1. 1 Samuel 8:19–20 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What is it about a king that would have made the Israelites be like the other nations?

1 Samuel 8:19–20 (ESV)

19 But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us,

Though security was the main objective in Israel’s desire for a king (1 Samuel 8:20; 1 Samuel 12:12), there is a suggestion that their desire also had to do with status. They wanted to be similar to the nations around them instead of being holy to God (different).1 Weary of being unique, they wanted to be like the people around them.2