'King' in the Bible

Those who oppose the Lord will be shattered;He will thunder in the heavens against them.The Lord will judge the ends of the earth.He will give power to His king;He will lift up the horn of His anointed.

They said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not follow your example. Therefore, appoint a king to judge us the same as all the other nations have.”

When they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” Samuel considered their demand sinful, so he prayed to the Lord.

But the Lord told him, “Listen to the people and everything they say to you. They have not rejected you; they have rejected Me as their king.

Listen to them, but you must solemnly warn them and tell them about the rights of the king who will rule over them.”

Samuel told all the Lord’s words to the people who were asking him for a king.

He said, “These are the rights of the king who will rule over you: He will take your sons and put them to his use in his chariots, on his horses, or running in front of his chariots.

When that day comes, you will cry out because of the king you’ve chosen for yourselves, but the Lord won’t answer you on that day.”

The people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We must have a king over us.

Then we’ll be like all the other nations: our king will judge us, go out before us, and fight our battles.”

“Listen to them,” the Lord told Samuel. “Appoint a king for them.”Then Samuel told the men of Israel, “Each of you, go back to your city.”

But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and afflictions. You said to Him, ‘You must set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and clans.”

Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among the entire population.”And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

So all the people went to Gilgal, and there in the Lord’s presence they made Saul king. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings in the Lord’s presence, and Saul and all the men of Israel greatly rejoiced.

Then Samuel said to all Israel, “I have carefully listened to everything you said to me and placed a king over you.

Now you can see that the king is leading you. As for me, I’m old and gray, and my sons are here with you. I have led you from my youth until today.

But they forgot the Lord their God, so He handed them over to Sisera commander of the army of Hazor, to the Philistines, and to the king of Moab. These enemies fought against them.

But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was coming against you, you said to me, ‘No, we must have a king rule over us’—even though the Lord your God is your king.

“Now here is the king you’ve chosen, the one you requested. Look, this is the king the Lord has placed over you.

If you fear the Lord, worship and obey Him, and if you don’t rebel against the Lord’s command, then both you and the king who rules over you will follow the Lord your God.

Isn’t the wheat harvest today? I will call on the Lord and He will send thunder and rain, so that you will know and see what a great evil you committed in the Lord’s sight by requesting a king for yourselves.”

They pleaded with Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for your servants, so we won’t die! For we have added to all our sins the evil of requesting a king for ourselves.”

However, if you continue to do what is evil, both you and your king will be swept away.”

Saul was 30 years old when he became king, and he reigned 42 years over Israel.

Samuel told Saul, “The Lord sent me to anoint you as king over His people Israel. Now, listen to the words of the Lord.

He captured Agag king of Amalek alive, but he completely destroyed all the rest of the people with the sword.

“I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned away from following Me and has not carried out My instructions.” So Samuel became angry and cried out to the Lord all night.

Samuel continued, “Although you once considered yourself unimportant, have you not become the leader of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel

“But I did obey the Lord!” Saul answered. “I went on the mission the Lord gave me: I brought back Agag, king of Amalek, and I completely destroyed the Amalekites.

For rebellion is like the sin of divination,and defiance is like wickedness and idolatry.Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,He has rejected you as king.

Samuel replied to Saul, “I will not return with you. Because you rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.”

Samuel said, “Bring me Agag king of Amalek.”Agag came to him trembling, for he thought, “Certainly the bitterness of death has come.”

Even to the day of his death, Samuel never again visited Saul. Samuel mourned for Saul, and the Lord regretted He had made Saul king over Israel.

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem because I have selected a king from his sons.”

Previously, an Israelite man had declared: “Do you see this man who keeps coming out? He comes to defy Israel. The king will make the man who kills him very rich and will give him his daughter. The king will also make the household of that man’s father exempt from paying taxes in Israel.”

When Saul had seen David going out to confront the Philistine, he asked Abner the commander of the army, “Whose son is this youth, Abner?”“My king, as surely as you live, I don’t know,” Abner replied.

The king said, “Find out whose son this young man is!”

As the troops were coming back, when David was returning from killing the Philistine, the women came out from all the cities of Israel to meet King Saul, singing and dancing with tambourines, with shouts of joy, and with three-stringed instruments.

Saul then ordered his servants, “Speak to David in private and tell him, ‘Look, the king is pleased with you, and all his servants love you. Therefore, you should become the king’s son-in-law.’”

