, “I am to crucify your king?” The high priests answered, “We have no king except Caesar.” (John 19.15, MSG)