Rejecting God as King
1 Sam 8:1 And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.
He was probably sixty to seventy years of age. This may be the most productive years of sharing the wisdom gained from years of service. He had two sons who were of age to minister, so he gave them to judge Israel. They also would travel the circuits.
1 Sam 8:2 Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beersheba.
Joel was not the prophet Joel, he was also called Vashni, in 1Chron 6:28.
Beersheba was at the bottom of Israel. Samuel dwelt and judged in Ramah, which was more to the North.
1 Sam 8:3 And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment.
They were corrupt, forsaking judgment and truth for covetousness and received bribe money. In the story of Paul, remember that he refused to bribe the judges and was kept in chains having done no wrong. In the world bribes were expected. The man of God is to separate himself from the evil practices of the world. The judges were representing God's justice and law.
Mat 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
1 Sam 8:4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah,
The elders were the heads of families and men of prominence. They came to Samuel with concerns.
1 Sam 8:5 And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
They were concerned that Samuel would die, leaving only his corrupt sons to judge. Like Eli's sons, his were in their own way corrupt having divided hearts.
They wanted a king, like all the other nations. Yes? But, what if your king is corrupt, what then? This was a faulty proposal. For their King was only to be the LORD. He was supreme king and ruler of Israel. Will a king who is a sinner replace the righteous King of Kings? The problem was in those who represented the king. They wanted a King as the world's king's and were using Samuel's son's as the reason for this.
1 Sam 8:6 But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD.
He was displeased, because he served God only. Would this take power and devotion from God and place it on a man? A man dressed in splendor, a crown on his head and a scepter in hand, dwelling in a palace with servants?
He was troubled in heart, so he did as he should, he prayed for God's wisdom and will. But the scriptures did foretell of this. God knew all along that they would request a king. God is never surprised. He did not ordain it, but knew that they would seek a king.
Deu 17:14 When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me;
Deu 17:15 Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.
1 Sam 8:7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
God answered Samuel, oh this we need to understand. God gave them what they wanted. God allows us to choose, he does not interfere, even when the results may be disastrous for us. Some call this God's permissive will, no, I consider it God's judgment. We reap what we sow. He will not force us to obey him. To disobey God is never his will.
America, listen to this: God allows you to remove him, as he allowed Israel to reject him. In truth they were rejecting God when they chose to have a king. How many ways have we rejected God? How many ways has our country tried to remove all traces of Christianity and morality? Are we willing to be responsible for the outcome? Willing or not, God is just.
1 Sam 8:8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. Psalm 106, describes this cycle of disobedience.
Psa 106:13 They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel:
Psa 106:14 But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted God in the desert.
Psa 106:15 And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul.
Psa 106:16 They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron the saint of the LORD.
Psa 106:17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and covered the company of Abiram.
Psa 106:18 And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.
Psa 106:19 They made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped the molten image.
Psa 106:20 Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.
Psa 106:21 They forgat God their saviour, which had done great things in Egypt;
Psa 106:22 Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible things by the Red sea.
Psa 106:23 Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.
God knew the hearts of his people. How often they had turned from him in the past. They turned to idolatry, leaving God. If they did this to God the Father, so they shall do it unto you, Samuel.Sometimes God's enemies are his own people. Who are the worst dividers of the church? Other Christians full of pride, guided by the lusts of their heart. They think they are pleasing God, they are not.Pride and sowing discord among brethren are on the list of God's deadly sins.
Prov 6:16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
Prov 6:17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
Prov 6:18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
Prov 6:19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
1 Sam 8:9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.
God told Samuel to give them their request, but let them know they are disobeying. Show them what kind of king that shall rule over them. When we get our way, we think we have accomplished something. Hear this: to do God's will is far better than our own will. He knows what is best and he knows the future. God will tell Samuel about their future king. They were exchanging God, as their king, for an idol, a fleshly sinning king. They would become slaves again.
1 Sam 8:10 And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king.
1 Sam 8:11 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.
Your son's shall be used for the kings comfort, protection and to honor him in their service.
1 Sam 8:12 And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.
Some will be used as soldiers, some to till his ground and reap a harvest for the king. Others will make weapons of war and design chariots for war.
1 Sam 8:13 And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.
Their women would make candies, pastries and be cooks and bakers for the kings banquets.
1 Sam 8:14 And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.
The land was an inheritance from God, given to the twelve tribes of Israel. To take the land and give it to his servants was against the law and traditions of Israel.
1 Sam 8:15 And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.
This was a tax to the King, in addition to their obligation to give their tithes to the priests and Levites. We are familiar with government taxes.
1 Sam 8:16 And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.
It seems to be all must serve the king, he wants all for himself.
1 Sam 8:17 He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.
A tenth of your animals and those who take care of them.
1 Sam 8:18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.
It will be too late for God to help you when you cry to him because of the heavy burden. He will not respond to you. This is something we need to see. If we choose our own desires above God's will for us. He will not bail us out when we complain, at least not under the law. Under grace, we have Jesus interceding for us, yet, God is the same God, he changes not. Do not tempt God, he may just leave you alone.
1 Sam 8:19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;
This sounds familiar. How many times have we or others held on to a sin, not caring about God's will? He will remove the sin in time, but he may not be available, he may have his back turned. This is where being in Christ becomes our great hope. Jesus is our advocate and receives us, we return to fellowship because of the blood of Jesus.
1 John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
1 Sam 8:20 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.
They stubbornly demanded a king, in spite of the words spoken from Samuel from God above. I see this in the kingdom of God in ministries. Ministers will make themselves as kings, with many busy servants and many requests for money to support their little personal kingdom. This could be idolatry, when attention is removed from the Lord and given to a man.
