Though the people's request for a king was displeasing to Samuel

[Mary Naeem]

Though the people's request for a king was displeasing to Samuel, God allowed it. The people had rejected God as king, forsaken Him, and served other gods (1 Samuel 8:6–8). God told Samuel to anoint a king as the people had asked, but also to "warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them" (1 Samuel 8:9). Thus, it became Samuel’s task to anoint a king from among the people. Saul was secretly anointed the first king of all the tribes of Israel (1 Samuel 10:1) before being publicly selected by lot (1 Samuel 10:17–24).