Samuel has traced the inevitable cycle of government in a fallen world. He now comes to the conclusion of this vicious cycle: totalitarianism. When left to itself, government comes to its final destination; the people are controlled by a tyrant. He states this in I Samuel 8:17b: ". . . you will become his [the king's] servants."
In other words, under a tryanny, the people exist for the state and work for the state. There is no government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Samuel then predicts, "You shall cry out in that day because of your king." He's telling them the oppression will become intolerable. Regardng the prediction of Samuel about the state, history answers, "Amen!"
Alva J. McLain looks back to 1917 and writes: "In 1917, when America entered the first conflict [WWI], it was widely supposed that once we had abolished the kings and emperors, all would be well. So we witnessed the dethronment of the Russian tzar and the German Kaiser, to say nothing of the lesser breeds. And in their stead we got Stalin and Hitler! Today, we look back nostalgically, not to sure that the abolishing of the kings has improved the world political situation over the days prior to 1914."
Let's sum up by quoting McLain: "It is to the lasting credit of the Founding Fathers of our own American system that they regarded all highly centalized government with a deep and cold suspicion, holding that the less we had of it the better of we would be. But strangely enough today, for every failure of highly centralized government, its supporters have no rmedy except a larger dose of the same thing."
Human government is necessary; it was instituted by God in Genesis 9. James Madison, "The Father of our Constitution" said, "If men were angels, no government would be necessary."
McLain finshes with this warning: "But people who are wise never let it get too big or powerul. Unless strictly limited, there is the loss of liberty, econimic distress, and political despair. "
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