Then Saul replied, “Say this to David: ‘The king desires no other bride-price except 100 Philistine foreskins, to take revenge on his enemies.’” Actually, Saul intended to cause David’s death at the hands of the Philistines.

David and his men went out and killed 200 Philistines. He brought their foreskins and presented them as full payment to the king to become his son-in-law. Then Saul gave his daughter Michal to David as his wife.

Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul. He said to him: “The king should not sin against his servant David. He hasn’t sinned against you; in fact, his actions have been a great advantage to you.

So David told him, “Look, tomorrow is the New Moon, and I’m supposed to sit down and eat with the king. Instead, let me go, and I’ll hide in the field until the third night.

So David hid in the field.At the New Moon, the king sat down to eat the meal.

David answered Ahimelech the priest, “The king gave me a mission, but he told me, ‘Don’t let anyone know anything about the mission I’m sending you on or what I have ordered you to do.’ I have stationed my young men at a certain place.

David fled that day from Saul’s presence and went to King Achish of Gath.

But Achish’s servants said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Don’t they sing about him during their dances:Saul has killed his thousands,but David his tens of thousands?”

David took this to heart and became very afraid of King Achish of Gath,

From there David went to Mizpeh of Moab where he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and mother stay with you until I know what God will do for me.”

So he left them in the care of the king of Moab, and they stayed with him the whole time David was in the stronghold.

The king sent messengers to summon Ahimelech the priest, son of Ahitub, and his father’s whole family, who were priests in Nob. All of them came to the king.

Ahimelech replied to the king: “Who among all your servants is as faithful as David? He is the king’s son-in-law, captain of your bodyguard, and honored in your house.

Was today the first time I inquired of God for him? Of course not! Please don’t let the king make an accusation against your servant or any of my father’s household, for your servant didn’t have any idea about all this.”

But the king said, “You will die, Ahimelech—you and your father’s whole family!”

Then the king ordered the guards standing by him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord because they sided with David. For they knew he was fleeing, but they didn’t tell me.” But the king’s servants would not lift a hand to execute the priests of the Lord.

So the king said to Doeg, “Go and execute the priests!” So Doeg the Edomite went and executed the priests himself. On that day, he killed 85 men who wore linen ephods.

saying, “Don’t be afraid, for my father Saul will never lay a hand on you. You yourself will be king over Israel, and I’ll be your second-in-command. Even my father Saul knows it is true.”

Now, whenever the king wants to come down, let him come down. Our part will be to hand him over to the king.”

After that, David got up, went out of the cave, and called to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed to the ground in homage.

Who has the king of Israel come after? What are you chasing after? A dead dog? A flea?

“Now I know for certain you will be king, and the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand.

Then Abigail went to Nabal, and there he was in his house, holding a feast fit for a king. Nabal was in a good mood and very drunk, so she didn’t say anything to him until morning light.

Then David shouted to the troops and to Abner son of Ner: “Aren’t you going to answer, Abner?”“Who are you who calls to the king?” Abner asked.

David called to Abner, “You’re a man, aren’t you? Who in Israel is your equal? So why didn’t you protect your lord the king when one of the people came to destroy him?

Saul recognized David’s voice and asked, “Is that your voice, my son David?”“It is my voice, my lord and king,” David said.

Now, may my lord the king please hear the words of his servant: If it is the Lord who has incited you against me, then may He accept an offering. But if it is people, may they be cursed in the presence of the Lord, for today they have driven me away from sharing in the inheritance of the Lord saying, ‘Go and worship other gods.’

So don’t let my blood fall to the ground far from the Lord’s presence, for the king of Israel has come out to search for a flea, like one who pursues a partridge in the mountains.”

So David set out with his 600 men and went to Achish son of Maoch, the king of Gath.

But the king said to her, “Don’t be afraid. What do you see?”“I see a spirit form coming up out of the earth,” the woman answered.

Then the Philistine commanders asked, “What are these Hebrews doing here?”Achish answered the Philistine commanders, “That is David, servant of King Saul of Israel. He has been with me a considerable period of time. From the day he defected until today, I’ve found no fault with him.”

“But what have I done?” David replied to Achish. “From the first day I was with you until today, what have you found against your servant to keep me from going along to fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”