Bible Discussion Thread

what do it mean

They was to obey God but they wanted a king like other nations. God gave them a king and all hell broke out.

If you go back to 1 Sam chapter 8, you will see that since prophet Samuel was getting old & his sons were a useless, evil pair, the people cried out to have a king rule over them, just the heathen nations had over them. Samuel warned them about this after consulting with God but the people wouldn't listen. And this displeased God as it showed that His people no longer wanted to put their trust in Him for their blessings & battles, but to have a human king to reign over them. And you've read about this in chapter 12 when Samuel rehearsed with them how God blessed His people when they followed Him but when they turned away, they suffered badly.

So, to prove to them that God was angry at them in asking for a king, Samuel asked God to show His Anger by sending thunder & rain during their wheat harvest, at a time when that type of weather would destroy their crops. After the rain came, they feared God & realized their foolish request for a king. Sometimes, God has to do this to us too, when we're too stubborn to do what He wants us to do, we feel the pain from His Hand. So Israel quickly changed their prayer for a king to a prayer that they themselves wouldn't be destroyed. But they did get Saul as king, but he was not God's chosen - you can read about that in the following chapters.