The Compromise for a King

Bible Study Questions

1 Samuel 8:1-22

Paul J. Bucknell

A. Compromise (1-8) | B. Consequences (9-18) | C. Insistent (19-22)
Handout | Bible Study Questions 1 Samuel 8:1-22 | Podcast

The study of 1 Samuel 8 provides great insight into why God’s people end up living in a less than ideal situation.

What about your life? Have you somehow compromised? Have you insisted on something and found out (or just now finding it out) that what you thought would be better became a cause for more concern?

Check out our Digital Old Testament Library for a huge collection of resources on 1 Samuel and all of the Old Testament!

A. Rejection of the Lord (1 Samuel 8:1-8)

1. What did Samuel do when he got old (1 Samuel 8:1)? Why?

2. How did the people respond to Samuel's decision to do this (1 Samuel 8:4-5)?

3. What is one or two reasons that they did this (1 Samuel 8:2-3)?
   
   

4. Why do you think Samuel was displeased with the people’s request for a king (1 Samuel 8:6)?
   
   

5. How did Samuel deal with his disappointment with the people (1 Samuel 8:6)? How do you handle things when things do not go your way?

6. Why else might have the elders requested Samuel for a king (1 Samuel 8:20)?

7. Why was God displeased with the people’s request for a king? Also read Deuteronomy 17:14-20.

8. Are you ever tempted by thinking the ways of the world are better than God’s? Give an example. What would be the consequences?
   

B. Consequences for One's Choices (1 Samuel 8:9-18)

1. What were the two things the Lord told Samuel to do (8:9)?
   

2. What did Samuel do starting in verse 11 (8:11-18)?

3. Why did the Lord have Samuel tell the people about what the king would be like? (1 Samuel 8:9)

4. List at least ten consequences to choosing a king (8:11-18).

5. Which consequence would trouble you the most?

6. List three situations that a person chooses the way of the world without fully thinking about the consequences (eg. sex before marriage - disease and broken relationships).
   

7. Do you think that we can return back to God after choosing our foolish ways? Read 1 Samuel 8:18, 1 John 1:9 and respond. What would you recommend to a friend seeking to come back to the Lord?

C. Insistent on One's Own Ways (1 Samuel 8:19-22)

1. How did the people respond to Samuel's listing of the heavy costs of having a king (8:19-20)?

2. If having a king was so bad, why did the Lord permit them to have a king? (1 Samuel 8:9,22).

3. What should a parent do when a child insists on having something that in the long run will cause problems?

Summary

• Compromise usually, if not always, comes about by deception. Discuss what happened in the Garden of Eden. Were Adam and Eve content? Why did they eat the fruit? Why did the Israelites compromise here? Ask protection from desiring things that the Lord does not provide.

• Jesus is king; He rules over all. Do you faithfully serve Him or put your desires first? Oftentimes we have compromised our obedience without even thinking about it. We slowly drift away from the Lord.
  
  Contemplate on this and turn back to the Lord through Jesus. The consequences might continue on, but your joy will return.

• For further study, read the blessings the Lord gave to Solomon (1 Kings 9-10:25). Read how Solomon disobeyed the Lord (1 Kings 10:26, 11:1) and then drifted from the Lord (1 Kings 11:4-8). Then read the consequences starting in 1 Kings 11:9 right to the end.

Next -> Read the 1 Samuel 8 study to help find the answers or listen to the podcast.

Biblical Foundations for Freedom

Rev. Paul J. Bucknell

info@foundationsforfreedom.net

Scriptures quoted from the New American Standard Bible unless noted
(C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1988