March 21st

March 21st -- 1 Samuel 8:1-5 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Samuel%208:1-5&version=NLT)

Israel requests a king.

So Samuel got old, and he appointed his sons as judges. Joel and Abijah were his oldest and were in charge of Beersheba. However, unlike Samuel, they had become greedy and they would accept bribes and pervert justice in their courts.
The leaders finally all go to Samuel and basically explain they can clearly see he's getting old. They say his sons are very much not like him, so they want Samuel to appoint a king over them, because all the other nations are ruled by one.

Well... that's all. All I can say is that I find it interesting that the people ask for a king instead of a new judge. In my Bible course in grade 10, we talked about how the nation just wanted to fit in, in a way. All the nations around them were ruled by kings, who would have great cities, and armies that could wipe out other nations. So, Israel, upon seeing the opportunity because of Samuel's unrighteous sons, saw this as a great opportunity to get a king for their nation. Really all they wanted was to be able to say to all the other nations "Look! We have a king!".

Well, that's all! God bless! Shalom!