Beginning of the End: The People Are Sorry They Asked for a King

 “Then Samuel died; and the Israelites gathered together and lamented for him, and buried him in his home at Ramah.” A great and good prophet and an outstanding judge had died. Ever since he was very young, Samuel had lived his life in the sight of all Israel with the integrity of his heart. Although Saul had been king, Samuel had wielded a more powerful influence than he, because his record was one of faithfulness and devotion.

The people saw what a mistake they had made in wanting a king so that they would not be different from the nations around them. Many of them looked with fear at the condition of  society, which was quickly becoming corrupted with godlessness. There were good reasons for Israel to mourn that Samuel, the prophet of the Lord, was dead.

The nation had lost the one to whom the people had been used to going to with their great troubles; they had lost one who had constantly plead with God for the best interests of the people. His prayers had given them a sense of security, for “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (James 5:16). The king seemed almost like a madman. Justice was perverted, and order was turned to confusion.

The people’s thoughts were bitter as they looked on Samuel’s quiet resting place and remembered their foolishness in rejecting him as their ruler. He had had so close a connection with Heaven that he seemed to hold all Israel together to God’s throne. Samuel had taught them to love and obey God, but now he was dead. The people felt that they were left to the mercies of a king who was joined to Satan and who would divorce the people from God and heaven.

David knew that Samuel’s death had broken another link of control on the actions of Saul, and he felt less secure than when the prophet lived, so he fled to the wilderness of Paran. In these desolate wilds, realizing that the prophet was dead and the king was his enemy, he sang:

He who keeps you will not slumber.Behold, He who keeps IsraelShall neither slumber nor sleep. ...The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming inFrom this time forth, and even forevermore.  Psalm 121:3-8