God delivers an ironic and piercing rebuke to a nation that abandoned His direct care in favor of human leadership. In a moment of severe crisis, He forces the people to face the utter helplessness of the mortal leaders they trusted.
God begins His rebuke with a powerful challenge, which commentators understand in two main ways. One approach [רש״י, רד״ק, מצודת דוד, אבן עזרא, צאינה וראינה] views this as a declaration of God's eternal presence. He asserts His everlasting existence, contrasting it with the temporary nature of human rulers, essentially asking: I exist forever, but where is your mortal king? Within this perspective, [רש״י] suggests God is declaring that He will step aside to see what will ultimately happen to the nation. [מלבי״ם] reads it as an expression of astonishment, noting that after rebelling so deeply, the people cannot possibly expect God to step in as their king and protect them from their enemies. Alternatively, another perspective [תרגום יונתן המובא ברש״י וברד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ, יש אומרים באבן עזרא] understands the opening as a direct, pointed question about the current location of their human leader [מצודת ציון]. God simply asks where their king is right now.
God then openly challenges these human rulers to step forward. He calls upon the mortal king to come and rescue the nation's cities from the enemies laying siege to them [רד״ק, מצודת דוד, צאינה וראינה], or to save the people from Divine punishment and wild beasts [אבן עזרא]. [מלבי״ם] sharpens this divine mockery, urging the people to search through all their cities and among all their judges to find that one king who can actually deliver them.
The rebuke then reaches back into history, reminding the nation of the days of Samuel the Prophet. In those early times, God Himself served as their king, guiding them with miraculous care [מלבי״ם, רד״ק, מצודת דוד, צאינה וראינה]. Yet, the people rejected heavenly rule, demanding instead a natural, human leadership to lead them into battle. Now, God forces them to confront the consequences of that choice. The very judges, princes, and kings they appointed on their own, the leaders for whom they discarded God's direct rule, are exposed as completely useless and entirely powerless to offer any help without God's assistance [רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ].