1 Samuel 8 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

1 Samuel 8 Summary - A Quick Overview

WHEN:

• Samuel was born in approximately 1100 B.C.

• Samuel lived until approximately 1012 B.C.

• Israel’s first king was appointed in approximately 1050 B.C.

CHARACTERS:

• Samuel – He grew up in Shiloh under the care of Eli. He judged Israel until his death.  

• Joel and Abijah – Samuel’s sons. They judged Israel like their father, but they were not honorable men.

• The Elders of Israel – They asked Samuel to appoint a king over Israel.

WHERE:

• Samuel judged the Israelites in Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah (7:16).

• Samuel met with the elders of Israel at Ramah.

OUTLINE:

• THE ISRAELITES ASK FOR A KING (8:1-9):

  • When Samuel was old, he made his sons judges in Israel, but they were unjust and took bribes.

  • The elders of Israel met with Samuel to discuss the future of the nation.

  • They requested a king be appointed over them, so they could be like all the other nations.

  • This request displeased Samuel, because it showed a lack of trust in God’s guidance of the nation.

  • Samuel prayed to God to ask for guidance.

  • The Lord wasn’t happy with the people’s request. He told Samuel the Israelites were rejecting God as their king, in favor of a human king.

  • Nevertheless, God told Samuel to honor the people’s request, but to warn them of the consequences of their choice.

• THE CONSEQUENCES OF A KING (8:10-22):

  • Samuel went back to the elders of Israel and told them the words of God.

  • If they appointed a king in Israel, he would take their sons and make them his soldiers.

  • He would use their children as servants to plow his ground and reap his fields.

  • Their daughters would work in his kitchens.

  • If a king was appointed in Israel, he would take the best of the people’s harvest, flocks, and servants and keep them for himself and his officers.

  • Samuel prophesied that a day would come when the people would cry out to the Lord to save them from their oppressive king, but the Lord would not help them.

  • When Samuel finished his warning, the elders of Israel disregarded it and reaffirmed their desire for a king in Israel.

  • They said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles” (8:19-22).

APPLICATION:

• No system of government will save a nation if they abandon God.

• Israel was blessed as a nation during the period of the judges AND the period of the kings when they obeyed the commands of God.

• Israel failed as a nation during the period of the judges AND the period of the kings when they disobeyed the commands of God.

• The success of a nation has more to do with God than the chosen system of government.