Today we are reading 1 Samuel 8. In this chapter we read about Israel’s demand for a king. “Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.” 1 Samuel 8:4-7 ESV “But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.””
1 Samuel 8:19-20 ESV “Be careful what you wish for!” God’s people were tired of the leadership of Samuel and his sons. They saw this as an opportunity to upgrade their system of government to be like the nations around them. This move might have seemed more practical but in reality it was a move away from God (who was already their king). With a prophet or priest leading the country there was a continual need for hearing from God. With a king, the need was the same but the practice was much less spiritual. How does our reliance on political leaders set us up to exclude God from our national leadership? The Founding Fathers spoke strongly and freely about their Christian faith. How have we carried that forward? May God be praised in every sphere of our society. Pastor Tim
