Monarchy and Divided Kingdom / 1 Samuel 8, 12 / 1 Kings 11
I invite you to grab a seat. Welcome to The Well. My name is Mike. I am one of the teaching pastors around this place, and I get the great privilege of leading us off on a new series that we are going to be in for the summer.
If you have been around this place for any length of time, you know that one of the things we like to do in the summer is hit the pause button and do something a little different. For the last three or four years, we have done what we call our Summer Teaching Series. What we do is make the pulpit available to folks who normally do not get to be up here. If you have not noticed, we have a very talented staff. Many of the guys who have the ability to communicate at this level have responsibilities in other areas—whether musically, in Kids Connection, or in Student Ministries—and they do not often get an opportunity to teach on the weekend, even though they have the gifting and ability.
With our Summer Teaching Series, our desire is to teach live all summer at every campus and at every service. The way we do that is by pulling from our bullpen. As always, we prepare these messages as a teaching team. For months, we have been working together on this series in the books of Kings. On any given Sunday, we may have two, three, or even four different communicators teaching the message across our campuses. Our heart behind that is to give you a chance to hear from guys who are incredibly gifted by God. Over the next six weeks, you are going to hear from a variety of different voices, and we believe that adds a ton of value to what we do at The Well.
Why Study the Kings of Israel?
In past summers, we have looked at the miracles in John, the Psalms, and the book of Judges. This year, we are going to examine the story of the Old Testament kings and their role in Israel’s history.
This is honestly one of my absolute favorite things to teach. For the last fourteen years, I have had the privilege of teaching Old Testament history in our residency program. For the crazy folks who get up at six in the morning and study with us five days a week for nine months, I get to walk through 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles.
For many of us, those books feel like the Bermuda Triangle of Scripture: we know it is there, but we do not really want to go there. My old seminary president, Chuck Swindoll, used to call these books the “pots and pans” of Scripture—like that chaotic drawer in your kitchen that nobody wants to open. The utensils are useful, but it is a total mess.
Yet when you dive in, there are these amazing stories. Over a nearly five-hundred-year period, forty-two kings led Israel, and their stories are remarkably rich. Some of these kings were godly men who submitted to the ultimate King. They led the nation in repentance, confession, and walking with God. The problem is that there were very few of those. Most of the kings in Israel’s history were ungodly, and many were thoroughly evil. Through some, we learn positive examples to emulate; through others, we learn what not to do.
We do not study this history just to fill our heads with trivia so you can name an obscure king like Pekah and beat all your friends in Bible trivia. Knowing your Bible is valuable, but that is not the end goal. Nor is the goal simply to extract moral maxims—looking at a flawed human being and saying, “Let’s just copy what he did right and avoid what he did wrong.” If we stop there, we sell ourselves short.
The real goal is much higher. Tony Merida captured it well in his commentary on Kings when he wrote:
“Kings is a story that involves the sinfulness of kings and the people they represent, their persistent idolatry and associated injustice. It’s a story of a sad decline and the need for another king, the ultimate son of David. In Genesis, God promises that kings will come from Abraham. And as a keeper of promises, he fulfills that… ultimately [in] the King of kings in Jesus Christ. In the book of Kings, specifically, we meet the God of promise and salvation who orchestrates a royal line that will ultimately culminate in David’s greater son, that is Jesus Christ.”
Our hope as we study these earthly, flawed rulers is that this journey points us to our eternal King and His eternal kingdom. We want to see Jesus, the King of kings, as we wait expectantly for His second coming.
Over the next six weeks, we will meet a variety of kings. We will meet Hezekiah, who started exceptionally well, but allowed selfishness and self-focus to leave his life a shadow of what it could have been. We will look at Asa, who had tremendous potential yet fell short. We will meet Josiah, who took the throne at eight years old—a second-grader leading the nation—and remained a godly king from start to finish. We will encounter Ahab, one of the most wicked kings in Israel’s history, who had a terrible wife and an insatiable appetite for excess. We will study Jehu, who eradicated idolatry only to turn around and worship the very idols he destroyed. And we will meet Manasseh, who reigned for fifty-five years—longer than any other king—and was evil to the core, yet offered a deathbed repentance that God graciously received, displaying hope for even the worst of sinners.
These men are not the heroes of the story. They are pointers to the King above all kings.
The Demand for an Earthly King
How did Israel end up with a human monarchy in the first place? To understand that, we have to go back to the beginning in 1 Samuel 8.
1 Samuel 8:1-3 (NASB)
And it came about when Samuel was old that he appointed his sons judges over Israel. Now the name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; [they] were judging in Beersheba. His sons, however, did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain and took bribes and perverted justice.
