Was Israel Having a King Sinful?

by Perry Hall

A common position is that Israel's wanting a King was sinful (I Samuel 8). Israel even confesses, “Pray for your servants to Yahweh your God, so that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil by asking for ourselves a king" (quoted I Samuel 12:19).

I suggest to you that Israel having a king was not sinful and that God always intended for Israel to have a king.

If the above is true, then why did both God and Samuel condemn Israel for asking for and wanting a king?

1. God said they rejected Him as king.
2. They wanted a king like the nations to lead them in battle and judge them.
3. They were leading God, rather than letting God lead them.

The problem wasn't in having a king. The problem was not waiting for God to introduce the idea of having a king.

What evidence do I present that having a king was not sinful?

1. God was a king. So Israel had a king.
2. The book of Judges is an apologetic for having a king.
3. There is a difference between wanting a king like Yahweh (i.e., a man after God's own heart) and wanting a king like the nations.
4. God anoints the kings, giving His approval, and God doesn't anoint sin.
5. Jesus came to be king, but not like the kings of the nations.

A good analogy would be the temple. Having a temple was not sinful. But building a temple without God's authority was. When Solomon built the temple, God anointed it by filling it with His glory.

The problem for Israel wasn't about having a king. They wanted a king like the nations, and one based on their own authority.