For generations after the Moses-Joshua era, the Israelites had been ruled by nobody. They had been governed by God’s law handed down to Moses, guided loosely by citizen judges under the watchful eye of the Lord Almighty. Other nations were ruled by kings, and at long last the foolish and shortsighted Israelites were no longer content to be God’s chosen people, operating under His providence:
Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel, and said to him, “Make us a king to judge us like all the nations.”
And the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.”
So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people: “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the LORD will not hear you in that day.”
Nevertheless the people said, “No, but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”
So the LORD said to Samuel,”Heed their voice, and make them a king.” (excerpts of I Samuel 8:4-22, KJV)
The good old days, when oppressive governments only took 10%…
Fast forward to 1787.
Moe Lane
Caleb Howe
Dan Spencer
James Richardson
