June 28, 2026, Sunday School Lesson

God Grants Israel a King

Lesson Text: 1 Samuel 8:1-18

Related Scriptures: John 15:18-25; Deuteronomy 17:14-20; 1 Kings 10:26-11:8; 21:1-16; Proverbs 1:20-33

TIME: 1043 B.C.

PLACE: Ramah

Golden Text – “And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them” (1 Samuel 8:7).

Introduction

Have you ever known a good leader with a blind spot? How about a good leader with a blind spot when it comes to his or her children? Few leaders in the Bible exceeded the spiritual integrity of the prophet, priest, judge, and kingmaker Samuel. Even this great leader, however, was not perfect.

Samuel seems to have blundered in making his sons judges over Israel, but the way the nation responded was also flawed. Specifically, the motivation they provided for wanting to have a king was a problem. How would God respond to His people sinning and rejecting Him?

LESSON OUTLINE

1. Israel’s Political Setting – 1 Sam. 8:1-3

2. Israel’s Political Request – 1 Sam 8:4-5

3. Israel’s Political Idolatry – 1 Sam. 8:6-9

4. Israel’s Political Warning – 1 Sam. 8:10-18

QUESTIONS

1. What are two reasons Samuel’s decision to appoint his sons over Israel is suspicious?

2. What four things were Samuel’s sons indicted for?

3. What reasons did the elders want to explore another leadership structure?

4. What was wrong with the elders’ request?

5. What six rules for kings are found in Deuteronomy 17?

6. What primary issue does 1 Samuel 8:6-9 reveal?

7. What two words did God use to describe Israel’s idolatry?

8. What forbidden action did Samuel emphasize kings would perform?

9. What four areas of life did Samuel warn about?

10. How did Samuel conclude his warning?

ANSWERS

1. Samuel’s decision to appoint his sons as judges is suspicious for two reasons. First, Samuel’s decision broke the leadership trend of the period. The book of Judges describes God taking the initiative to raise up judges rather than making it a hereditary affair. Deuteronomy 16:18 explains how to appoint judges, so the issue was not about whether Samuel should appoint them but rather that he chose his sons. Only two other judges were succeeded by their sons. Gideon’s son Abimelech brought disaster and bloodshed to Israel in Judges 9. Judges 10:4-5 may suggest that Jair tried to make his sons his successors, but the text does not specify how it worked out. At best, Samuel’s decision to appoint his sons as judges is strange. Second, Samuel’s blind spot was similar to that of his priestly mentor Eli. He too had two sons that abused positions of leadership – something that led to god’s discipline on him and his sons (cf. 1 Sam. 2:31).

2. Samuel’s sons, Joel and Abijah, were indicted for four reasons. First, they did not follow the leadership example of their fathers. They could not claim ignorance, for they were raised by one of Israel’s best leaders. Secon, they profited dishonestly from their position of leadership. The Hebrew word for “lucre” in 1 Samuel 8:3 is also used in Exodus 18:21 (“covetousness”) when Jethro recommended that Moses delegate judicial responsibility to other leaders. Jethro warned that leaders needed to hate the idea of using their position for profit. The next two indictments alluded to Deuteronomy 16:18-20, which gave guidelines for Israelite judges and governing leaders. Third, Joel and Abijah took payment for their verdicts. Deuteronomy 16:19 explains that to do that would ruin the leader’s perception of right and wrong and make Israel a difficult place to do the right thing. Fourth, Joel and Abijah made a mockery of justice.

3. Even though Samuel’s sons were causing trouble in one of Israel’s southernmost towns, Beersheba, the outcry made it to the nations’ elders. The damage must have been significant. That is one reason the elders gave for their request. The other was Samuel’s age. He could not lead them forever. So far, these were good reasons to want to explore another leadership structure. Judges 2:19 and 21:25 explains the role of bad leadership in Israel’s continual cycles of sin, so it was reasonable to conclude that Samuel’s successors could lead to deteriorating national health.

4. The narrator laid breadcrumbs for readers of this passage that demonstrate the detrimental flaw in Israelite elders’ request. In 1 Samuel 8:5, the elders’ request ended with the phrase “like all the nations.”

5. First, the king must be an Israelite. Second, the king must not amass horses. That would tempt idolatry of military power. Third, the king must not form an economic alliance with Egypt. That would be tantamount to reversing the exodus. Fourth, the king must not amass wives. That would lead him to idolatry (as it did for Solomon). Fifth, the king must amass wealth. That would tempt idolatry of money. Sixth, he must copy, read, and obey the book of Deuteronomy.

6. First Samuel 8:6-9 may be the most important verses in the passage because they drill down to the heart of the matter. The next section (vss. 10-18) offers a stiff critique of misusing government power, but that is not the central issue. verses 6-9 peel back the second any issues such as political systems and authority structures to show the real issue-idolatry.

7. God used two vivid words to describe the continuous history of Israelite idolatry in 1 Samuel 8:8. The first word can be translated as “abandon,” or “forsake.” Israel’s covenant with God contained commitments, as the ones described in Deuteronomy 6:4-5. The Israelite refusal to fulfill those commitments was tantamount to forsaking God. The good news is that God does not abandon those who trust Him. The second word that describes Israelite idolatry is usually translated as “serve” but can also connote worship when it refers to God or idols.

8. Three keywords dominated Samuel’s descriptions: “take,” “appoint,” and “your.” Four times, Samuel described what the king would take. “Appoint” occurs two times in the passage to describe what the king would do with the resources he would take. The word “your” implies the impact of the king’s taking on the people and wealth of Israelite families. Deuteronomy 17: 14-20 decrees six rules for Israelite kings. Three of them guarded against taking. So Samuel was not describing kingship as it should be but as it would be when sinful men received royal power.

9. Samuel’s warning covered four areas of royal life. First, kings would take Israel’s sons for military purposes. In 2 Samuel 11, even good King David would let the sons of Israel fight while he sat at home. Second, kings would take Israel’s sons and daughters for agricultural, palace, and general labor. King Solomon was notorious for using forced labor to support his ambitious building projects (1 kings 9: 15). Third, kings would take land from Israelite citizens. The most notorious instance of this occurred in 1 Kings 21 with the murderous theft of Naboth’s vineyard. Fourth, kings would take wealth from Israelite people by taxing their produce and animals.

10. Samuel concluded his chilling warning by describing the outcome that Israel would cry out in pain.