THE RISE OF THE ISRAELITE EMPIRE.
The coronation of Saul (B. C. 1095) marks an epoch in the history of Israel. From that point, for five hundred years, the chosen people were under the rule of kings.
I. THE CAUSES LEADING TO THE MONARCHY. The kingdom was not an accidental nor a sudden event. There had been a gradual preparation for it through all the period of the judges.
GIDEON
1. Note the tendency toward settled government. In the time of Gideon the people desired him to become a king (Judg. 8. 22, 23). His son attempted to make himself a king, but failed (Judg. 9). We find judges setting up a semi-royal state, and making marriages for their children outside of their tribe (Judg. 12. 9, 13, 14). Judges associating their sons with themselves (Judg. 10. 4; 1 Sam. 8. 1, 2). All these show a monarchical trend in the time.
PHILISTINES
moabites
2. Another cause was the consolidation of the surrounding nations. In the days of the conquest there were few kings in the lands neighboring Palestine. We read of "lords" and "elders," but no kings, among the Philistines, the Moabites, the Ammonites, and the Phenicians (Judg. 3. 3; 1 Sam. 5. 8; Num. 22. 7). But a wave of revolution swept over all those lands, as about the same time over Greece; and very soon we find that every nation around Israel had its king (1 Sam. 21. 10; 11. 1; 22. 3; 2 Sam. 5. 11). The movement of Israel toward monarchy was in accordance with this spirit.
3. There was a danger of invasion, which impelled the Israelites to seek for a stronger government (1 Sam. 12. 12). They felt themselves weak, while other nations were organized for conquest, and desired a king for leader in war.
Samuel
samuel
4. Then, too, the rule of Samuel led the Israelites to[50] desire a better organization of the government. For twenty years they had enjoyed the benefit of a wise, strong, and steady rule. They felt unwilling to risk the dangers of tribal dissension after the death of Samuel, and therefore they sought for a king.
5. But underlying all was the worldly ambition of the people. They were not willing to remain the people of God, and work out a peculiar destiny. They wished to be like the nations around, to establish a secular state, to conquer an empire for themselves (1 Sam. 8. 5-20). It was this worldly spirit, whose results Samuel saw, which made him unwilling to accede to the wish of the Israelites. But the very things against which he warned them (1 Sam. 8. 11-18) were just what they desired.
II. THE CHARACTER OF THE ISRAELITE KINGDOM. When men change their plans God changes his. He desired Israel to remain a republic, and not to enter into worldly relations and aims. When, however, the Israelites were determined, God gave them a king (1 Sam. 8. 22); but his rule was not to be like that of the nations around Israel. We ascertain the divine ideal of a kingdom for his chosen people:
1. It was a theocratic kingdom. That is, it recognized God as the supreme ruler, and the king as his representative, to rule in accordance with his will, and not by his own right. Only as people and king conformed to this principle could the true aims of the kingdom be accomplished (1 Sam. 12. 13-15). And if the king should deviate from this order, he should lose his throne. Disobedience to the divine will caused the kingdom to pass from the family of Saul to that of David (1 Sam. 13. 13, 14; 15. 26).
2. It was a constitutional kingdom. The rights of the people were carefully guaranteed, and there was a written constitution (1 Sam. 10. 25). Nearly all the Oriental countries have always been governed by absolute monarchs; but Israel[51] was an exception to this rule. The people could demand their rights from Rehoboam (1 Kings 12. 3, 4). Ahab could not take away nor even buy Naboth's vineyard against its owner's will (1 Kings 21. 1-3). No doubt the rights of the people were often violated; but the violation was contrary to the spirit of the monarchy.
3. It was regulated by the prophets. The order of prophets had a regular standing in the Israelite state. The prophet was a check upon the power of the king, as a representative both of God's will and the people's rights. He spoke not only of his own opinions, but by the authority of God. Notice instances of the boldness of prophets in rebuking kings (1 Sam. 15. 16-23; 2 Sam. 12. 1-7; 1 Kings 13. 1-6; 17. 1; 22. 7-17). The order of prophets was like the House of Commons, between the king and the people.
