God is teaching the Israelites a lesson through allowing them to go against his wishes and having a king of his choice. This lesson can be seen through the two kings in the books, Saul and David. These kings are very different and their lives teach a lesson about Israel’s relation with God.
God knows his people are rejecting him as their ruler, therefore he decides to teach them a lesson through allowing them to have a secular king. He tells Samuel to forewarn the people about having a king that is not God,
“8:6 But this request displeased Samuel, for they said, “Give us a king to lead us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord. 8:7 The Lord said to Samuel, “Do everything the people request of you. For it is not you that they have rejected, but it …show more content…
This frightened the Israelites and Samuel told them they have sinned, but they should still love their God as he loves them. This scene showed the Israelites concerned with their choice of desiring a king and realizing they had sinned.
“12:18 So Samuel called to the Lord and the Lord made it thunder and rain that day. All the people were very afraid of both the Lord and Samuel. 12:19 All the people said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God on behalf of us – your servants – so we don’t die, for we have added to all our sins by asking for a king. 12:20 The Samuel said to the people, Don’t be afraid. You have indeed sinned. However, don’t turn aside from the Lord. Serve the Lord with all your heart,” (Book of Samuel 517).
Samuel encourages them to continue connecting with God because they are his chosen people and he will not forsake them. However Samuel warned the Israelites …show more content…
He is using the opportunity of having a secular king lead the Israelites to show them that a human leader makes mistakes. Saul’s biggest mistake was not obeying God by making a sacrifice instead of doing what he was told – to kill the Amalekites. Instead, Saul brought back the king of the Amalekites and sacrificed their cattle. Samuel was furious with Saul for disobeying God’s strict orders, “Because have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king,” (Book of Samuel 523). Saul seemed to have overstepped his political role with a more religious role by performing a sacrifice that God did not tell him to
God knows his people are rejecting him as their ruler, therefore he decides to teach them a lesson through allowing them to have a secular king. He tells Samuel to forewarn the people about having a king that is not God,
“8:6 But this request displeased Samuel, for they said, “Give us a king to lead us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord. 8:7 The Lord said to Samuel, “Do everything the people request of you. For it is not you that they have rejected, but it …show more content…
This frightened the Israelites and Samuel told them they have sinned, but they should still love their God as he loves them. This scene showed the Israelites concerned with their choice of desiring a king and realizing they had sinned.
“12:18 So Samuel called to the Lord and the Lord made it thunder and rain that day. All the people were very afraid of both the Lord and Samuel. 12:19 All the people said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God on behalf of us – your servants – so we don’t die, for we have added to all our sins by asking for a king. 12:20 The Samuel said to the people, Don’t be afraid. You have indeed sinned. However, don’t turn aside from the Lord. Serve the Lord with all your heart,” (Book of Samuel 517).
Samuel encourages them to continue connecting with God because they are his chosen people and he will not forsake them. However Samuel warned the Israelites …show more content…
He is using the opportunity of having a secular king lead the Israelites to show them that a human leader makes mistakes. Saul’s biggest mistake was not obeying God by making a sacrifice instead of doing what he was told – to kill the Amalekites. Instead, Saul brought back the king of the Amalekites and sacrificed their cattle. Samuel was furious with Saul for disobeying God’s strict orders, “Because have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king,” (Book of Samuel 523). Saul seemed to have overstepped his political role with a more religious role by performing a sacrifice that God did not tell him to