The People Want a King

Samuel had been Israel's judge and prophet for many years. When he got old, he made his sons Joel and Abijah judges. But they weren't good judges—they took bribes and weren't fair.

The leaders of Israel came to Samuel. 'You're getting old,' they said. 'Your sons aren't good judges. We want a KING like all the other countries have!'

This made Samuel sad. He prayed to God about it. God said, 'Samuel, they're not really rejecting YOU—they're rejecting ME! They don't want me to be their king anymore. They've been doing this since I rescued them from Egypt. They keep forgetting about me. But listen to them. Give them a king. But WARN them what a king will do.'

So Samuel told the people: 'A king will take your sons to be soldiers and servants. He'll take your daughters to work for him. He'll take your best fields and animals. He'll make you pay lots of taxes. You'll be his slaves! And when you cry out because of the king you chose, God won't help you!'

That sounds pretty bad, right? But the people said, 'We don't care! We WANT a king! We want to be like everyone else!'

God had made Israel special and different. He was their king! They didn't need a human king. But they wanted to be like the other nations instead of being special for God.

Samuel told God what the people said. God answered, 'Give them a king.'

Sometimes God lets us have what we ask for, even if it's not the best thing for us. Israel wanted a king, so God would give them one.

God was sad that His people didn't want Him to be their king. But He still loved them and had a plan. Someday, a special King from David's family would come—Jesus! He would be the best King ever, and His kingdom would last forever!

The lesson? God's way is always best, even if everyone else is doing something different. Being special for God is better than being like everyone else!