Resource > Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable) >
1 Samuel >
Exposition >
III. SAMUEL AND SAUL 7:2--15:35 >
B. Kingship Given to Saul chs. 8-12 >
1. The demand for a king ch. 8 >
The occasion for requesting a king 8:1-3
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The people would probably not have pressed for a king at this time had Samuel's sons proved as faithful to the Mosaic Covenant as their father had been. However, Joel ("Yahweh is God") and Abijah ("My [divine] Father is Yahweh") disqualified themselves from leadership in Israel by disobeying the Law (Exod. 23:6, 8; Deut. 16:19). Eli's sons had done the same thing.