III. THE REIGN OF SAUL. (B. C. 1095-1055.) 1. This may be divided into two parts: 1.) a period of prosperity, during which Saul ruled well, and freed Israel from its oppressors on every side (1 Sam. 14. 47, 48); 2.) then a period of decline, in which Saul's kingdom seems to be falling in pieces, and only preserved by the prowess and ability of David. After David's exile the Philistines again overran Israel, and Saul's reign ended in defeat and death.
2. We observe that Saul's reign was a failure, and left the tribes in worse condition than it found them. 1.) He failed in uniting the tribes; for tribal jealousies continued (1 Sam. 10. 27), and at the close of his reign broke out anew in the establishment of rival thrones (2 Sam. 2. 4, 8, 9). 2.) He failed in making friends. He alienated Samuel, and with him the order of prophets (1 Sam. 15. 35); he alienated David, the ablest young man of his age, and the rising hope of Israel, and drove him into exile (1 Sam. 21. 10); he alienated the entire order of the priests, and caused many of them to be massacred (1 Sam. 22. 18). 3.) He failed to advance[52] religion; left the tabernacle in ruins; left the ark in seclusion; broke up the service; and drove the priests whom he did not murder into exile (1 Sam. 22. 20-23). 4.) He failed to liberate Israel; at his death the yoke of the Philistines was more severe than ever before (1 Sam. 31. 1-7). The most charitable view of Saul was that he was insane during the latter years of his life. The cause of his failure was a desire to reign as an absolute monarch, and an unwillingness to submit to the constitution of the realm.
david
IV. THE REIGN OF DAVID. (B. C. 1055-1015.) This was a brilliant period; for it was led by a great man, in nearly every respect the greatest after Moses in Israelite history.
David's achievements; the results of his reign. 1.) He united the tribes. At first crowned king by Judah only, later he was made king over all the tribes, by the desire of all (2 Sam. 5. 1-5). During his reign we find but little trace of the old feud between Ephraim and Judah, though it was not dead, and destined yet to rend the kingdom asunder.
2.) He subjugated the land. The conquest of Palestine,[53] left incomplete by Joshua, and delayed for three hundred years, was finished at last by David in the capture of Jebus or Jerusalem (2 Sam. 5. 6, 7), in the overthrow of the Philistines (2 Sam. 5. 17-25), and in the final capture of their capital city (1 Chron. 18. 1). At last Israel was possessor of its own land.
3.) He organized the government. He established a capital (2 Sam. 5. 9). He built a palace (2 Sam. 5. 11). Notice that the builders were from Tyre, showing that the Israelites were not advanced in the arts. He established a system of government, with officers in the court and throughout the realm (1 Chron. 27. 25-34). Contrast all this with Saul, who ruled from his tent, like a Bedouin sheik
4.) He established an army. There was a royal body-guard, probably of foreigners, like that of many European kings in modern times (2 Sam. 8. 18; 15. 18). There was a band of heroes, like Arthur's Round Table (2 Sam. 23. 8-39). There was "the host," the[54] available military force, divided into twelve divisions, one on duty each month (1 Chron. 27. 1-15).
5.) He established religion. No sooner was David on the throne than he brought the ark out of its hiding-place, and gave it a new home in his capital (1 Chron. 16. 1). The priesthood was organized, and divided into courses for the service of the tabernacle (1 Chron. 23. 27-32; 24. 1-19). He wrote many psalms, and caused others to be written, for the worship of God. Two prophets stood by his throne (1 Chron. 29. 29), and two high-priests stood by the altar (1 Chron. 24. 3). This organization and uplifting of the public worship had a great effect upon the kingdom.
6.) He conquered all the surrounding nations. These wars were largely forced upon David by the jealousy of the neighboring kingdoms. In turn his armies conquered and annexed to his dominions the land of the Philistines (1 Chron. 18. 1), Moab (2 Sam. 8. 2), Syria, even to the great river Euphrates (2 Sam. 8. 3-6); Edom (2 Sam. 8. 14), Ammon, and the country east of Palestine (2 Sam. 10. 1-14; 12. 26-31). The empire of David thus extended from the frontier of Egypt to the Euphrates River, fulfilling the promise of Josh 1. 4. It was at least six times the area of the twelve tribes.
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http://www.gutenberg.org/files/36444/36444-h/36444-h.htm#Page_49
1 http://www.gutenberg.org/files/36444/36444-h/36444-h.htm#Page_49
2 http://www.gutenberg.org/files/36444/36444-h/36444-h.htm#Page_41
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