Schmuel: The Nazir Of Shiloh,
Becomes Judge In Yisrael
5th Judge
The political, and spiritual position of the Twelve Tribes certainly seemed to show little improvement. For twenty years, says the Book of Schmuel, the whole House of Yisrael longed for YAHWEH (1 Schmuel 7: 2). Disorder and misfortune continued.
When Eli died and the Ark was captured, Schmuel must have been very young. But this extraordinary person was not slow in displaying an intense and original activity. It was not directed mainly to war, but to breathing new spiritual strength into Yisrael. During the immediate time of trial Schmuel was tireless in his efforts to refresh those whose courage was failing. He reminded everyone of the spiritual idea that alone could save Yisrael from the fearful dangers that were present everywhere, and he thundered endlessly against the Baals and Astartes which Yisrael had begun to worship in one place or another.
Schmuel Was Judge Over Yisrael (1 Schmuel 7: 15).
This is true, but he had nothing in common with the specifically military liberators of earlier days. We must be careful not to compare him with Deborah, the warrior poetess, and still less with the formidable brigands Gideon and Jephthah. He was also quite unlike Samson, the popular hero. It is true that on occasion Schmuel led the people in battle and won some success in wars. But the vocation of this former nazir of Shiloh and custodian of the Ark was not to war. He stands out pre-eminently as a prophet, a man of YAHWEH, whose purpose was to give Yisrael back its soul by directing its leaders to return to the path of authentic and integral Yahwism.
The Shophtim before Schmuel are described as energetic political leaders, but their religion seems to have been sometimes rather vague. Schmuel, on the contrary, believed that the people's yeshua lay solely in wholehearted obedience to YAHWEH. His faith was of the kind that moves mountains.
And so we find this new type of Judge becoming an itinerant kohen, travelling from one tabernacle to another, making regular visits to the various places of pilgrimage. He offered the sacrifice, addressed the crowds, and continually exhorted them to return to their Sovereign Ruler. He told the people that they would soon be delivered, provided they realized how deeply they had failed to keep the Law of Mosheh. Every year he went on circuit (1 Schmuel 7: 16) -a strange Scriptural expression -through the main spiritual centres, Bethel, Gilgal, Mizpah, bringing consolation to the People of YAHWEH in words calculated to revive the religion of YAHWEH that had grown cold. Finally he returned to his native town of Ramah,1 for his home was there; there too he judged Yisrael. And there he built an altar to YAHWEH.
1.Ramah: probably the present village of er- Ram, seven miles north of Yerusalem.
A Turning-Point In Yisrael's History: The Chosen People Demand A King (About 1030)
At this period, all the great nations of the Middle East had at their head a king who was the symbol of their national pride and the centre of their life. Why were the Hebrews so long in adopting the monarchic system? Examples of it were all around them, and yet since the earliest days of the Shophtim they had hesitated. In fact, the matter was somewhat more complicated.
First of all, Yisrael, as a State in process of formation, obviously needed a king, or at least a permanent Judge, ensuring a single military command as well as a collective policy for the Twelve Tribes. A military leader was essential. Secondly, Yisrael, as the People of YAHWEH, also needed a kohen or a prophet at the head of their organization, some inspired personality with the power to lead them along the road to YAHWEH. This was the institutional drama of Yisraelite theocracy. Where then was the man to be found fit to be both king of men and man of YAHWEH?
When Schmuel became judge -a political and spiritual leader, who was more political than spiritual -it was reasonable to suppose that the problem had to some extent been solved. But Schmuel was growing old. His two sons, whom he had made local 'judges' in Beersheba, were hardly fitted to succeed him. Action was imperative before Schmuel's death. Since the tribes of Yisrael still had him with them as their powerful intercessor inspired by YAHWEH it seemed obvious that he should be asked to appoint his own successor before his death. The elders therefore came together and said, in words that must have been somewhat painful to him: 'Look, you are old and your sons do not follow your ways. So give us a king to rule over us ...' that is, someone to control the political and military government of Yisrael. There followed a keen and lengthy discussion, both political and theological between Schmuel and those who advocated monarchy: Very possibly the Scriptural writer has here given in dialogue form the two opposing views then current among the tribal leaders. And later events have certainly colored the account.
There was, in fact, a monarchist party, and this was in the majority. With some good show of reason, these men held that Yisrael's existence was in imminent danger. Disaster could only be avoided by the immediate institution of kingship. On the other hand, a forceful minority, headed by Schmuel, stood for the old nomadic ideal. YAHWEH was the protector, the Sovereign Ruler whom Yisrael must absolutely trust. The people should be exact in their observance of the Law, and each tribe was to enjoy freedom obeying merely its own leaders.
It had to be either monarchy or theocracy. Yisrael was at the cross-roads. The choice was inescapable.
'Let us have a king to rule over us ...like the other nations' (1 Schmuel 8: 6). These were the words addressed by the tribal leaders to Schmuel. He replied sharply that Yisrael was not like other nations; it was unique; its essentially spiritual destiny could not be assured and carried out by a secular government. Yisrael's sovereign was YAHWEH himself.
The discussion was useless. Schmuel was well aware that the elders had their minds made up. In desperation he appealed to YAHWEH, who answered: 'It is not you they have rejected; they have rejected me from ruling over them...Obey their voice; only, you must warn them solemnly and instruct them in the rights of the king who is to reign over them.'
In the outcome, the minority (represented in Scripture by Schmuel) gave way to the pressure of numbers, although they were careful to emphasize the disadvantages of kingship. The political innovators were forewarned of the political disillusion awaiting them. They wanted a king: they should have one: but they would be sorry for it. The king 'will take your sons and assign them to his chariotry and his cavalry, and they will run in front of the chariot. He will use them as leaders of a thousand and leaders of fifty (subdivisions of the army: which was divided into groups of 10, 50, 100, and 1000); he will make them plough his plough-land and harvest his harvest and make his weapons of war and the gear for his chariots. He will also take your daughters as perfumers, cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields, of your vineyards and olive groves and give them to his officials. ...He will tithe your flocks and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out on account of the king you have chosen for yourselves, but on that day YAHWEH will not answer you' (1 Schmuel 8: 11-18). (These misfortunes were, in fact, realized during Solomon's reign.)
Schmuel was talking to the deaf; the people refused to listen to him, and said: 'No! We want a king so that we in our turn can be like the other nations; our king shall rule (that is, administer) us and be our leader and fight our battles.' YAHWEH, therefore, commanded Schmuel: 'Obey their voice and give them a king.' The monarchists had won; the theocratic party was defeated:
So Schmuel now awaited the moment when YAHWEH would point out to him the man who was to be the first king of Yisrael.
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