Craving security – Israel wants a king (1 Sam 8:1-9)

Depending on personality, we all crave different things and are driven to achieve them. We tend to develop behaviours to escape our worst fears and meet our deepest needs and while many of those needs are legitimate and God wants to fulfil them, our sinful nature often leads us to look for satisfaction in the wrong place. We may recognise these twisted ways in others, when we see the woman worn down with busy-ness and feeling a martyr doing things for others to feel wanted and loved, the man constantly searching for adventure and new experiences afraid of missing out and not having his needs met. We may notice the drive of workaholics who cannot stop because their self-worth and sense of significance are wrapped up in their job or those with a placid nature whose desire for peace of mind and lack of conflict lead them to avoid facing problems and ultimately reality. Wherever our Achilles’ heel is, the temptation for fulfilment outside of God is there for all of us.

This is what happens to Israel in our reading. So far, they are a tribal community with only ad hoc and often localised leaders (judges), but this creates a lot of uncertainty and Israel wants security. The elders’ ostensible reason for wanting a king is that Samuel’s sons are corrupt (1 Sam 8:3-5), but royal rule means that power is passed from father to son, so it will not safeguard against the corruption of descendants. The real motivation emerges from their speech. They want a king to be like other nations (v.5). Possibly they crave respect; after all, kings recognise other kings and not having a national head may make Israel feel inferior. The next section reveals another motivation: a king was to lead Israel out into battle (1 Sam 8:20). Monarchy would mean a centralised government and the stability of leadership (less uncertainty about succession), so defence of the realm was more assured. The comparison with other nations also highlights the desire for a familiar structure of security and none of the turbulence of waiting around for God’s will in a fog of uncertainty.

God sees through to the elders’ real motivation and condemns the request. Despite Israel’s earlier repentance in chapter 7, they have rejected God as their King and have consistently walked in disobedience ever since the exodus (1 Sam 8:7-8). It is disappointing to see repentance as a transient phase that does not fundamentally transform them. Sadly, Christians may also confess and genuinely repent of certain actions but never look deeper into their own hearts to the root of their behaviour. It is all the more surprising that despite God’s disapproval, He nevertheless grants Israel their request (v.7). Perhaps when there is such deep resistance to God’s ways, we have to hit rock-bottom, like the prodigal son in Jesus’ parable (Luke 15:17-18), to come to our senses. The only answer is for Israel to realise through experience that where they look for fulfilment will not satisfy.

At the same time, we may feel that the request was not unreasonable. After all, who can forget the refrain in the chaotic period of the judges, which blamed anarchy on the lack of a king (Judg 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25)? We may also appreciate that monarchy represents a more stable form of government. Further, David’s reign later is depicted in highly positive terms and the promise of Messiah is also linked to that institution, so monarchy seems to have been in God’s plans. How may we resolve this tension? The issue is that Israel seemed to place their entire dependence for security on the monarchy, rather than on God. Whenever we put other things first before the Lord, even the good things that are meant to contribute to our fulfilment, they will get twisted and we end up becoming enslaved to unhealthy patterns of living. Putting God first and not getting sucked into idolatry (i.e., expecting fulfilment from things that are not God) is a lifelong process. May we seek daily to recognise the Lord as our King, the true source of all our fulfilment and joy.

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