1 Samuel (1 Kingdoms) 8:5
"and they said to him, Behold, you are grown old, and your sons walk not in your way; and now set over us a king to judge us, as also the other nations [have]."
1 Samuel 7:15—Did Samuel judge Israel all his days, or only until Saul was anointed king?
Contrasting Link: 1 Samuel (1 Kingdoms) 7:15 →
1 Samuel 7:15—Did Samuel judge Israel all his days, or only until Saul was anointed king?
Problem: In this verse, we are informed that “Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.” However, Samuel lived after Saul was anointed king (1 Sam. 8:5; 12:1; 25:1).
Solution: Samuel only gave up his civil authority to Saul, not his spiritual authority. Under Israel’s monarch there was a separation of power. Kings were forbidden to perform spiritual functions (cf. 2 Chron. 26:16–23), and the prophets no longer had political authority. Even so, the prophets, with their direct revelations from God, were a continual moral check on those in political power.