1 Samuel 8:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you.

NIV: 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.

NASB: Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day—in that they have abandoned Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you as well.

CSB: They are doing the same thing to you that they have done to me, since the day I brought them out of Egypt until this day, abandoning me and worshiping other gods.

NLT: Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually abandoned me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment.

KJV: According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.

NKJV: According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also.

God seems to be indicating that the people are doing to Samuel just as they have done to the Lord all along. God describes the history of His relationship with the people of Israel as one marked by unfaithfulness and rejection in the form of serving other gods and forsaking Him. This has been the case, the Lord says, since the day He brought them out of Egypt until right now.

Saying this equates Israel's desire for a king with the historical betrayals of God as their Lord and Provider. Instead of seeing how He provided victories and blessing when they remained faithful to Him, the people are more concerned about being like other nations. They want a centralized government with a standing army and a clear human chain of command.

For the Lord, the issue was not about whether Israel would ever have a human king. He had allowed for this in the Law (Deuteronomy 17:14–20). It was about the lack of trust in Him in that particular moment. The people believed a king would be more reliable leadership than God working through His human representatives.

First Samuel 8:1–9 jumps forward in time, likely several decades, from the events of the previous chapter. Samuel is now old and his sons, also judges, are corrupt. The elders of Israel gather in Ramah to ask Samuel to appoint a king for the nation. Samuel is concerned but takes their proposal to the Lord. The Lord says that the people are rejecting Him as king. Still, the Lord tells Samuel to do as the people say after he gives them fair warning about how a king will treat them.

Samuel is old, and his sons are corrupt. The elders of Israel gather in Ramah to ask Samuel to appoint a king over them. Samuel resists, but the Lord tells the prophet to do as the people have said after warning them about what a king will take from them. The list includes their children, property, fields, crops, and freedom. The Lord will not save them from their king, Samuel warns. The elders insist they still want a king like all the other nations. The Lord agrees and tells Samuel to provide them one.

First Samuel 8 jumps forward in time perhaps thirty years from the events of the previous chapter. Samuel is now old and his sons, also judges, are corrupt. The elders of Israel gather to ask Samuel to appoint a king for them. Samuel doesn't like it, but he takes the request to the Lord. The Lord tells Samuel to do it, even though the people are rejecting Him as their king. Samuel warns the elders of all the things a king will take from them to serve himself. The elders still insist, and the Lord grants their request.

First Samuel introduces the key figures who led Israel after the era of the judges. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were originally part of a single text, split in certain translations shortly before the birth of Christ. Some of the Bible’s most famous characters are depicted in this book. These including the prophet Samuel, Israel’s first king, Saul, her greatest king, David, and other famous names such as Goliath and Jonathan. By the end of this book, Saul has fallen; the book of 2 Samuel begins with David’s ascension to the throne.