Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Samuel 8:6

"But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto Jehovah." — 1 Samuel 8:6 (ASV)

The thing displeased Samuel. It is clear that the elders of the people were perfectly justified in coming to the resolution contained in their petition to Samuel. The Deuteronomy directions contained in 1 Samuel 17:14–20 are clear and explicit in this matter of an earthly king for the people, and Moses evidently had looked forward to this alteration in the constitution when he framed the Law. No date for the change is specified, but from the terms of the Deuteronomy words, no distant period was evidently anticipated. Then, again, though Samuel was naturally displeased, he at once, as prophet and seer, carried the matter to the God-Friend of Israel in prayer, and the Eternal King at once bids His old true servant to comply with the people’s desire.

The displeasure of the prophet-judge was very natural. He felt—this we see from the comforting words his Master addressed to him (see 1 Samuel 8:7)—that the people, despite the vast claims he had to their gratitude, craved another and a different ruler, and were dissatisfied with his government. Samuel too was conscious that Israel by its request declined the direct sovereignty of the Eternal. The change to an earthly sovereign had been foreseen, foretold, even arranged for, by Moses, but, in spite of all this, to one like Samuel it was very bitter.

It seemed to remove the people from that solitary platform which they alone among nations had been allowed to occupy. They had found by sad experience, as Moses—“their Rabbi,” as the old teachers loved to style him—had predicted, that such a form of government was, alas! unsuited to them, and that they must descend here to the level of ordinary peoples. But though all this was undisputably true, it was very bitter for the hero patriot to give up forever the splendid Hebrew ideal that his people were the subjects of the Eternal King, ruled directly by Him.