Will a man fight our battles for us? Will a king lead them to victory?
1 Cor 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Samuel did not go out to battle, it was his prayers that moved the hand of God. God defeated the Philistines because of the prayers of Samuel. We cannot defeat satan's armies by weapons of steel.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
1 Sam 8:21 And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he rehearsed them in the ears of the LORD.
1 Sam 8:22 And the LORD said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city.
Samuel took these things to the LORD in prayer. God answered, give them a king. And Samuel sent them home in peace, they would soon have their king, a man and not God. We get into serious trouble when we replace God in our lives with a King; even with a trusted man or woman. People fail, but God never fails. They were removing the special relationship of God as Father and king to their nation. They had coveted a king like the other nations had a king.
We can apply this to our lives. Do we choose the way of the world or do we choose God's way? Who will be King over us, our Lord God or the god's of the world? Do we serve the earthly king putting all of our labor to keeping his palace, or do we also tythe our time to the King of Kings, doing service to him?
Luke 20:24 Show me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar's.
Luke 20:25 And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and unto God the things which be God's.
Look at the United States penny, on it it still says, "In God We Trust."
A sign
1 Sam 12:16 Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the LORD will do before your eyes.
Samuel was about to call on prayer to get the peoples attention back on the LORD.
1 Cor 1:22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
1 Sam 12:17 Is it not wheat harvest to day? I will call unto the LORD, and he shall send thunder and rain; that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking you a king.
1 Sam 12:18 So Samuel called unto the LORD; and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.
Samuel, knowing the displeasure of the Lord because they rejected him for another, a man as king, wants to show them a sign from God. Samuel was not jealous for himself, losing power, but for the LORD who he served. The people always were looking for a sign from God. He asked the LORD for thunder and rain. The thunder would frighten them. Rain at harvest time would be a sign of God's displeasure. The rain would spoil the wheat. Their joyful celebration turned to fear of the Lord. Not all storms are from God as judgment, but this one was, because Samuel prayed for it. God moved when Samuel prayed, this was better than a king and his sword, the LORD he is the help and King of Israel.
It never rained at harvest time. There was a former rain and a latter rain. From March until October it was not normal for rain to fall. Thus the Proverb concerning the rain in harvest.
Prov 26:1 As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honour is not seemly for a fool.
The people were as fools, following the ways of the other nations. Here, Samuel shows that he was a true man of God, even causing it to rain. Another prophet, Elijah would also call on the rain, but Samuel was the first prophet to have such favor with God.
1 Sam 12:19 And all the people said unto Samuel, Pray for thy servants unto the LORD thy God, that we die not: for we have added unto all our sins this evil, to ask us a king.
The people were fearful, convicted of their sin. Why were they not fearing God before? Sometimes God must correct his children who ignore him by allowing circumstances that pull them back to him. Israel, as a nation was God's firstborn. Son's need to be corrected.
Prov 19:18 Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying.
Rev 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
1 Sam 12:20 And Samuel said unto the people, Fear not: ye have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart;
Repent, there is no forgiveness without conviction of sins and repentance. No double minded person can come to God and please him. You can fool men, but you can't fool God. Moses spoke to the Hebrews as they were leaving Egypt, a type of the world, that they were to serve the LORD. Will they now put aside the LORD their KING?
Exo 23:25 And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.
Exo 23:26 There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.
Exo 23:27 I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.
Exo 23:28 And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
Exo 23:29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.
Exo 23:30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.
Exo 23:31 And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.
Exo 23:32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
For fear of their enemies, the Hebrew people looked to a man to be King, when their King and power was the LORD God of Israel. Their sin was great, now they have a king, but must repent and serve the LORD the God with all their hearts, as we must. No compromising with the gods of the world or the ways of the world.
1 Sam 12:21 And turn ye not aside: for then should ye go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain.
1 Cor 3:18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
1 Cor 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.
1 Cor 3:20 And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.
1 Cor 3:21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
Psa 94:11 The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.
Psa 94:12 Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law;
1 Sam 12:22 For the LORD will not forsake his people for his great name's sake: because it hath pleased the LORD to make you his people.
God is faithful to his people, He has a covenant with Israel. He would not forsake Israel as a nation, but each would be judged according to faith in his promises. We have a better covenant with God our father, through Jesus our Lord. It is not of a nation, but of each person who believes in Jesus as their Lord and is sealed with His Holy Spirit of truth. We are kept by God's justice through his son and by the love of God that gave Jesus for us.
Rom 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Rom 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Rom 8:33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
Rom 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 Sam 12:23 Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way:
Samuel, loving prophet of God and judge, the intercessor between God and his people through prayers to the most Holy God of Israel.
1 Sam 12:24 Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart; for consider how great things he hath done for you.
Many do not fear God, they don't even respect him. They are comfortable, some are trusting in pleasures or wealth. These things are vain, they are empty and worthless. We fear who gives us the breath of life and decides our eternal reward or fate.
1 Sam 12:25 But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consumed, both ye and your king.
Hellfire and damnation to those who reject God's way. Where is love? It is in God and now through his son Jesus, to reject him is to believe a lie and to be filled with a deceiving rebellious spirit. If the people or their king move away from God and are filled with evil, they would perish.
It is never the time to turn from our God and King. We shall love him and seek him with a whole heart. For he is a rewarder of those who seek him.
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
We worship you our father and king of all righteousness. You alone do we serve as we love you and others, reaching out with your hand and the gospel of grace.
What signs do you see? Are you watching for Jesus? Do you require a sign to believe? Believe his word and obey him.
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