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1 Samuel 8

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1 At nangyari, nang si Samuel ay matanda na, na kaniyang ginawang mga hukom sa Israel ang kaniyang mga anak.

2 Ang pangalan nga ng kaniyang panganay ay Joel; at ang pangalan ng kaniyang ikalawa ay Abia: sila'y mga hukom sa Beer-seba.

3 At ang kaniyang mga anak ay hindi lumakad sa kaniyang mga daan, kundi lumingap sa mahalay na kapakinabangan, at tumanggap ng mga suhol, at sinira ang paghatol.

4 Nang magkagayo'y nagpipisan ang mga matanda ng Israel, at naparoon kay Samuel sa Ramatha;

5 At kanilang sinabi sa kaniya, Narito, ikaw ay matanda na, at ang iyong mga anak ay hindi lumalakad sa iyong mga daan: ngayon nga'y lagyan mo kami ng isang hari upang humatol sa amin gaya ng lahat ng mga bansa.

6 Nguni't hindi minabuti ni Samuel, nang kanilang sabihin, Bigyan mo kami ng isang hari upang humatol sa amin. At si Samuel ay nanalangin sa Panginoon.

7 At sinabi ng Panginoon kay Samuel, Dinggin mo ang tinig ng bayan sa lahat ng kanilang sinasabi sa iyo; sapagka't hindi ikaw ang kanilang itinakuwil, kundi itinakuwil nila ako, upang huwag akong maghari sa kanila.

8 Ayon sa lahat na gawa na kanilang ginawa mula nang araw na iahon ko sila mula sa Egipto hanggang sa araw na ito, sa kanilang pagiiwan sa akin, at paglilingkod sa ibang mga dios ay gayon ang ginagawa nila sa iyo.

9 Ngayon nga'y dinggin mo ang kanilang tinig: gayon ma'y tatanggi kang mainam sa kanila, at ipakikilala mo sa kanila ang paraan ng hari na maghahari sa kanila.

10 At isinaysay ni Samuel ang buong salita ng Panginoon sa bayan na humihingi sa kaniya ng isang hari.

11 At kaniyang sinabi, Ito ang magiging paraan ng hari na maghahari sa inyo: kaniyang kukunin ang inyong mga anak at kaniyang ilalagay sa kaniyang mga karo, at upang maging mga mangangabayo niya; at sila'y tatakbo sa unahan ng kaniyang mga karo;

12 At kaniyang mga ihahalal sa kaniya na mga kapitan ng lilibuhin at mga kapitan ng lilimangpuin; at ang iba ay upang umararo ng kaniyang lupa, at umani ng kaniyang aanihin, at upang gumawa ng kaniyang mga sangkap na pangdigma, at sangkap sa kaniyang mga karo.

13 At kaniyang kukunin ang inyong mga anak na babae upang maging mga manggagawa ng pabango, at maging mga tagapagluto, at maging mga magtitinapay.

14 At kaniyang kukunin ang inyong mga bukid, at ang inyong mga ubasan, at ang inyong mga olibohan, sa makatuwid baga'y ang pinakamabuti sa mga yaon, upang mga ibigay sa kaniyang mga lingkod.

15 At kaniyang kukunin ang ika-sangpung bahagi ng inyong binhi, at ng inyong mga ubasan, at ibibigay sa kaniyang mga punong kawal, at sa kaniyang mga lingkod.

16 At kaniyang kukunin ang inyong mga aliping lalake at babae, at ang inyong pinakamabuting bataan, at ang inyong mga asno, at mga ilalagay sa kaniyang mga gawain.

17 Kaniyang kukunin ang ikasangpung bahagi ng inyong mga kawan: at kayo'y magiging kaniyang mga lingkod.

18 At kayo'y dadaing sa araw na yaon, dahil sa inyong hari na inyong pipiliin; at hindi kayo sasagutin ng Panginoon sa araw na yaon.

19 Nguni't tinanggihang dinggin ng bayan ang tinig ni Samuel; at kanilang sinabi, Hindi; kundi magkakaroon kami ng hari sa amin;

20 Upang kami naman ay maging gaya ng lahat ng mga bansa, at upang hatulan kami ng aming hari, at lumabas sa unahan namin, at ipakipaglaban ang aming pakikipagbaka.

21 At narinig ni Samuel ang lahat ng mga salita ng bayan, at kaniyang mga isinaysay sa pakinig ng Panginoon.

22 At sinabi ng Panginoon kay Samuel, Dinggin mo ang kanilang tinig at lagyan mo sila ng hari. At sinabi ni Samuel sa mga tao sa Israel, Yumaon ang bawa't isa sa inyo sa kanikaniyang bayan.

   

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Exploring the Meaning of 1 Samuel 8

Napsal(a) Garry Walsh

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.

Bible

 

Numbers 18:20

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20 Yahweh said to Aaron, "You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel.