When Samuel was old, he made his sons judges over Israel. Their names tell of their godly father: Joel (The Lord is God): and Abiah (The Lord is my Father), but it is not enough to have a godly father and mother; "Ye must be born again" is what God's Word says to one and all, for the natural birth does not make us God's children.
Though Samuel was an honored servant of God, his sons were very different; they turned aside from right ways in order to get money; they even took bribes from those who came to them to settle their disputes. This was very sad indeed, and should have brought the elders and all the people to humble themselves before God, and earnestly to pray for help from Him. But their thoughts were not upon God, rather about the nations around them;
"Behold, thou art old", they said, "and thy sons walk not in thy ways; now make us a king to judge us like all the nations."
God was the only king they needed; He was abundantly able and willing to lead and protect His people, but they liked the ways of the world.
The Scriptures of the New Testament have much to say about the world; in the 17th chapter of John it is mentioned again and again as that system of things from which the Christian is separated; verse 14 speaks of the children of God as not of the world, even as their Lord is not of it. 1 John 2:15-1715Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. (1 John 2:15‑17)), too, warns the believer,
"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in Him. For all that is in the world is not of the Father but is of the world. and the world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."
These are warnings indeed, and should be earnestly heeded!
To resume our chapter,—Samuel was displeased at the demand for a king, but in answer to prayer he learned that it was not so much the rejection of the prophet, as the rejection of their God, that He should not reign over them, and now He was going to let the people have their own way. They had always served other gods, forsaking the true God, since the day He had brought them up out of Egypt.
A forecast of the character of their king, when once they had one, was given (verses 11 to 18) by Samuel, but the Israelites would not attend to his words, saying,
"Nay, but we will have a king over us."
They were to get their wish, and Samuel will try no longer to dissuade this selfwilled, God-forsaking people, from their wrong course.