Israel asks God for a king, and all the kings are (mostly) evil. They turn the people away from God. The kings try to make alliances that they think will be advantageous, but they end up getting conquered by greater nations, taken into exile. In the meantime, God keeps sending messages to God's people, trying to get through to them that God is their most advantageous alliance, that God will bring abundant growth and bring blessing to the earth through God's people.
