How was Israel doing when Samuel became the leader?
At the time Samuel became Israel’s last judge, the nation was doing fairly well. Following the pattern of the judges, Israel had come up spiritually and prospered materially. Yet Samuel’s own sons were ungodly and a grief to him, and the people complained that they did not honor Jehovah.
Les explains that during the period of the judges, Israel repeatedly cycled through spiritual and material ups and downs. Whenever a judge came on the scene, Israel came up spiritually and prospered materially, but after the judge died, the nation fell back into idolatry and servitude. By the time of Samuel, the last judge, Israel had it fairly good. However, Samuel’s sons were ungodly and a grief to him, and the people complained that his sons were not honoring Jehovah, leading them to I Samuel chapter 8.