Today’s reading: Deuteronomy 17; Revelation 19
In Deuteronomy 17 Moses gives the Israelites instructions from God for setting a king over themselves once they are settled in the land.
The reason I’m pointing this out is that when the people ask for a king in 1 Samuel 8, Samuel is displeased about it but God tells him to go along with it because it is not Samuel they are rejecting, but God Himself. But if God had already given them instructions for having a king, then how would that be rejecting God to ask for one?
I think the way we have to understand this is motives. The instructions God gives in Deuteronomy 17 about the king is for a king that will lead the people to follow the Lord, but that doesn’t seem to be the concern of the people in 1 Samuel. In 1 Samuel 8, the people want a king like the nations around them, and warrior king that will protect the people and keep their nation safe. This is where their rejection of God comes in because it is not a mighty warrior that will keep Israel safe, but that is something the Lord Himself has promised to do if they will stay faithful to Him.
Ultimately, the kings Israel has over the years largely (or wholly) ignore God’s instructions in Deuteronomy 17. The kings acquire horses, amassing large armies, they acquire many wives and concubines, and they amass massive amounts of silver and gold. And while some are relatively faithful to the Lord, others turn fully away from Him and lead the people astray into idolatry.
But, as imperfect as Israel’s kings were, and as poor as the people’s motives may have been in asking for a king in the first place, the role of king in Israel was an important piece of the Messianic picture. The Messiah, as we see his profile unfolding throughout the Old Testament, fills both the roll of priest and the role of king, uniting the spiritual and governmental rules under one head.
I think this is why God defines the role of king in Israel here in our chapter today. He knows that the kings Israel will have to fill this role will not heed these instructions and follow Him as they should, but He is laying the foundation for their understanding of the perfect king that He will one day place on an everlasting throne.
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