When Israel asked for a king in 1 Sam. 8, they were moving
away from system they had lived with since they had left Egypt, where value was
placed on the family as the governing body under judges and with God as their
true king and guide. Samuel warned that
a king would not be generous, he would undermine their liberties. There would be more wars. There would be more
taxes. He talked about the use of young
men being drafted and he talked about the women and young women being used by
the king. But he also said that if you
depend on the king, the morality of the people will be rejected, the emphasis
on the people themselves; the morality should come from the people and not from
the king. Relying too much on the
President in Washington D.C. is like the Israelites relying on a king.
- Ron Paul, Speech at the Value Voters Summit on 10/8/11, at http://www.ronpaul.com/2011-10-08/ron-pauls-speech-at-the-value-voters-summit/.
