1 Samuel 8; 9:10
The wicked... say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of Thy ways.
WHO was the king of the Israelites? God was the King of the Israelites. When Samuel was grown up to be a man, he was called a judge; but he was not a king. He used to tell the people what God wished them to do; and he used to punish bad people. Moses had once been the judge of Israel, and Joshua had once been the judge, and Eli had once been the judge. Now Samuel was called the judge. He did not sit on a throne, or wear a crown, as kings do; and he always asked God to tell him what the people ought to do, and then he told the people what God had said. The Israelites ought to have been very glad that God was their king. No other king was as good and as great as He was.
You will be sorry to hear that at last they grew tired of having God for their king. They said, 'We should like to have a king that would go out to battle before us.' They wanted to have a king that they could see. So they came to Samuel and said, 'Give us a king.'
Samuel was very sorry to hear this, and he went and prayed to the Lord. Do you think that God would let the Israelites have a king? Yes, He would: He was displeased with them for wishing for a king, but as they wanted a king, God said they should have one.
So Samuel called the Israelites together to speak to them, and then he said, 'God will let you have a king, but this is the way in which the king will treat you.
'He will make your sons work for him: some of them will run before his chariots; and some will make swords and spears for him, and some will plow his ground, and reap his grain: and some of your daughters will bake, and cook, and make nice things for him to eat: and he will take away many of your fields, and gardens, and grain, and sheep from you, and give them to whom he pleases; and then you will be sorry that you wished for a king, and you will cry to God, and He will not hear you.'
Did the Israelites still wish for a king? Yes, they would not listen to what Samuel said: but they cried out, 'We will have a king.'
Then all the people went home. Who do you think would say what man was to be a king? God was to choose the king: and God would tell Samuel who was to be king. I shall tell you about the man whom God chose to be the king of Israel.
There was a young man whose father had some fields, and sheep, and cows, and asses. One day the asses were lost: so the young man went to look for them among the hills and fields. The young man's name was Saul. He took a servant with him, and he looked for the asses a long while, but he could not find them. At last Saul came near the city where Samuel lived.
The servant said to Saul, 'I have heard that there is a man in that city who is a prophet: all he says comes true. Let us ask him where the asses are.' Then Saul said to his servant, 'Come, let us go.' So Saul and the servant went into the city, and as they went along they met Samuel. Saul and the servant had never seen Samuel before: so they did not know who he was. Samuel was an old man, and his hair was long, and he used to wear a cloak.
Saul spoke to this old man, and said, 'Can you tell me where the prophet's house is?'
Samuel answered, 'I am the prophet.'
Did Samuel know who Saul was? Yes, he did: for though Samuel had never seen him before, God had told Samuel that he would meet a man just at that time, who was to be the king of Israel. Samuel knew who Saul was, and he knew that Saul wanted to ask him where the asses were.
Before Saul had told him that he had lost some asses, Samuel said, 'The asses that you lost three days ago are found.' And Samuel told Saul, that he had a great deal to say to him, and that he must come home with him that evening, and that he would let him go away the next morning.
So Saul and the servant went to Samuel's house, and Samuel took Saul to the top of his house, and talked to him alone: but I do not know what he said to him.
The next morning they all got up very early, as soon as it was light, and Samuel walked with Saul and the servant through the city. When they were come to the outside of the city, Samuel said to Saul, 'Tell the servant to pass on before.' So the servant passed on before; and Samuel and Saul stood still together quite alone.
Then Samuel took a bottle of oil, that he had brought with him, and poured it on Saul's head, and said to him, 'God has chosen thee to be king over Israel.'
Why did Samuel pour the oil upon Saul's head? It was as a sign that he was to be the king. Pouring oil upon a person is called `anointing.'
After Samuel had anointed Saul, they parted from each other. Saul went on his way, and returned to his friends: but he did not tell anyone that he was to be king of Israel.
Soon afterward Samuel called all the Israelites together, to tell them who was to be the king.
Samuel told them that it was very wicked of them not to like to have God for their king, but still he said they should have a king.
Samuel showed them the person who was to be the king. When the people saw Saul, they were very much pleased, for he was taller than any of the Israelites; no one else reached higher than his shoulder. The Israelites wished to have a king that would look very grand when he went out to battle.
The Israelites shouted when they saw him, and cried out, 'God save the king!' When the people had seen their king they went home to their houses. You will soon hear what sort of a king Saul was, whether he loved God, or whether he did not.
Did the Israelites deserve to have a good king? No. How ungratefully they had behaved to God, who had been so kind to them! How ungrateful they were to Samuel, who had been their judge! But Samuel was not angry with them, he was only sorry that they were wicked. Samuel went on teaching them and persuading them to be good. Do you not hope that Saul will be a good king?
Are foolish Israel weary grown
Of their great king above—
Of Him who chose them for His own,
And bless'd them with His love!
O, where can they another find,
So wise, so powerful, so kind!
But foolish Israel longs to be
Like heathen nations round;
To have a king whom they can see,
With earthly splendor crown'd;
Who in the battle shall appear,
And fill their enemies with fear.
Child
O, may I never weary grow
Of those sweet pleasant ways,
In which I have been taught to go,
E'en since my infant days!
And may I never wish to be
Like those who care not, Lord, for Thee.
Let me not join the careless throng,
Careless of God's own day;
Nor waste my youth in dance and song,
Decked out in garments gay;
But let me leave each earthly thing,
And cleave to God my heavenly King.
Questions on Lesson 5
Was Samuel the king of Israel, or was he the judge?
Why was it wicked in the Israelites to wish for a king?
How did Samuel say their king would treat them?
Who chose a king for them?
What did Saul want to know when he first came to Samuel?
What was pouring oil on a person's head, to make him king, called?
Why were the Israelites pleased when they saw Saul?
What did they cry out?