Samuel is one of the most remarkable characters in the Old Testament. Dedicated to temple service as a young boy, he led Israel as a prophet and the final judge. Across decades of ministry, he led the nation with integrity. But as he grew old, he appointed his sons as judges, and verse 3 reveals a heartbreaking reality: his sons did not walk in his ways. They pursued dishonest gain, accepted bribes, and perverted justice. As godly as Samuel was, he was unable to pass that godliness down to his sons.
Seeing this, the elders of Israel approached Samuel with a demand.
1 Samuel 8:4-5 (NASB)
Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah; and they said to him, ‘Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.’
On the surface, their concern seems reasonable. Nobody wants corrupt leadership. But look closely at their underlying motive in verse 5: they asked for a king to judge them “like all the nations.”
Israel looked around and realized they were the oddball in the ancient world. Philistia, Ammon, and Moab all had visible rulers sitting on physical thrones with armies at their command. Israel wanted to blend in.
God had never called Israel to be like the surrounding nations. In Exodus 19, He called them to be His treasured possession, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
Exodus 19:5-6 (NASB)
‘Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.’
God told them, in essence: “You have a unique covenant with Me. If you trust Me and obey Me—even though you cannot see Me sitting on a physical throne—I will care for you and meet your needs. Your distinct lifestyle is meant to display My character to the watching world.”
Instead of embracing that calling, Israel wanted to look like everyone else. In 1 Samuel 8:20, they elaborated on their request.
1 Samuel 8:20 (NASB)
that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.’
Why did they suddenly feel this urgent need? Just across the Jordan River, Nahash, the king of Ammon—whose name literally means “snake”—was threatening to attack. Seeing an aggressive enemy approaching, Israel panicked. Because they lacked a standing army and a visible military commander, fear drove them to seek security in a human ruler rather than trusting their invisible God.
This demand broke Samuel’s heart. But when Samuel prayed, the Lord clarified what was really taking place.
1 Samuel 8:6-8 (NASB)
But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, ‘Give us a king to judge us.’ And Samuel prayed to the LORD. The LORD said to Samuel, ’Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. ’Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day– in that they have forsaken Me and served other gods– so they are doing to you also.
God told Samuel, “They haven’t rejected you; they have rejected Me.” Israel already had a King—Yahweh Himself. When life pressed in, their default pattern was to abandon the ultimate King and chase lesser things they thought would provide safety, comfort, or control.
The Skateboard on the Hill
Like a good parent dealing with a stubborn child, God chose to let Israel experience the consequences of their choice.
When I was in the fourth or fifth grade, I got a new skateboard for Christmas. Later that summer, my family went on vacation to East Texas. I grew up in Dallas, which is pancake-flat; the biggest hill we had was a highway overpass. East Texas, however, had huge rolling hills. Right outside our cabin was a massive, 100-yard asphalt hill.
I looked at that hill and thought, That has my name written all over it. I told my mom, “I’m going to take my skateboard to the top of that hill and ride all the way down.” She looked at me with concern and said, “Mike, I really don’t think you’ve thought this through.” I replied, “No, Mom, I’ve got this!”
I hauled my board to the top, jumped on, and took off. For the first twenty yards, it was incredible—wind blowing in my face, going faster than I had ever gone. But around thirty yards, I realized skateboards do not have brakes. By fifty yards, the speed wobbles hit. In an instant, I went flying like Superman straight onto the hot asphalt—hands, chin, knees, the whole nine yards.
I left a lot of myself on that Texas road. When I stood up, my hands were torn up so badly you could see the tendon moving in my thumb. I ran back to the cabin crying. My mom bandaged me up and gently said, “You probably should have thought that through a little more.”
She let me ride down that hill because she knew I had to learn the lesson firsthand. Scraped hands and knees heal, but she wanted me to remember that day so that when I became a foolish teenager and she offered wisdom, I might realize Mom actually knew what she was talking about.
God dealt with Israel in a similar way. He warned them through Samuel about the heavy taxation, conscription, and oppression a human king would bring. Yet the people insisted.
1 Samuel 8:22 (NASB)
The LORD said to Samuel, ‘Listen to their voice and appoint them a king.’ So Samuel said to the men of Israel, ‘Go every man to his city.’
The Poster Boy and the Heart
In 1 Samuel 12, Samuel presented Israel with the king they requested.
1 Samuel 12:1 (NASB)
Then Samuel said to all Israel, ’Behold, I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me and I have appointed a king over you.
1 Samuel 12:13 (NASB)
’Now therefore, here is the king whom you have chosen, whom you have asked for, and behold, the LORD has set a king over you.
The name Saul literally means “asked for.” He was exactly what the people requested.
1 Samuel 9:2 (NASB)
He had a son whose name was Saul, a choice and handsome [man], and there was not a more handsome person than he among the sons of Israel; from his shoulders and up he was taller than any of the people.
