Israel Demands a King

1 Samuel 8

1 Now it came to pass when Samuel was a old that he b made his c sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. 3 But his sons d did not walk in his ways; they turned aside e after dishonest gain, f took bribes, and perverted justice.

4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, 5 and said to him, "Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now g make us a king to judge us like all the nations." 6 But the thing h displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." So Samuel i prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD said to Samuel, "Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for j they have not rejected you, but k they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. 8 "According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day - with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods - so they are doing to you also. 9 "Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and l show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them."

  1. Cross References
    Judges 21:4
    So it was, on the next morning, that the people rose early and built an altar there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
  2. Cross References
    1 Samuel 12:2
    And now here is the king, walking before you; and I am old and grayheaded, and look, my sons are with you. I have walked before you from my childhood to this day.
  3. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 16:18
    You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which the LORD your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment.
    Deuteronomy 16:19
    You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.
    2 Chronicles 19:5
    Then he set judges in the land throughout all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city.
  4. Cross References
    Judges 10:4
    Now he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys; they also had thirty towns, which are called "Havoth Jair" to this day, which are in the land of Gilead.
  5. Cross References
    Jeremiah 22:15 - 17
    Shall you reign because you enclose yourself in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink, And do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him.
  6. Cross References
    Exodus 18:21
    Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.
  7. Cross References
    Exodus 23:6 - 8
    You shall not pervert the judgment of your poor in his dispute.
    Deuteronomy 16:19
    You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous.
    1 Samuel 12:3
    "Here I am. Witness against me before the LORD and before His anointed: Whose ox have I taken, or whose donkey have I taken, or whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed, or from whose hand have I received any bribe with which to blind my eyes? I will restore it to you."
  8. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 17:14
    "When you come to the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, 'I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,'
    Deuteronomy 17:15
    You shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.
    Hosea 13:10
    I will be your King; Where is any other, That he may save you in all your cities? And your judges to whom you said, 'Give me a king and princes'?
    Hosea 13:11
    I gave you a king in My anger, And took him away in My wrath.
    Acts 13:21
    And afterward they asked for a king; so God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.
  9. Cross References
    1 Samuel 12:17
    " Is today not the wheat harvest? I will call to the LORD, and He will send thunder and rain, that you may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking a king for yourselves."
  10. Cross References
    1 Samuel 7:9
    And Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. Then Samuel cried out to the LORD for Israel, and the LORD answered him.
  11. Cross References
    Exodus 16:8
    Also Moses said, " This shall be seen when the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the LORD hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the LORD.
  12. Cross References
    1 Samuel 10:19
    "But you have today rejected your God, who Himself saved you from all your adversities and your tribulations; and you have said to Him, 'No, set a king over us!' Now therefore, present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your clans."
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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