1 Samuel 8:7

1Sa 8:7 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.

Ver. 7. Hearken unto the voice of the people.] Verba sunt irati, these words were uttered in anger, as appeareth by Hos 13:11, q.d., Let them have a king, since they will needs have it so, but they shall soon have enough of him. Deus saepe dat iratus, quod negat propitius. It is not safe to prescribe to God, nor to be too importunate for any temporal blessing. Those in the gospel that indented for a penny a day had it, but had no good content with it.

For they have not rejected thee.] That is, Thee only, but me also. And if Phocion could say to one that was to die with him, Mayest thou not be glad to fare as Phocion fareth? {a} how much more might Samuel take his rejection well, since God also was rejected. Christ was in like sort afterwards cast off by those that cried, We have no king but Caesar!

{a} Plutarch.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Hearken unto the voice of the people; God grants their desire in anger, and for their punishment, as is affirmed, Hos 13:11. Compare Num 22:13,20; Deu 1:22; Psa 77:20.

They have not rejected thee, i.e. not thee only, nor principally; compare Gen 32:28; Exo 16:7; Hos 6:6; Mat 10:20; but this injury and contumely reflects chiefly upon me and my government,

that I should not reign over them, to wit, by my immediate and peculiar government, which was the great honour, safety, and happiness of his people, if they had had wit to know it, or hearts to prize it. And all the infelicities of Israel, under this kind of government, did not proceed from the nature of the government, but from the ungovernableness and wickedness of the people, which, they might be sure, would produce the same or greater calamities under their kingly government.

Quest. First, Did not God reign over them when they had kings?

Answ. Yes, in a general way, but not in such a peculiar manner as he did by the judges, who were generally raised and called by God’s particular appointment, endowed and sanctified by his Spirit, directed and assisted by his special providence upon all emergencies; whereas all things were for the most part contrary in their kings.

Quest. Secondly, Was it simply unlawful for the people to desire a king?

Answ. No, as appears from Deu 17:14; but herein was their sin, that they desired it upon sinful grounds, of which see on 1Sa 8:7, and in an impetuous manner, and at an unseasonable time, and without asking leave or advice from God; which in so weighty and difficult a case they could not neglect without great sin.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

1Sa_8:7-9

Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee.

Prayer answered under protest

Prayer is certainly a most salutary exercise whenever one is agitated beyond his strength. When the elders of Israel came to Samuel he discovered that the complication was too deep for an old man like him to deal with; and so he went in prayer to God In thy end we shall learn that the petition of these malcontents was granted, but with the answer came retribution and ultimate dismay. Prayers are sometimes answered under protest Let us, then, move on at once in our search.

I. We shall have to begin with a fair and detailed exposition of the narrative as it meets us.

1. This verse, besides its bearing upon our main point, contains a valuable lesson of its own: Rejecting Divine Providence is rejecting Divine government and forfeiting Divine favour. There is no sense in a declaration that we accept Gods law in general, but reserve the right to practical freedom in reference to particulars. The end of all civil government, says an ancient thinker, writing for our times as wisely as for his own, is to live well according to the Divine pleasure. We are surely Christians, but in general, you know; not quite so particular as we might be, possibly, but with a decided respect for religion always. Now this will not do; Jesus Christ, is everything to a man, or He is nothing. In all human history there has never been a fitter leader to command our loyalty or to win our love. We have been told that the ancient Persian kings used to elect, for the education and training of their princes, the four best men in the kingdom--the justest man, the wisest man, the bravest man, and the most temperate man--so that each new sovereign might have the highest advantages, and come to the regal throne best fitted to rule over the people. Christ is the Prince of a kingdom that, is supreme in the universe. When the Providences of God summon us to follow Jesus as our Lord, to reject Him is also to reject the Lord that made us, and defy Him when He is most our friend.

