April 08, 2008

Breadcrumb: We want a king!

After the unfortunate incident with the ark, the Israelites decide what would really solve the problem would be for them to have a king and be like everyone else. Samuel tries to talk them out of it by telling them how a king would behave. Specifically, he says a king would conscript their sons into his army; conscript their daughters to be his cooks; and take their land, produce, cattle, and servants. The people will cry out to God because of the king, and God will not hear their cries. (1 Sam. 8:10-18) You'd think this would be warning enough, but somehow the Israelites seem to have developed a communal case of selective deafness, because they still insist on having a king. Some people will never learn, it seems.

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