Samuel’s two sons took bribes and perverted justice. The elders of Israel went to Samuel at Ramah, seizing on these sad circumstances, to ask for a king like the nations around them (1 Samuel 8:1-5). They could have asked for others to assume the role of judging them, or for God to work things in accordance with His will, but they did not. Anytime God’s people lust for something other than what God provides, sin is crouching at the door (James 1:13-14; Genesis 4:6-7).
God knew Israel would desire a king. Moses wrote that a king had to be chosen by God from among the Israelites, no Gentile being allowed to sit on the throne. He could not accumulate horses, a harem or hoard up wealth because that would lead him astray. God’s law was to be central in his thinking so the king and his family could be blessed (Deuteronomy 17:14-20).
Samuel did not find the people’s request agreeable, but he took it to God in prayer (1 Samuel 8:6). Any other act would have placed him in the same category as the children of Israel. Good leaders of God’s people recognize they serve under God. Their job is to watch for the wellbeing of the souls under their care (1 Peter 5:1-4; Acts 20:28; Hebrews 13:17).
Psalm 69:5-9 serves as an example of the prayer God’s leaders should pray.
O God, You know my foolishness; And my sins are not hidden from You. Let not those who wait for You, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed because of me; Let not those who seek You be confounded because of me, O God of Israel. Because for Your sake I have borne reproach; Shame has covered my face. I have become a stranger to my brothers, And an alien to my mother’s children; Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
May God bless our shepherds as they watch for our souls.
