God mercifully uses their sin, their sinful rejection of him as king to give them a human king through whom the Messiah will come. And there's laws for this in Deuteronomy. Jesus is saying, okay, this is what it looks like in Israelite, not a foreigner. God's choice, not the people's choice.
Though the Israelites recalled the monarchy as their “glory days,” even their most noteworthy kings were messy, complicated, and oftentimes disappointing in their actions. So why do we need their stories? In this episode of White Horse Inn, hosts Michael Horton, Justin Holcomb, Bob Hiller, and Walter Strickland wrestle with the challenges and significance of the first three monarchs in Israel’s history: Saul, David, and Solomon.