Latest / YINR 929: Tanach Yomi
I Shmuel 8: Long Live the King?
Is the idea of a king good or bad? Shmuel certainly seems to think it is a bad idea. He acts almost like a biblical Thomas Jefferson, warning the people about the dangers of concentrating power in a single ruler. A king will control every aspect of national life. He will draft sons into his army, take daughters into his service, seize fields and vineyards, impose taxes, and ultimately do as he pleases without consequence. Shmuel's warning is not really about one particular king. It is about the nature of power itself. Once authority is centralized, it inevitably expands. God also recognizes…
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