In the events of this past week (November 10-16, 2024) I was reminded of something that Karl Rove once said, speaking to a gathering of Republicans in New Hampshire in 2002. Paraphrasing, he said "remember, when people are frightened, they always vote to the right. Keep that in mind when you are campaigning." And that reminded me of King Saul, the first king of Israel.
In its early days, ancient Israel was famous for having something loosely resembling a modern democracy. Their leaders were called "Judges" and were chosen by a gathering of priests--in consultation with God--who had skills and gifts necessary to be a national leader. And after the end of their "term" (often a crisis that they led the nation through) they were expected to resign and allow a new Judge to take over leadership.
However, in the early 1100s, b.c.e., the nation took on a King in response to a series of invasions by mysterious "Sea People" (later known as the Philistines). The more frightened the people were, the more willing they were to give up their freedoms in return for national security. They moved from being a relatively egalitarian, non-military society to one that was authoritarian and militarized. And each new ruling government—along with its wealthy allies—demanded more and more resources, wealth, and conscripts from the population.
The story is in 1 Samuel 8, when the people of Israel became increasingly frightened of an invasion of migrants, the Philistines, and wanted protection from them by an absolute authority. A delegation of “elders” went to the prophet, Samuel, and demanded that he anoint a king to rule over them. They told him that they had had enough, and wanted a ruler who would strengthen the military, make them rich, and protect them from foreigners.
He said, “A king will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, some he will force to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and others to make weapons of war for his chariots. He will also take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks...He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his companions. He will take a tenth of your grain and vine and give it to his rich officials and attendants. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen.”
But the people refused to listen. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”
So, Samuel took the issue to God and God told him that their request constituted a failure of faith and that by demanding a strong authority to rule over them, they were in fact demanding an idol instead of God. But God begrudgingly told Samuel to give them what they wanted, but also told him to warn them in detail of all that they would lose in freedoms and wealth if they had such a ruler over them. Samuel did that, but the people said they didn’t care. “We are determined to have a king over us,” they said. They wanted a strong military, a strong ruler, and revenge for the new people who had been moving into their country. They wanted someone to make them feel safe, and to them, personal losses were worth it.
So Samuel found a large, inexperienced, mentally disturbed, shepherd named Saul and anointed him as their first king. As king, he became famous for revenge against his enemies, deep jealousy of his competitors, like David, and for waging wars against neighboring countries. Israel was never the same again. After him, each successive king took on more and more of the powers of a typical, brutal, authoritarian monarchy, in which the rich got richer and the poor lost freedoms and were conscripted for war.
And the people all said, "Amen."
