BIBL 105
Short Essay 2

As we follow the events of the nation Israel, we see the hand of God in every turning point of their history. How He brought them out of Egyptian bondage under the leadership of Moses, to the possession of the land of promise under the leadership of the great commander Joshua. History then points us, to the book of 1 Samuel showing how God transitioned His covenanted nation away from the failing theocratic administration under the tribal judges toward the theocratic administration of the united monarchy; thus the era of the reign of kings were born (Hinson and Yates 2012:162).
Samuel the righteous judge of Israel is raised up to serve during a time when the nation was declining both morally and politically. The priesthood was corrupt and the hearts of the people were far from God. The Philistine oppression was great and had wrought a great slaughter among them. It was Samuel whom God used to ultimately usher the nation back to Him. “So the Israelites put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and served the Lord only. Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpah and I will pray to the Lord for you. So they gathered at Mizpah and drew water and poured it out before the Lord and fasted on that day and said there, we have sinned against the Lord. And Samuel judged the Israelites at Mizpah.” (1 Sam 7:4-6 AMP).
Now as Samuel began to age, he appointed his two sons as judges over Israel, but they did not possess the righteousness of Samuel. They were wicked in their dealings, were out for gain, took bribes and perverted justice. The elders of the Israel brought this to Samuels’s attention, and then asked for a king to rule over them, like all of the other nations. Although there was truth to the wickedness of the sons of Samuel, the real motive behind Israel’s request was driven by their own wickedness to be like the surrounding nations.