But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD. 1st Samuel 8:6 (NIV)
As he grew old, he appointed his two sons, Joel and Abijah, as Israel’s leaders. It looked like a Hophni and Phineas do-over, for Samuel’s boys turned to dishonesty, accepting bribes, and perverting justice (v 8:3).
The first question that comes to mind is why
did God not judge Samuel as He had Eli? Eli had willingly ignored the problem
of his sons evil until it was too late (v 3:13). There is no indication anywhere in
scripture that Samuel did that. It is the heartbreak of some parents,
to have children who refuse to follow the godly teachings they received.
The elders knew Samuel would not live forever and were apparently unwilling to repeat Israel’s disreputable history under Eli’s family. They came to the prophet and asked for a king to lead them. This displeased him that the people were so willing to disregard the will of the King of the Universe. He went to the LORD and was told they were not rejecting Samuel but God’s reign over their lives. He said to give them what they wanted, which is always a red flag to any nation that disregards God’s leadership and protection. Many times, getting what we want is the last thing we need. Samuel spelled out what a king over them would claim in a ‘six takes’ address.
First, a king would take their sons to serve his military (conscription). He would take their daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers (denial of a free job market). He would take their land from them and appoint men of his choice to oversee their upkeep (confiscation of personal property). He would take a tenth of what they produced and give it to his officials and attendants (bureaucracy). He would take their male and female servants, and their livestock for his own use, and he would take a tenth of their flocks and themselves as captive laborers (slavery). His caveat was, “When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the LORD will not answer you” (vv 8:11-18).
The people
said, “Uhhhh, OK, Great. That sounds doable. We’ll go with a king.” They sacrificed their liberty for security, and as Franklin said some 3,000 years later, when
a people do that, they, “get neither.” If they had waited on the LORD, He would
have given them both, and much more (Deuteronomy 8:1-13).
Righteousness
exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people (Proverbs 14:34). It would only
take 120 years under three kings until their rebellion against God brought civil
war and a divided kingdom. The straw that broke the camel’s back was the heavy economic
burden, taxation, and oppression the kings had imposed on them, just as Samuel had
prophesied (1st kings 12:3).
As a nation,
have we acted righteously? Evidence is to the contrary. We have turned away
from God’s commandments in accordance with His nature, character, and holiness to trusting
in what is “right” in our own eyes or in government and elected officials to
save us.
I have grown
up in an America that is now unrecognizable to me. I love our nation and consider
myself a man of conservative values, but a monarchist first, for I serve a
King. Only God can save this nation, not by getting on our feet and moving to change but first on our
knees in repentance and prayer. As important as moving in action is, and it is, prayer is its shoe leather. As we do, we will allow God to add the rest of
the kingdom to us (Matthew 6:33, James 1:22).
“They have
not rejected you, they have rejected Me.” When God is willfully and continually
rejected, He will give us what we want, and it can be a tough education, but it always comes down to our choice (Romans
1:28). Now is the time to turn our eyes on Jesus as the only One with the power
and authority to save us. Let us look to Him as our hope. He alone is the
rightful King, and the King commands us!
Ken
