Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible




Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together and came to Samuel in Ramah and said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons do not walk in thy ways; therefore make us a king to judge us like all the Gentiles. But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. read more.
And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee, for they have not rejected thee, 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 unto this day, with which they have forsaken me and served other gods, so they also do unto thee. Now, therefore, hearken unto their voice; however first protest solemnly against them by declaring unto them the rights of the king that shall reign over them. And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked him for a king. And he said, This will be the right of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen, and some shall run before his chariot. And he will appoint captains over thousands and captains over fifties and will set them to plough his ground and to reap his harvest and to make his weapons of war and the munitions of his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be confectioneries and to be cooks and to be bakers. And he will take your fields and your vineyards and your good oliveyards and give them to his slaves. And he will take the tenth of your seed and of your vineyards to give to his officers and to his slaves. And he will take your menslaves and your maidslaves and your good young men and your asses and do his work with them. He will also take the tenth of your sheep, and finally ye shall be his slaves. And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you, and the LORD will not hear you in that day.

And they rejected his statutes and his covenant that he made with their fathers and his testimonies which he testified against them, and they followed vanity and became vain and went after the Gentiles that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them. And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God and made themselves molten images, even two calves, and made groves and worshipped all the host of heaven and served Baal; and they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire and used divination and enchantments and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. read more.
Therefore, the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight; there was none left but the tribe of Judah only. But not even Judah kept the commandments of the LORD their God; to the contrary, they walked in the statutes of Israel which they themselves had made. And the LORD rejected all the seed of Israel and afflicted them and delivered them into the hand of spoilers until he had cast them out of his presence. For he rent Israel from the house of David, and they made Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, king; and Jeroboam drove Israel from following the LORD and made them commit a great sin. For the sons of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they did not depart from them until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his slaves the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.

To whom shall I speak, and give warning that they may hear? behold, their ears are uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken, behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it. Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I have worked hard to hold myself in from pouring it out upon the children in the street, and upon the assembly of young men together; for the husband with the wife shall also be taken, the aged with him that is full of days. And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their fields and wives together; for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD. read more.
For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them each one is given to greed; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one deals falsely. They treat also the destruction of the daughter of my people lightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? no, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush; therefore, they shall fall among those that shall fall: at the time that I visit them they shall fall, saith the LORD. Thus hath the LORD said, Stand ye in the ways and see and ask for the old paths, where the good way is and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the shofar. But they said, We will not hearken. Therefore hear, ye Gentiles, and know, O congregation of Gentiles. Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts because they have not hearkened unto my words, and they hated my law.