Prophet Samuel & the monarchy: Here is the king you have chosen. You asked for him, and the LORD has granted your request. 1 Samuel 12:13

In the Old Testament, the anointing of Saul as king of Israel by the prophet Samuel teaches that the monarchy as a form of government exists with a very clear purpose: to ensure the most important good for a country, the good of peace. Because when a country is subject to strong divisions, and there are struggles between different lords, the lack of peace makes any other good for the nation impossible.
As the First Book of Samuel relates, what prompted the change from the aristocracy of judges to the first monarchy of Israel was Saul's victory over the Ammonites. Saul had a physical presence that commanded respect, the Old Testament recounts, and his skills as a warrior convinced the Israelites that the good of peace would come with his rule.
But Saul's qualities as a victorious warrior were not enough, as the wisdom of the sapiential literature teaches, because monarchy can transform into something worse, tyranny. The monarch governs for peace and the common good, but the tyrant only for his own good. And this is where the mission of the prophet Samuel came into play, to spiritually guide the people of Israel and the new king, so that oppression would not prevail.
The First Book of Samuel relates that Saul, after his military victory over the Ammonites, gathered the people in Gilgal, and there the prophet Samuel spoke and reminded the Israelites of their history, of how they had arrived in the promised land guided by Moses and Aaron. And how the judges arose to deliver Israel from the oppression of their enemies, and how, with them, the Israelites enjoyed a certain security, but it was insufficient. And so when Nahash, the King of the Ammonites, arrived, the Israelites asked God for a King. And so Samuel told them: "Here is the king you have chosen. You asked for him, and the LORD has granted your request" 1 Samuel 12:13.
But then the prophet continued and went to the very heart of the covenant between the Israelites and the creator of all things: the fear of God. Through the fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom, Israel was blessed. And when the ruler, as the prophet taught, through that fear, understands in his heart that there is no greater good for the king than to rule for the glory of God, then the monarchy prevails and arises, as a legitimate and virtuous form of government.

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