Samuel Anoints Saul as First King

When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges, but they were corrupt—accepting bribes and perverting justice. The elders of Israel demanded: “Appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” Samuel was displeased, but God told him: “It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.”

God warned them through Samuel what a king would do—conscript their sons, take their daughters as servants, seize their best fields and vineyards, tax them heavily, and make them slaves. But the people refused to listen: “We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations.”

God directed Samuel to a Benjamite named Saul, son of Kish—an impressive young man “a head taller than anyone else.” Samuel privately anointed Saul with oil, declaring: “Has not the LORD anointed you ruler over his inheritance?” Later, at Mizpah, Samuel publicly presented Saul to the people by lot. When they found him hiding among the baggage, they brought him out, and Samuel proclaimed: “Do you see the man the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” The people shouted, “Long live the king!”

This moment marked the end of the judges era and the beginning of the monarchy. The tribal confederation gave way to centralized kingship. Samuel, the last judge, became the prophet who would both anoint and rebuke kings, demonstrating that even kings must answer to God’s word.