Chapter 59—The First King of Israel
This chapter is based on
1 Samuel 8
to
12
.
The government of Israel was administered in the name and by
the authority of God. The work of Moses, of the seventy elders, of
the rulers and judges, was simply to enforce the laws that God had
given; they had no authority to legislate for the nation. This was, and
continued to be, the condition of Israel’s existence as a nation. From
age to age men inspired by God were sent to instruct the people and to
direct in the enforcement of the laws.
The Lord foresaw that Israel would desire a king, but He did not
consent to a change in the principles upon which the state was founded.
The king was to be the vicegerent of the Most High. God was to be
recognized as the Head of the nation, and His law was to be enforced
as the supreme law of the land. [
See appendix, note 8.
]
When the Israelites first settled in Canaan they acknowledged the
principles of the theocracy, and the nation prospered under the rule of
Joshua. But increase of population and intercourse with other nations
brought a change. The people adopted many of the customs of their
heathen neighbors and thus sacrificed to a great degree their own
peculiar, holy character. Gradually they lost their reverence for God
and ceased to prize the honor of being His chosen people. Attracted
by the pomp and display of heathen monarchs, they tired of their own
simplicity. Jealousy and envy sprang up between the tribes. Internal
dissensions made them weak; they were continually exposed to the
invasion of their heathen foes, and the people were coming to believe
that in order to maintain their standing among the nations, the tribes
must be united under a strong central government. As they departed
from obedience to God’s law, they desired to be freed from the rule of
their divine Sovereign; and thus the demand for a monarchy became
widespread throughout Israel.
Since the days of Joshua the government had never been conducted
with so great wisdom and success as under Samuel’s administration.
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