2. You must bear in mind, also, as this narrative proceeds, that wilful disobedience, continuously repeated, becomes settled rebellion. The reply which Samuel received reminded him that this was not a new case of sudden refusal of the Divine sovereignty. That nation had actually got into the habit of it. They had never shown anything more commendable since they came up out of the land of Pharaoh; they proved an awkward and ungainly people when Moses was trying to manage them in the wilderness. When one throws off Gods beneficent restraints, it is surprising to see how awfully wicked he can be as in a moment of rapid demoralisation. Things apparently innocent are made the baleful occasion, sometimes even the instrument, of violent outbreak in vice. It is one of the intense severities of Montaigne to say of these atheistic people that they infect innocent matter with their own venom. Some sceptics like to do this in their reckless arguments. They force natural science, always loyal and reverent to the Creator of the universe, to speak a lie and bring false testimony against God. It is the deliberate counting out of Divine government which puts this universe in such a false position. The only effective manner in which to deal with such a dangerous experience is found in letting it have its own way until it shall be weary and worn with its follies and be ready to return penitently to God.

3. So now we come to the point that we started to reach. Human prayers are sometimes granted with a Divine protest. Solemn moment is that in which God gives to any man or nation in judgment what was asked of Him in petulance and pride! Now let us understand that circumstances may erect; a foreordained fact into a responsible sin, for which those who are the actors are to be held accountable in the end. The Lord said these malcontents in Israel might have their wish, and yet he charges on them the guilt the transaction involved. Furthermore, this very demand of the people had been foreseen and publicly predicted three hundred years before. And yet this whole proceeding was now wrong; it was premature and hasty, and it was conducted without reference to the over-ruling will of Jehovah. Gods Providence does not constrain any mans iniquity. Foreordination has nothing to do with free will. Those elders were doing their own behest, not Gods; and they suffered for it.

II. We turn now from this story to the one principle it so vividly illustrates. It is worth our while to press a valuable admonition like that which is given here. We are told to let our hearts go forth in prayer continually unto God, and God will grant us our desires. But here we learn that not even the answers we obtain are to be trusted always. What does this mean in real experience?

1. It means that all petitions are to be offered, and all desires are to be pressed, according to the Lords will before our will. If we thrust ourselves forward, Divine Providence will frequently hedge up the way. If now we urge on, sometimes the barrier is seen to move quietly away; then we can have our request if we continue to press it. But is this safe or wise? that is the sober question. It is the creature erecting itself against the supreme judgment of its Creator and taking its case into its own hands. When a man is intelligent, and his conscience tells him that God is not exactly granting, but only permitting, his prayer, is it best for him to persevere in it in the confident hope that courage will carry him through into safety?

2. And for another thing, this declaration means that under protest God grants a Christians prayer, the answer will be a positive discipline rather than a blessing. (C. S. Robinson, D. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Sa 8:7. The Lord said, Hearken unto the people, &c. — He grants their desire in anger, for their punishment. For these, it is plain, are the words of displeasure, being as much as to say, Let them have their will. Samuel took it very ill that they should be dissatisfied with his government: but God tells him that he himself had more reason to be angry. For, in truth, they had thrown off his authority who was their king, as Samuel tells them afterward, 1Sa 12:12; and who had governed them by judges, whom he raised up and extraordinarily inspired when he saw occasion; as he had before conducted them by Moses and Joshua, who never ordained any thing of moment without a special command from God. They have not rejected thee — Merely or chiefly. They have rejected me — This injury and contumely reflects chiefly upon me and my government. Should not reign — By my immediate government, which was the great honour, safety, and happiness of this people, if they had had hearts to prize it.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8:7 Do everything they say: God rarely instructed a prophet to heed the voice of the errant populace. The will of the people and the will of God would converge in King David (see 2 Sam 7:8-17). • they are rejecting me: Their rejection of judgeship was a deeper rejection of God’s rule and sovereignty (see also 1 Sam 12:1-17).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 7. They have rejected me] They wish to put that government in the hands of a mortal, which was always in the hands of their GOD. But hearken unto their voice-grant them what they request. So we find God grants that in his displeasure which he withholds in his mercy.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(7) Hearken unto the voice of the people.—The words spoken to Samuel, probably in a vision, by the Most High are very touching and very sad. Very touching, in their extreme tenderness to the noble old man. Take courage, they seem to say, “my old true servant, and be not dismayed at this apparently bitter proof of the ingratitude of the people you loved so well. This deliberate complaint on the part of Israel is directed not against you, the judge, but against Me, the invisible King. They have ever been the same—incapable of becoming my true subjects, and of winning on earth the lofty position I would have given them; you must give them now their hearts’ desire. It has all been foreseen and provided for; only make them understand what they are asking. Then give them their earthly king.” Very sad, for it was the deliberate abandonment by the Eternal God of His first intention as regarded Israel—the deliberate lowering of the grand ideal once formed for His chosen people. Here, as is not unfrequent in the Divine records, we have a corner of the veil which hangs between the creature and the Creator lifted for a moment. We see how sadly possible it is for man in the exercise of his perfect freewill to mar the glorious work arranged for him by his God. We see too in the records of such a transaction as this (see Deu_17:14) how all was foreseen by the King of heaven, and we catch sight of the sorrowful regret—if we may use the term—of the Creator for the perverse folly of His creatures.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the Lord said unto Samuel,.... He appeared to him in a vision or dream, and by an articulate voice delivered to him what follows:

hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee; not as approving of what they said, but permitting and allowing what they asked, as a punishment of them for their disloyalty and ingratitude, and as resenting their ill behaviour to him; for it was in anger he assented to their request, Hos 13:11.

for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me that I should not reign over them; most interpreters supply the word "only", as if the sense was, that they had not only rejected Samuel from judging them, but the Lord also from reigning over them; and which is spoken to comfort Samuel, and to alleviate the pressure on his mind for the ill treatment he had met with; for since they had served the Lord after this manner, it was no wonder he should be ill used, and might bear it with great patience: but I see no reason why the word may not be taken absolutely, that they had not rejected Samuel from all share in the government, at least from judging the people; for so he continued all the days of his life, even after they had a king over them; but they entirely rejected the sole and peculiar government of God over them.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Thee. "God, in anger, grants a person what he desires wrongfully." (St. Augustine) --- He permits the people to follow their own plans; and the Hebrews believe, that he gave them Saul to punish them, being well apprised of his proud and cruel nature. (Cuneus Rep.) (Calmet) --- Rejected, &c. The government of Israel hitherto had been a theocracy: in which God himself immediately ruled, by laws which he had enacted, and by judges extraordinarily raised up by himself: and therefore he complains that his people rejected him, in desiring a change of government, (Challoner) and wishing to appoint their own magistrates. The priests and judges had been commissioned by God, Exodus xix., and Deuteronomy xvii. (Worthington)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

7. They have not rejected thee, but… me — These words imply that in his intercourse with Jehovah, Samuel had complained that the people had rejected him, and were dissatisfied with his administration; but it was rather against the Theocracy itself that their disaffection lay. They failed to understand or acknowledge that their misfortunes came not from lack of power and care on the part of Jehovah, but because of their own sins. Had they humbly and devoutly inquired the will of God in the matter, and asked for a governor after his own heart, and not after the model of the heathen powers, a most propitious change might have been effected in their form of government. To punish them for their ingratitude and disaffection he gave them a king in his anger, and took him away in his wrath. Hos_13:11.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

In prayer then the answer came to him that the request of the people must be granted, however wrongly it had been urged. In itself it was wrong; for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. As we saw above, they wanted no theocratic king, whose first duty would be to maintain the Mosaic law, (Deu_17:18, Deu_17:19) and protect the priest and prophet in the discharge of their legitimate functions; all they wanted was a soldier who would put an end to their state of anarchy, and enable them to cultivate their fields without the danger of seeing the produce swept off by marauders.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Hearken - God grants their desire in anger, and for their punishment. Rejected me - This injury and contumely, reflects chiefly upon me and my government. Should not reign - By my immediate government, which was the great honour, safety, and happiness of this people, if they had had hearts to prize it.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.