Probably twenty or twenty-five years elapsed between the events recorded in chapter 7 and those in 8.

Samuel was now an old man, about to pass from the scene, and a new generation had emerged in Israel with new leaders who had new ideas.

Life goes on, circumstances change, and God’s people must have the wisdom to adapt to new challenges without abandoning old convictions.

Like many great leaders, Samuel in his old age faced some painful situations and had to make some difficult situations.

He left the scene convinced that he had been rejected by the people he had served so faithfully.

Samuel obeyed the Lord, but he was a man with a broken heart.

God had chosen Moses to lead the nation of Israel and Joshua to succeed him, but Joshua wasn’t commanded to lay hands on any successor.

He left behind elders he had trained to serve God, but when they died, the new generation turned away from the Lord and followed the idols of the land.

There was an automatic succession to the priesthood, and the Lord could call out prophets when needed.

But who would lead the people and see to it that the law was obeyed?

During the period of the judges, God raised up leaders here and there and gave them great victories, but nobody was in charge of the nation as a whole.

In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

The “nation” of Israel was a loose confederation of sovereign tribes, and each tribe was expected to seek the Lord and do His will.