Scripture references are to the New International Version, UK Edition of 1984, unless stated otherwise.

‘In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.’

— Judges 21: 25 —

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THE PERIOD IN which we join this study is that of the Judges, a chronologically shadowy era, which lay somewhere between the death of Joshua — the General who had led Israel to victory over, and final settlement in, the Promised Land (Josh. 23: 1); and Saul the first man to be anointed king of Israel 1 Sam. 9: 15, 16).

The words of our headline text, Judges 21: 25 ‘In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit’ was obviously written long after the events described; that is, during a period when kings in Israel were the norm, and some explanation of an earlier arrangement was in order. The explanation is repeated in similar words throughout the book of Judges. See 17: 6; 18: 1; 19: 1. The repetition suggests that the book of Judges was compiled at a later date from separate historical records, possibly by Samuel.

The Period Of The Judges

The ‘judge’ (shaphat) in this context could be described as a combined legislator, governor, protector of the people, and the warrior type. The same Hebrew word is used to describe Jehovah as the supreme Judge, who promotes and demotes as He sees fit (Psa. 75: 7). The Judges in biblical Israel were raised up by God (Judges 2: 18), but they were neither righteous nor blameless, their careers being variously marked by temporising, treachery, idolatry, and self-serving behaviour. Nonetheless, their adjudications were what was needed at an uncertain time in the history of Israel.

The listings in the book of Judges and 1 Sam. 2 and 3, inform us that there were fifteen principal Judges. They were (in order): Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah (with Barak), Gideon, Abimelech, Tola, Jair, Jepthah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, Samson, Eli and Samuel. If we count Barak in his own right, the tally comes to sixteen. As for Samuel, he has the distinction of being not only the last of the Judges, but also the first of the Prophets. See Acts 3: 24; compare Heb. 11: 32.

Many of the Israelites chafed under the oversight of these Judges, and were at length glad to be rid of them. See Judges 2: 16-19 [‘. . . when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers . . . refused to give up their evil practices . . .’]. The tenure of Samuel, the last Judge, came to an abrupt end when the people demanded a different form of governance, one like the rulers of the surrounding (heathen) nations (1 Sam. 8: 4-7):

4. So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5. 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.’ 6. But when they said, ‘Give us a king to lead us,’ this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. 7. 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.’

The problem here was less with the form of rulership they requested, than with their rejection of the theocratic republic they already had. Just such a request had been anticipated in Deut. 17: 14-19. This ‘any one but God’ declaration is a refrain common to our own day and country, as people have grown increasingly tired of conservative traditions of earlier decades, preferring the uninhibited ‘globalised’ secular culture, now on view throughout the Western world.

The Hebrew word for ‘king’ (melek) used here occurs hundreds of times in the Old Testament, before and after this account in Samuel. It is also applied to God Himself (‘The LORD is King for ever and ever’; Psa. 10: 16). The equivalent Greek word is basileus, and is used of earthly sovereigns (‘the king, as the supreme authority’ [which would have included the Roman Emperor] — 1 Peter 2: 13, 14); of Jesus (‘King of Israel’ — John 12: 12, 13) and of Jesus and His Church together (‘King of kings’; Rev. 17: 14).

Be Careful What You Wish For . . . You Just Might Get It

In response, the Lord told Samuel to warn the people that a king would conscript them and their sons into military service, nationalise their economy, and tax them heavily in order to raise income for the treasury. See 1 Sam. 8: 10-17. Israel demonstrated it had grown weary of and rebellious towards the status quo. God may have been equally displeased had they demanded a President, or an Emperor, or a Sheikh. Subsequent events proved Samuel’s warning correct. Whether Saul or David or Solomon, or the numerous kings, good and bad, which followed, the people were by turns oppressed and troubled by the man on the throne. Unsurprisingly, the pattern has repeated itself throughout world history, though it should be stressed that autocracy and overreaching are not traits peculiar to royalty.

Apart from the theocratic arrangement in force before Israel became a kingdom, the Scriptures do not appear to favour one form of earthly government over another. All forms, royal or otherwise, are imperfect and (more or less) prone to degradation, and are lumped together as ‘kings [rulers] of the earth’ (Rev. 6: 15). And, in fairness to Israel’s request, we should note that the reason given by the elders for rejecting rule by God, as represented in Samuel, is that Samuel’s sons were themselves corrupt (1 Sam. 8: 4, 5). It appears then, that regardless of the form of government the nation chose, God would have been displeased.

[Note: The modern state of Israel, recognised officially in 1948, is a democratic republic. It has a unicameral parliamentary system, the Knesset (Heb., gathering). The head of state is the President, who in turn endorses as Prime Minister the most eligible candidate determined by popular election (proportional representation). The Knesset is situated in Jerusalem, the capital of the nation.]

The King Transfers Authority To The King

Regardless of what types of government may or may not have been on offer, the monarchical model is the one into which the prophecies of the Bible were subsequently dovetailed, and the pattern with which Christians have become familiar. ‘Christ as Saviour and King’ has an appeal which ‘Christ as Saviour and [Governor, Kaiser, President]’ does not. The Scriptures inform us that the future, righteous government of earth will be a ‘kingdom’ with Christ as potentate, as illustrated in the parable of the sheep and the goats, which combines a pastoral picture with a regal one (Matt. 25: 31-33 [‘throne . . . heavenly glory’]).

In a wonderful mystery, we see that God divests Himself of some of His own authority and power and bestows it on Christ: the Almighty thus confers Kingship on the son and heir, referring to His beloved in terms of near omnipotence (Heb. 1, King James (Authorised) Version):

2. [God] hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3. Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; 4. Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. . . . 8. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.

Christ alone is He who conveys the essence and righteousness of Jehovah, the Supreme Judge. The eventual result of Christ’s death on the cross will be the gathering of all people to Him in His future Kingdom on earth (John 12: 32 [‘will draw all men unto myself’]). God’s sovereign reign on earth through Christ, the great antitypical Judge during the Millennium, is to be installed in a time of worldwide trouble. Christ’s administration is itself characterised as a smashing up of the nations with an ‘iron sceptre’ (Psa. 2: 9). His will be an imperial dictatorship, but paternal at its core, designed with rich blessings in view for all humanity, intended to make all people free, not to enslave them. Christ the King-Judge shall reign over the earth until all the enemies of righteousness are subdued, including Death itself (1 Cor. 15: 25, 26).

When Christ’s sovereignty during the Millennial Age has achieved its purpose of uplifting mankind, it is likely that the race, at last restored to the perfect condition in which Adam was created, will resume its former sovereignty, lost at the Fall. See Gen. 1: 26 [‘rule . . . over all the earth’]; Psa. 8: 5-8 [‘You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet’]; Rom. 8: 20, 21 [‘. . . glorious freedom of the children of God’].

(Continues)

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February 2015. All author rights asserted, except that you may reproduce this article without express permission. Please acknowledged the source.

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