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From Eternity Past
souls with far greater power than before, because they have sinned
against greater light.
The People Are Sorry They Asked for a King
“And Samuel died; and all the Israelites were gathered together,
and lamented him, and buried him in his house at Ramah.” A great
and good prophet and an eminent judge had fallen in death. From
his youth up, Samuel had walked before Israel in the integrity of his
heart. Although Saul had been king, Samuel had wielded a more
powerful influence than he, because his record was one of faithfulness
and devotion.
The people saw what a mistake they had made in desiring a king
that they might not be different from the nations around them. Many
looked with alarm at the condition of society, fast becoming leavened
with godlessness. Well might Israel mourn that Samuel, the prophet of
the Lord, was dead.
The nation had lost him to whom the people had been accustomed
to go with their great troubles—lost one who had constantly interceded
with God in behalf of the best interests of its people. “The effectual
fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
James 5:16
. The
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king seemed little less than a madman. Justice was perverted, and
order was turned to confusion.
Bitter were the reflections of the people as they looked upon
Samuel’s quiet resting place and remembered their folly in rejecting
him as their ruler; for he had had so close a connection with Heaven
that he seemed to bind all Israel to the throne of Jehovah. Samuel had
taught them to love and obey God, but now he was dead. The people
felt they were left to the mercies of a king who was joined to Satan
and who would divorce the people from God and heaven.
David knew that Samuel’s death had broken another bond of re-
straint from the actions of Saul, and he felt less secure than when the
prophet lived. So he fled to the wilderness of Paran. In these desolate
wilds, realizing that the prophet was dead and the king was his enemy,
he sang: