God's Mercy
This passage gives us insight into the heart of God that is just amazing. Here the Israelites keep asking their spiritual leader for something that they really do not need. Samuel is very reluctant to even ask God this request because he is assuming that God will be upset with this request. God's plan was to be king over Israel himself, but the people did not have the faith for that and were constantly turning to other people or gods for direction. So in a moment of remarkable humility from the creator of the universe God says basically, "if they keep asking for a king, give it to them, warn them first, but if that's what they want I am not going to stop them." To me this is such an amazing testimony to Gods mercy and grace that he has towards his people. It takes a love beyond all understanding to absorb that kind of rejection when you the most powerful being in the universe. It's amazing.
