The prophet Samuel: You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us. 1 Samuel 8:5

It was in the last days of Eli, who was a judge of Israel and priest, that the Israelites suffered a terrible defeat before the Philistines, a defeat that allowed the Philistines to become owners of the Ark of the Covenant, this defeat led many israelites to think about the need of a king. Let us remember that of all the virtuous or blessed forms of government, the government of only one, the government of the king, is the best way to achieve the good of peace.
Samuel had been appointed by the Lord as a prophet and seer, and it was up to him to change the regime of the judges, who oscillated between the oligarchy and the aristocracy, to the monarchy, instituting the first king of Israel.
The Bible also tells us that Samuel was a judge of Israel, but his sons who succeeded him as judges did not follow the ways of God; and so it was that the elders of Israel met with the prophet to ask him for a king who would establish peace with the neighboring nations, given the political situation in Israel at the time, the request was logical.
This is how the Bible tells us about the request that Samuel received:
"So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, ´You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have" 1 Samuel 8:4-6.
And God with wisdom advised Samuel, and so the prophet understood that one political regime had to give way to another, the monarchy as a system of government would last in Israel for almost 6 centuries:
"Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you" 1 Samuel 8:7-8.

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