Such questions ignore a very important detail: Kingship was never God’s plan. It was the demands of the Israelite people for “a king like all the other nations have” that led to the appointment of kings like Saul, and David and Solomon. In truth, this decision broke God’s heart. He saw it as a rejection of Himself as ruler over His people. As God said to the prophet Samuel concerning this, “It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king” (1 Samuel 8:7).
