The unjust ways of Samuel’s sons were contrary to their father’s pure and just way in his whole life (1 Sam. 12:3-5) and gave the people of Israel cause to ask Samuel to appoint a king to judge them like all the nations (vv. 4-5). Hence, the sons of Samuel should not be reckoned judges among the people of Israel (Acts 13:20), and their father Samuel should be considered the last judge.

The only defect in Samuel’s history was that he appointed his two sons as judges among the children of Israel. Humanly, Samuel made a mistake in this matter, but this mistake helped God to manage the situation among His people by bringing in the kingship for the fulfillment of His economy.

Israel had been chosen by God to be a particular people on earth; therefore, they should have been absolutely different in every respect from the nations. Yet they took the way of following the nations by rejecting God as their King.

By insisting on having a king, the elect of God turned from God to a man. In doing this they not only displeased Samuel (v. 6) but also offended God by rejecting Him as their King and thus replacing Him (v. 7; 12:12). This was a great wickedness, a great evil, in the sight of God (1 Sam. 12:17, 19). Whatever we may do, no matter how good, “spiritual,” and even scriptural it may be, it is evil in the sight of God if we reject Him as our Head, our Husband, and our King. It is not a matter of right or wrong; it is a matter of whether we take God as our King or reject Him. It is for this reason that Samuel as a Nazarite kept his hair long, covering his head with God Himself as his authority (1 Sam. 1:11; Num. 6:5).

Samuel turned the age in God’s administration from the age of the priesthood to the age of the prophethood with the kingship. This was a great thing not only in the history of Israel but even in the history of mankind. Moses was a priest, and after him God’s administration was centered on the priesthood (see note Num. 27:21^1a). The priesthood was to minister the word of God to His people and to exercise the authority of God over His people. The Aaronic priesthood failed God in these two things. At the waning of the God-ordained priesthood, God began a new age in raising up Samuel, a young Nazarite, as a faithful priest to replace the waning priesthood (1 Sam. 2:35). God ministered His word to His elect by establishing Samuel as a prophet in the uplifted prophethood (3:20-21), and He exercised His authority over His elect by raising up Samuel as a judge (1 Sam. 7:15-17). Samuel, as the last judge, terminated the judgeship, and, as the new priest, brought in the kingship, which was strengthened by the uplifted prophethood, in which Samuel was established as the first prophet (Acts 3:24; 13:20; Heb. 11:32). Through Samuel God set up a governmental administration in His economy so that He could fulfill His promises to all the forefathers and accomplish His desire according to His economy, that is, to have a line of genealogy to bring Christ to the earth.

At the end of his ministry, by the time that Saul was raised up to be the king in Israel (1 Sam. 9:3-27; 10:1-27), Samuel had reached the highest position, only God being above him. Thus, as God’s representative, Samuel was the acting God. However, God did not have any intention to make a kingdom of Samuel. Rather, God determined to raise up David, through whom He intended to build up a kingdom (2 Sam. 7:12-13). God had the intention that Christ would be born in the lineage of David. Hence, God raised up Samuel and prepared him for His use to do whatever was necessary to gain, through David, the proper genealogy of Christ. As a Nazarite according to his mother’s vow, Samuel had no heart for anything other than God and His elect. He could be used by God to carry out His economy because he was a man according to God and God’s heart, having no self-seeking nor any thought of self-gain.