1 Samuel 7- 10: Just What They Needed

They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”
But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. And the LORD told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do.” - 1 Samuel 8:5-9 NIV

Israel had a hard time deciding who to follow.  First there was Moses, a relatively shy man who had difficulty speaking, yet heard the voice of God.  Then there was Joshua who was unafraid to follow God and led them into the promised land after their years of wandering.  After that, they had the priests who were supposed to be the representatives of the people before God and the judges who were to determine right from wrong.  None of these forms of government sat just right with the people.  They looked around at the other nations and saw that they were doing just fine without the priests or judges because they had a king.  A king!  They had someone they could look up to, someone who would be the leader, the authority and savior.  Someone who would keep them safe from their enemies.  Someone who they could rever and perhaps even worship.  A king, that was just what they needed.

They did not want to pay attention to what Samuel told them:  that a king would take their sons and daughters, their crops, their cattle and land.  As far as the people were concerned, that was a small price to pay to be like everyone else.

But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.” 1 Sam. 8:19-20

God was not enough.  He was not wise enough, he was not popular enough, he was not strong enough.  A king was the answer to all of their problems.  A king was just what they needed.