Now yesterday it might have seemed that I was supporting a monarchy, but that would not be true. I was pointing out some of the arguments that can be made pro-monarchy. But, there are arguments that can be made against a human monarchy. One version of that argument is found in the Book of Samuel.
Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your 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.” So Samuel prayed to the LORD. And the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, 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 to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.”
So Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who asked him for a king. And he said, “This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the LORD will not hear you in that day.”
The argument is that a human monarchy can displace God’s monarchy in that a human king takes the place of God. But, wait, what about King David, King Solomon, and, finally, King Jesus? Well, here is an interesting thought for you. Over the course of a thousand years, the human monarchy of Israel ended in the person of Jesus Christ who is God. So, if you have a sense of humor, please realize that God took the human monarchy of Israel and took it back into Himself through the Person of Jesus Christ Our Lord. So, maybe God is not the least bit in favor of a human monarchy. He will undoubtedly work with it, as He works with any human government, yet it certainly sounds as though a monarchy is not His preferred form of government for us humans. He is the sole King.
This brings up the interesting thought that maybe the Byzantine Emperors and the Holy Roman Emperors and the Divine Right of Kings were never God’s intention either.
One final point on monarchy, and this will make some of you very happy. Please note that one of the arguments that the Prophet Samuel uses against a King is that he will raise taxes on you. He will also institute a draft and have forcible service in both the Armed Forces and in his personal service. When King Solomon died and Rehoboam became king, a delegation from various tribes came to him to ask him to lower taxes. King Rehoboam refused, and the Kingdom of Israel split into the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah, ten tribes to the north and two to the south. All this over taxes!
===MORE TO COME===
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