By Christopher Dryden
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. According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.”
1 Samuel 8:5-9 ESV
There are the presenting issues and what’s going on underneath. As the elders approach Samuel, their problem is legitimate. Samuel has done a great job, for sure, but his sons are clearly not up to it in following the path of what’s right and just. They use this, however, as the opportunity to reveal what’s really going on inside. Something that God helps Samuel understand reveals their desire to reject God from King ever since He proved His credentials to them when He rescued them from slavery.
Consider that with me for a moment. The King proved Himself with a dramatic liberation. And He followed that up with a triumphant settlement into a great land He’d promised. He liberated, settled, protected, nurtured, established, and prospered, and at every step of that journey, he was met with resistance and rebellion. The response was rich with contempt. We don’t care about being the unique people in a covenant relationship with the awesome Creator of the universe – we just want to be like everyone else and follow the latest trends.
That’s not just a condition that afflicted the people of Israel at the time of transition. Those who dedicate their lives to the Lord have the challenge of leaving that kind of attitude behind. The challenge every day is to crucify the flesh that has that Israelite attitude. Self-serving and tending to want to do our own thing, we’re all too easily led astray from the rule of God to turn our backs and reject the rule. Those who follow Jesus can be taken up with the messages of how we’re loved, how we’re rescued, and how wonderful it is to be in His warm embrace. Yet when He expresses the nature of His rule over our lives, we’re much more desirous to explain how circumstances propel us to reveal our desire to rule ourselves. It’s the rejection of God by Israel all over again. It’s the rejection of God by Adam and Eve repeated. Yet, in His grace and His mercy, He will not force us to change our minds. In His wisdom and understanding, He will grant us what we desire. And despite the overwhelming evidence that shows the fatal ends of that decision, He won’t stop us. Yet He will give us every opportunity to return to the right rule if we hear Him as He calls. If we listen to Him as He spoke to Samuel to inform Him that Samuel wasn’t being rejected.
We read this episode today, and we’re left with the same challenge—who rules? Will we take on the sombre lessons from this sad episode and recognise our tendency to reject and rebel? Will we recognise and repent to the right rule?
Ask: What was the reason for the elders of Israel desiring to have a king?
Seek: Who rules in your life? How can the rule of Christ the King be reinforced in your life?
Knock: Your Majesty, we approach your throne understanding that we tend to wander from your rule. In thought, in word, in deed, we can express a preference to be like those around us rather than you who is above us, beyond us and yet desiring to live among us and in us. Forgive us, Your Majesty. Restore us, Your Majesty. Give us reason to rejoice in you again, oh great King, for your glory.
