1 Samuel 8 (The Message)
1 Samuel 8
Rejecting God as the King
1-3When Samuel got to be an old man, he set his sons up as judges in Israel. His firstborn son was named Joel, the name of his second, Abijah. They were assigned duty in Beersheba. But his sons didn't take after him; they were out for what they could get for themselves, taking bribes, corrupting justice.
4-5 Fed up, all the elders of Israel got together and confronted Samuel at Ramah. They presented their case: "Look, you're an old man, and your sons aren't following in your footsteps. Here's what we want you to do: Appoint a king to rule us, just like everybody else."
6 When Samuel heard their demand—"Give us a king to rule us!"—he was crushed. How awful! Samuel prayed to God.
7-9 God answered Samuel, "Go ahead and do what they're asking. They are not rejecting you. They've rejected me as their King. From the day I brought them out of Egypt until this very day they've been behaving like this, leaving me for other gods. And now they're doing it to you. So let them have their own way. But warn them of what they're in for. Tell them the way kings operate, just what they're likely to get from a king."
10-18 So Samuel told them, delivered God's warning to the people who were asking him to give them a king. He said, "This is the way the kind of king you're talking about operates. He'll take your sons and make soldiers of them—chariotry, cavalry, infantry, regimented in battalions and squadrons. He'll put some to forced labor on his farms, plowing and harvesting, and others to making either weapons of war or chariots in which he can ride in luxury. He'll put your daughters to work as beauticians and waitresses and cooks. He'll conscript your best fields, vineyards, and orchards and hand them over to his special friends. He'll tax your harvests and vintage to support his extensive bureaucracy. Your prize workers and best animals he'll take for his own use. He'll lay a tax on your flocks and you'll end up no better than slaves. The day will come when you will cry in desperation because of this king you so much want for yourselves. But don't expect God to answer."
19-20 But the people wouldn't listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We will have a king to rule us! Then we'll be just like all the other nations. Our king will rule us and lead us and fight our battles."
21-22 Samuel took in what they said and rehearsed it with God. God told Samuel, "Do what they say. Make them a king."
Then Samuel dismissed the men of Israel: "Go home, each of you to your own city."
Mike's Thoughts:
I love this. The history leading up to this is interesting. For now, just let this be a backdrop to which you can return later and fill in the gaps with more detail. Basically God set up a system of accountability and leading. At first, the judges obeyed God. But eventually, like every other generation before them, they strayed from God. Sound familiar? The people eventually wanted to do things their own way and they asked for a King. It makes sense on paper, but God can't be measured on paper. God's ways don't always make sense to us in the here and now. God is really giving them what they want. I love that about God - He lets people make their own decisions. Here is what God knows: When we make our own decisions and failure results, he is glorified. It's not that he wants us to fail or that he even sets us up for failure. He knows that through failure there is a good chance that we will come back to him. When people wonder why a loving God would let bad things happen, they must consider that a loving God wants to draw men to him. Those bad things may just be the means to this end.
Prayer:
God, you are good and great. You created us and the lives we have. Thanks that we can trust your systems and processes in this life. Thanks that we can go to you in prayer and know that you hear us. Thanks that when we try to take our lives back from you, that you will let us fail. Help us to see you when our lives fail. Help us to give our lives back to you daily. --amen
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