This chapter marks a historic turning point for the Children of Israel. Since their escape from Egypt some four hundred years earlier, the Lord Jehovah, through Moses, and Joshua, and then a series of judges, had directly ruled the people. Now, though, the people pleaded that they might instead have a king like other nations. In a sense, they wanted to be led by human nature, not by God's law and the prophets.

Samuel had grown old, and his sons, Joel and Abiah, had become judges over Israel. However, they took bribes and this influenced their judgments. This is like the corruption of the High Priest Eli’s sons, described in 1 Samuel 2, and also similar to the misbehavior of two of Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, in Leviticus 10. The corruption of Samuel’s sons, as judges over Israel, was what spurred the Israelites to ask for a king.

Samuel prayed to the Lord, asking what he should do about the people’s demand for a king. The Lord assured him that the request came not because he, Samuel, had been rejected. Instead, it was the Lord Himself whom the people of Israel had rejected. The Lord sent a warning through Samuel to the people about what a king would be like. Samuel told them of the personal and financial cost that would come with having a king. The king would use a substantial portion of the land’s resources, and take the best for himself. Having a king would also mean that they were rejecting the Lord’s direct leadership, so they would be unable to call on His help in the way that they had in the past. The people heard the warning, but still did not change their minds.

There are two ways the Lord judges us. One way is through love or goodness. The other is through truth. In other words, our lives can be judged according to the type of love that exists in our hearts and that we show to others. We will make mistakes, but it is our intent that matters most. Judgment according to truth, by comparison, is somewhat cold. We either obey the law or we don’t. The two, love and truth, should exist together. Intentions should be considered together with what we actually do. From this time in Israelite history, the role of priest, representing judgment from goodness or love, was separated from the role of king, representing judgment by truth. They denied themselves the opportunity to be ruled by love and left themselves to be ruled by the cold letter of the law. (See Arcana Coelestia 6148 [3, 5, 6].)

Swedenborg also discusses this concept as follows:

"In the Word a careful distinction is made between people and nation, 'people' meaning truths, 'nation' goods, as shown already in 1259, 1260. Kings have reference to peoples, and not so much to nations. The children of Israel, before they sought to have kings, were 'a nation' and represented good, or that which is celestial; but after they desired a king and received one, they became 'a people' and represented not good or that which is celestial, but truth or that which is spiritual...." (Arcana Coelestia 1672)

This further supports the idea that they began to separate judgement by truth and judgement by love, choosing only truth, or the law, as represented by a king.

4966. 'The chief of the attendants' means which facts come first and foremost in explanations. This is clear from the meaning of 'the chief of the attendants' as the facts which come first and foremost in explanations, dealt with in 4790. Ones which come first and foremost in explanations are those which are pre-eminently suitable for explaining the Word, and so for coming to understand teachings drawn from the Word about love to God and charity towards the neighbour. It should be recognized that the factual knowledge of the people of old was entirely different from that existing at the present day. As stated above, the factual knowledge of the people of old had to do with the correspondences of things in the natural world with realities in the spiritual world. Knowledge which at the present day is called philosophical knowledge, such as Aristotelian systems and their like, did not exist among them. This is also evident from the books written by ancient authors, most of which consisted of descriptions of such things as were signs of, represented, and corresponded to more internal realities, as may be seen from the following evidence, and ignoring all else.

[2] They envisaged Helicon on a mountain and took it to mean heaven, and Parnassus on a hill below that, and took it to mean factual knowledge. They spoke of a flying horse, called Pegasus by them, which broke open a fountain there with its hoof; they called branches of knowledge virgins; and so on. For with the help of correspondences and representatives they knew that 'a mountain' meant heaven, 'a hill' the heaven beneath this, which is heaven as it exists among men, a horse' the power of understanding, 'its wings with which it flew' spiritual things, 'its hoof' that which was natural, 'a fountain' intelligence, while three virgins called 'the Graces' meant affections for good, and virgins who were named 'the Heliconians and 'the Parnassians' meant affections for truth. To the sun they likewise allotted horses, whose food they called ambrosia and whose drink they called nectar; for they knew that 'the sun' meant heavenly love, 'horses' powers of the understanding which sprang from that love, while 'food' meant celestial things and 'drink' spiritual ones.

[3] The Ancients are also the originators of customs that are still followed when kings are crowned. The king has to sit on a silver throne, wear a purple robe, and be anointed with oil. He has to wear a crown on his head, while holding in his hands a sceptre, a sword, and keys. He has to ride in regal splendour on a white horse shed with horseshoes made of silver; and he has to be waited on at table by the chief nobles of the kingdom. And many other customs are followed besides these. The Ancients knew that 'a king' represented Divine Truth that is rooted in Divine Good, and from this they knew what was meant by a silver throne, a purple robe, anointing oil, crown, sceptre, sword, keys, white horse, horseshoes made of silver, and what was meant by being waited on at table by the chief nobles. Who at the present day knows the meaning of any of these customs, or where the information exists to show him their meaning? People refer to them as symbols, but they know nothing at all about correspondence or representation. All this evidence shows what the factual knowledge possessed by the Ancients was like, and that this knowledge gave them a discernment of spiritual and heavenly realities, which at the present day are scarcely known to exist.

[4] The factual knowledge that has replaced that of the Ancients, and which strictly speaking is called philosophical knowledge, tends to draw the mind away from knowing such things because such knowledge can also be employed to substantiate false ideas. Furthermore, even when used to substantiate true ones it introduces darkness into the mind, because for the most part mere terms are used to substantiate them, which few people can understand and which the few who do understand them argue about. From this it may be seen how far the human race has departed from the learning of the Ancients, which led to wisdom. Gentiles received their factual knowledge from the Ancient Church, whose external worship consisted in representatives and meaningful signs and whose internal worship consisted in the realities represented and meant by these. This was the kind of factual knowledge that is meant in the genuine sense by 'Egypt'.