Sa mu el 6 follow their father’s path, the elders of the People of Israel demand that Samuel choose a monarch to rule them . The narrator emphasizes that this was wrong in Samuel’s eyes . Even God compares the people’s request to idolatry . Against his better judgment, Samuel understands that he must obey the Israelites’ request and God’s instructions . Yet he delivers a bitter anti - monarchial speech depicting the “custom of the king” ( Chap 8 ) . Eventually, Samuel obeys God and anoints Saul as the first king over Israel . The establishment of monarchy in Israel takes three stages, the last one occurring after Saul and Samuel defeat the Ammonites ( Chaps 9 - 11 ) . Yet the repetition of three coronation events raised many questions and engendered discrete answers among commentators and scholars . Samuel delivers what seems to be his farewell speech ( Chap 12 ) . Yet, later he is going to be involved in significant occurrences . Saul is also quite successful in his military campaigns...
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