The term translated “judge” did not refer to judicial office, but to a broader kind of spiritual leadership. Samuel was a transitional figure, who unwillingly moved Israel from theocracy (government by God) to monarchy. He anointed tall, handsome Saul as Israel’s first king. But,
to his great sadness, he later had to tell Saul that by his many bad, self-serving choices he had forfeited his right to the kingship.

• If God told Samuel to make Saul king, how could Saul possibly have gone bad? We Methodists follow John Wesley in believing that God never cancels our moral freedom, the ability to make real choices with real results. (Even Jesus, after praying all night, chose 12 apostles, one of whom, Judas Iscariot, chose to betray him—cf. Luke 6:12-16). How are you using your freedom either to respond to God’s calling or to reject it?
• The Israelites demanded that Samuel name a king “like all the other nations have” (cf. 1 Samuel 8:5). Yet, unlike other Middle Eastern nations, Israel never had an absolute monarchy. The moral authority of prophets (e.g. Samuel, Elijah, Nathan or Jeremiah) always checked and challenged the kings. In what ways can we as Christians, living in very different conditions, still serve as salt and light in the life of our communities?