Samuel’s response to the elders is not a description of what an Israelite king would ought to have done. Rather, it is a description of what a king, who is like that of the nations, would do if he were to rule in Israel. It is a description of the kind of king that Israel was asking for.1
9 Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”