Saul looked the part. He was tall, handsome, and imposing—a full head taller than anyone else. He was from the tribe of Benjamin, a tribe renowned for elite warriors who could sling stones with either hand and never miss.
Judges 20:16 (NASB)
Out of all these people 700 choice men were left-handed; each one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.
Saul looked like he belonged on the cover of a magazine. He was the quintessential poster-boy king.
God made it clear that even within this flawed system, obedience was essential.
1 Samuel 12:14-15 (NASB)
’If you will fear the LORD and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the command of the LORD, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God. ’If you will not listen to the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the command of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you, [as it was] against your fathers.
God was saying, “This is Plan B. I wanted to be your King. But if Saul walks in humility, submits to My authority, and stewards My people according to My covenant, this can work. But if he rebels, My hand will be against him and against you.”
At first, Saul looked like a massive success. He rallied Israel’s forces, defeated Nahash the Ammonite, and delivered the city of Jabesh-gilead. The people celebrated. But over his forty-year reign, Saul’s hollow interior was exposed. He did not love Yahweh. He offered illicit sacrifices, made foolish vows, and cared more about public approval than honoring God. Consequently, God rejected Saul as king.
For Israel’s second king, God did the choosing. He selected David—a young shepherd boy who was the youngest and least noticed in his family. Externally unimpressive compared to his older brothers, David was a man after God’s own heart. Unlike Saul, David understood that his role was to serve under the ultimate authority of Yahweh. He refused to worship foreign idols and repeatedly repented when confronted with his sins.
David was far from perfect. He committed adultery with Bathsheba, arranged the murder of Uriah, married multiple wives, and displayed devastating passivity in his own home when his children committed terrible sins against one another. Yet through David, God made an enduring covenant in 2 Samuel 7, promising that an everlasting King would come from his lineage.
2 Samuel 7:12-16 (NASB)
’When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. ’He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ’I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took [it] away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. ‘Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.’‘’
The Splintered Kingdom
When David died, his son Solomon took the throne. What David did in moderation, Solomon took to radical excess. Solomon acquired hundreds of wives and concubines, amassed immense wealth, and eventually built high places for foreign gods like Chemosh and Molech to please his foreign wives.
Because of Solomon’s unfaithfulness, God divided the nation after his death into two separate kingdoms: the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah.
Over the next several centuries, nineteen kings ruled the northern kingdom. Not one of them was godly; every single one engaged in idolatry and led the nation away from God. In the southern kingdom, twenty kings reigned, but only a handful—such as Hezekiah and Josiah—truly sought the Lord. For nearly five hundred years, the nation spiraled through division, political turmoil, and spiritual decline, culminating in foreign conquest and exile.
Pursuing the Greater King
Why did Israel continually drift toward idols and human kings? For the exact same reason we pursue lesser things today: they believed those things could deliver what they thought they needed.
We do not bow down to wooden statues of Baal today, but our hearts operate under the same temptation. It is easy to trust God on Sunday when we are singing songs, but on Monday morning—when bills are due, debt is mounting, or relationships are strained—we are tempted to take control into our own hands. We look to money, career advancement, status, or relationships to provide the security and identity that only God can give.
Recently, our family was driving home from a trip to Lake Tahoe. My oldest daughter, who is entering her senior year of high school, was in the back seat researching colleges on her phone. She looked at a university in Southern California and said, “Dad, tuition is $50,000 a year! Is that a lot? How much can you help with?” I laughed and said, “Well, I’ve got about twenty dollars in my pocket right now!”
As I sat there, I felt my chest tighten. I have three daughters—which means three college tuitions, three weddings, and three sets of expenses down the road. My bank account does not have those kinds of zeros. But as I prayed, the Lord reminded me: Mike, even if you had another zero on your paycheck, your heart would still need to trust Me. The solution is not working ourselves to exhaustion or grasping for control. The solution is resting in our good and sovereign King.
God often brings us to the end of our own resources so that we will lean fully on Him.
To the men and future fathers in the room: the greatest legacy you can give your family is modeling what it looks like to trust Jesus as King. That does not mean you have to be a scholar who dissects Greek verbs at 6:00 a.m. at the breakfast table. It means that when life gets hard, your family sees you take your anxieties to the Lord in prayer, trusting His character and provision.
As we journey through this series over the next six weeks, let our focus remain clear. We are looking at these ancient kings not merely to learn history, but to see our deep need for the King of kings. Let these stories create a longing in your heart to submit your life daily to Jesus Christ.
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for Your Word and for recording these accounts for our instruction. Thank You for showing us the painful outcomes of chasing lesser things, so that we might walk in wisdom.
Help us to trust that You are a good, just, and benevolent King. We ask that our lives would reflect Your lordship from the moment we wake up until we go to sleep. Be glorified in us. We love You, and we pray these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.