Introduction: 1 Samuel 8 explains the crux of much of the Bible as a whole. It’s the historical record of how Israel demanded a king. And, well, they got one. But that king was not God. That king was wicked Saul.

Below are some ruminations on this profoundly important Old Testament event:

• First, the baton was passed to the wrong person. Samuel had faithfully served as prophet (1 Sam 3:20) and judge, but he was now old (1 Sam 8:1) and his sons were not up to the task of Godly leadership. God says of Samuel’s sons that they “turned aside after gain” (1 Sam 8:3, ESV). They “perverted justice,” the text says (ibid.). Again, you see where this is headed. The people who should have been Godly weren’t. They were concerned about money, not the things of God.
• Second, God gave the people their druthers as judgment. When the elders approached Samuel to demand a king “to judge us like all the nations,” God gave them what they asked for. To use a cliche, they got the leader they deserved. It grieved Samuel profoundly. Why? He saw what was coming. He knew Saul was going to destroy people. But God gave the people over: “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them” (1 Sam 8:7, ESV). Folks, if that doesn’t break your heart, I don’t know what will.
• Third, God told the people up front via his truthteller, but the people were undiscerning, harrd-hearted, and refused to listen: “And in that day you will cry out because your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day” (1 Sam 8:18, ESV). In other words, God is saying through his truthtelling prophet Samuel, “See? I told you so.”

Takeaway: Do we think this pattern somehow skipped our days? Do we think, “That’s other people, not us! We’re smarter than those people.” Um, okay. Folks, Sauls are nothing new. They’re the result of sinful, blind, stubborn people demanding what makes them feel good rather than what’s true and good for them. And God gives people over at times as judgment. That’s not feel-good theology, but it is Bible 101.