The Israelites want a king
And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba. And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment. Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them. And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king. And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you. He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants. And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.-1 Samuel 8:1-18***Miriam and her younger brothers Aaron and Moses were born into the tribe of Levi to Amram and Jochebed, Israelites descended from Abraham (Abram the Hebrew) and Sarah (Sarai), Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob (Israel) and his 1st wife Leah, and Jacob and Leah's 3rd born son Levi. Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83 when the Lord God sent them to speak to the Israelite elders and Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. The elders believed the words of the Lord God that Aaron spoke to them. Pharaoh did not believe and he made the work of the Israelites more difficult. After the Lord God brought the 10th and final plague upon Pharaoh and Egypt, Pharaoh told Moses and Aaron to get the Israelites and their animals and go worship the Lord God. Moreover, Pharaoh told Moses and Aaron to bless him. Before Moses and Aaron led the Israelites, and those with them, away from Egypt, across the divinely parted Red Sea, and into the desert wilderness of Shur, the Israelites asked for and were given an abundance of valuable goods, fulfilling the words that the Lord God spoke to Abraham. In the desert wilderness of Sinai, in the region of Mount Sinai, the Israelites heard the voice of the Lord God proclaim the Ten Commandments to them, and the Lord God began giving Moses judgments, statutes and laws for the Israelites, and the Lord God made a covenant with the Israelites, and the Israelites said they would obey the words of the Lord God. When Moses was upon Mount Sinai 40 days and nights with the Lord God, the Lord God gave Moses commands about the offering willing Israelites were to bring, and the Lord God described to Moses and showed Moses the likeness of the tabernacle, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and the other sacred items the Israelites were commanded to make, and the Lord God told Moses that only Aaron, and Aaron's sons and the sons born to their descendants were to serve the Lord God as priests. Meanwhile, the Israelites thought they were abandoned and told Aaron to make gods to lead them. Aaron told the Israelites to bring him their gold earrings, and Aaron made a golden calf that the Israelites worshiped and Moses burned and ground. During the 40-year journey to Canaan, the Promised Land, Miriam the prophetess died and was buried in Kadesh, in the desert wilderness of Zin. Upon Mount Hor, 123-year-old Aaron the high priest died. Near the Promised Land, Moses publicly recounted the commandments, judgments, statutes, and laws, and the commands the Lord God gave about enemy nations living throughout Canaan. Moses spoke about the desire the Israelites would have for a king to rule over them and the requirements necessary for the king. Joshua was Moses' aide and successor from the tribe of Ephraim, descended from Jacob and his 2nd wife Rachel, their firstborn son Joseph and his wife Asenath, and Joseph and Asenath's 2nd born son Ephraim, whom Jacob proclaimed to be his own son. After Moses and Joshua proclaimed the words of a song to the Israelites, and Moses blessed the Israelites, Moses went upon Mount Nebo, and the Lord God showed Moses the Promised Land, and 120-year-old Moses the prophet died, and was divinely buried. Joshua led the Israelites across the divinely parted Jordan River and onto the land that the Lord God promised to give to Abraham, and Isaac, and to Jacob, and their descendants. After 110-year-old Joshua died, and was buried in his tribe's portion of the Promised Land, the Israelites were led by elders, judges and their own minds. When Samuel, the priest, prophet and judge from the tribe of Levi was elderly, and his sons Joel (Vashni) and Abiah (Abijah) were not obeying the commands of the Lord God, and King Nahash and his Ammonite army were preparing to attack, the Israelite elders demanded that Samuel appoint a king to lead them. Samuel was not pleased with their request, and prayed to the Lord God, and proclaimed the words of the Lord God to the Israelites, and anointed Saul, from the tribe of Jacob and Rachel's 2nd and last son Benjamin, to reign, according to the command of the Lord God. At Gibeah of God (the hill of God), the Spirit of God came upon Saul. At least twice, Saul did not obey the commands of the Lord God. Samuel told Saul that the Lord God rejected Saul from being king and had torn the kingdom from Saul. The divinely inspired Scriptures of the Holy Bible reveal that the Lord God sent Samuel to Bethlehem to anoint David, a man after God's own heart, to reign as king, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David, and the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul. After Saul heard about David's skills, strength, appearance, and favor with the Lord God, he commanded that David's father Jesse send David to him, and David began serving as a musician and an army bearer for Saul. Amid the Valley of Elah, David killed and beheaded Goliath the gigantic Philistine. David and Jonathan, Saul's son, made a covenant. The Israelite women sang of David higher than they sang of Saul, and Saul was angry. Saul wanted to kill David, and became afraid of David, and sent David on missions to get killed, and commanded others, including Jonathan, to kill David. Saul's daughter Michal was married to David and helped David escape from their home. After the Philistines killed Jonathan and his brothers Malchishua and Abinadab (Ishui?), and Saul's self-inflicted death on the same battlefield, men from the tribe of Judah anointed 30-year-old David, and David began to reign only over the tribe of Judah. Saul's son Ishbosheth (Eshbaal) ruled over the other Israelite tribes. Sometime after Ishbosheth was murdered, the Israelite elders went to David, and David made a covenant with them. The elders anointed 37 1/2 year old David, and David began to rule over all of the Israelites. At least 950 years after 70-year-old David died, and Solomon, a son born to David and Bathsheba, became the 3rd king to rule over all of the Israelites, Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, was born. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, a virgin, and Jesus was born in Bethlehem into the tribe of Judah to Mary and her husband Joseph when Mary was a virgin.-Genesis 11:26-50:26, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua 1:1-4:24, 23:1-24:33, Judges 1:1-2:23, 1 Samuel 1:1-3:21. 8:1-31:13, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings 1:1-2:12, 1 Chronicles 1:1-34, 2:1-17, 3:1-24, 6:1-81, 7:20-29, 8:1-40, 9:35-29:30, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts 1:1-26
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