Lesson 271: Israel Wants A King

I Sam. 8

Full Lesson HERE

INTRODUCTION. As Samuel grew, the Lord was with him, and all Israel knew he was established to be a prophet of God. The Lord appeared again in Shiloh and revealed his word to Samuel (I Sam. 3:19-21).

At that time the Israelites' enemies were the Philistines, a warlike people who settled along the Mediterranean coast in southern Canaan about 1200 B. C. during the time of the judges. The Philistines defeated the Israelites in one of their conflicts and captured the ark of the covenant. Eli's two sons were killed in the battle, and when Eli heard the news, he fell off his seat backward, broke his neck and died. When the Lord sent a plague upon the Philistines, they returned the ark of the covenant to Israel. The ark was eventually taken to Kirjath Jearim where it remained for twenty years until David removed it to Jerusalem (I Sam. 4-7:2).

When Samuel was old, the people of Israel asked for a king. Although Samuel warned the people of the evils and responsibilities of a monarchy, they refused to listen. God assured Samuel that the people had not rejected Samuel as their leader, but they were rejecting him (the Lord) as their king.