The people ask for a king
1 When Samuel grew old, he made his sons judges over Israel.
2 His elder son was Joel and the second was Abijah, and both of them were judges in Beersheba.
3 But they were not like their father; they had their vested interests, taking bribes and perverting justice.
4 Because of this, all the chiefs of Is ra el gathered together and went to Sam uel in Ramah.
5 They said to him, “You are already old and your sons are not following your ways. Give us a king to rule over us as in all the other nations.”
6 Samuel was very displeased with what they said, “Give us a king to rule us,” and he prayed to Yah weh.
7 And Yahweh told him, “Give to this people all that they ask for.
8 They are not rejecting you but they have rejected me as their king. They are now doing to you what they did to me from the day I brought them out of Egypt until now, forsaking me and serving other gods.
9 Neverthe less, listen to them, and give them a serious warning. Tell them how they will be treated by their king.”
10 So Samuel answered those who were asking him for a king,
11 and he told them all that Yahweh said to him, “Look, these will be the de mands of your king: he will take your sons and assign them to his chariot and his horses and have them run before his chariot.
12 Some he will assign as commanders over a thousand men and com manders over fifty. Others will till his ground and reap his harvest, make his im ple ments of war and the equipment for his chariots.
13 He will take your daugh ters as well to prepare perfumes, to cook and to bake for him.
14 He will take the best of your fields, your vineyards and your olive or chards and give them to his officials.
15 He will take a tenth portion of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his offi cers and to his servants.
16 He will take your men servants and maidservants, the best of your cattle and your asses for his own work.
17 He will take the tenth of your flocks and you yourselves will be come his slaves.
18 When these things happen, you will cry out be cause of the king whom you have chosen for yourselves. But by then, Yahweh will not answer you.”
19 The people paid no attention to all that Samuel said. They insisted, “No! We want a king to govern us as in all the other nations.
20 Our king shall govern us, lead us and go ahead of us in our battles.”
21 Upon hearing all that his people said, Samuel repeated it to Yah weh.
22 But Yahweh said to him, “Listen to them and give them a king.” Sa muel then said to the Israelites, “Go back, all of you, to your own cities.”
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Comments 1 Samuel, Chapter 8
• 8.1 A deep transformation took place in the way of life of the ancient nomads now living in villages and towns like the rest of the population. Former social structures adapted to life in the desert were no longer suitable, something that is often seen in the history of nations, as well as in the Church. Humankind is constantly changing, led on by events and technical evolution; differences in mentalities appear, revealing how ill-adapted are ancient structures to new situations. Because of this there is a permanent tension between life and institutions.
On the other hand, institutions indispensable to the life of communities have as their essential purpose to channel, order and organize this ever turbulent life; without creativity people are dead in life; without permanent institution a society turns towards anarchy. If the tension between life and ins titution is permanent, it becomes manifest when society is in crisis. While conser vative elements think of reestablishing order as a return to the past, the innovators, looking for fresh structures in order to respond to present reality, forget too quickly what past experience has taught.
Chapters 8–12 of 1st Samuel present us such a crisis and the conflicts arising from it. The people realize their weakness as coming from division and anarchy. The temporary authority of the “Judges” is outdated; the twelve tribes must unite around a king.
Samuel is a defender of the past, and his warnings are inspired by personal distrust. He does not recognize the advantage of a stronger and more centralized government. Instead he is in touch with reality and denounces absolute power.
Samuel reproaches the people for their lack of trust in Yahweh. Now as they face the Philis tine peril, they believe they will have security in handing over to someone else, a strong leader, the responsibility of thinking and deciding for them: they are fearful of taking initiatives. When one expects everything from civil or religious authorities it means either sinking or suffering political tyranny.
According to Samuel, theoretically the king will be God’s representative and his people’s servant. In reality, he will serve his own ambitions and be the nation’s oppressor. Already in that ancient time, dictators had enough knowledge of propaganda to convince people that they were indispensable (Lk 22:25).