Lesson 37: Israel wants a King

Click HERE to download the lesson

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.