We want a King!

Israel was ruled by judges who interpreted a Written Law (written by God) for 400 years until Saul, the first King of Israel. The elders and judges, abiding by an authoritative written Law, it seems, was God's ideal form of government. Israel, decided differently: *the italics and bold are my emphasis*

4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have."

6 But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. 7 And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do."

10 Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, "This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day."

19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles."

21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king." Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, "Everyone go back to his town."

What is the moral? Maybe it's that elections have consequences?

I think more fascinating as a study of God's ideal is that the people of Israel, until this point, were a free people who lived within the confines of a written standard of law... a written law (the Law of Moses) upheld by judges and elders. In the new testament, we see a similar structure for ideal construction of a church.

We had a very similar set up in the original work of our US Constitution. We were to live very free lives while allowing judges and elders (congress) to make the important decisions regarding the law, the interpretation thereof, and stability of our nation. We were to choose those who we allowed to borrow power. However, over time, even with the blessings we had, our fathers chose "a King". With that King came all the woes Samuel fortold to the elders of Israel.

Admittedly, per our constitution, our government explicitly derives her sovereignty from the will of the people, not from the will of God. However, I NEED to clarify that our form of government was written for a "moral and religious" people, and that it is unfit for anyone but. That being said, with such people, the will of the people is a reflection of God's will (note: this is not who we are anymore, I fear).

Perhaps the broader message is that when we start thinking of our decisions as being better than God's (and not being an extension or reflections of God's will), we set ourselves up for less than what God desires for us--we get a King!