Samuel - Last of the Judges (Part 4)
Israel rejects God as their King
Eventually Samuel had two sons, Joel and Abiah, and he tried to make them judges of Israel after him. Now, Samuel was a great prophet before the Lord, but aparently, he wasn’t that great of a dad. The elders of Israel came to Samuel, told him that he was too old, and that they didn’t want his sons to be judges over them because they did not walk in the ways of the Lord.
Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, 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.” 1 Samuel 8:4-5
The people knew what all of the ungodly nations had, and they wanted that for themselves. “Hey Samuel, you’re old now, and your kids are living in sin, so give us a king like all of the other nations have.” Now, I can understand why they didn’t want to be led by Samuel’s sons, that would have went nowhere good, but what they were doing was rejecting God. God wanted to be their King.
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. According to all the works which they have done since the day 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.” 1 Samuel 8:7-8
Be careful what you ask of God. Sometimes God may give you what you think you want, and later when you decide that what you wanted wasn’t really that great, God probably will not hear your complaint. God instructed Samuel to tell the people what it would be like to have a king reigning over them, but they rejected the warning. They wanted to have what the other nations had, and when they would cry out to God in the future because of their king, He would not listen.
And he gave them their request; but sent leanness into their soul. Psalm 106:15
As generation, and generation went by, many kings of Israel did not walk in the ways of the Lord, and caused the people to sin, which in turn caused the people to be far away from God. The people of Israel wanted to be like the other nations, and that’s what was going to happen. It’s all throughout the book of Kings, especially 2 Kings 17. The Lord would discipline His people, and constantly seek to be reunited with them, but too many times they continued to reject Him, and follow the ways of the ungodly nations. The king thing wasn’t going to work out, but after rejecting the Lord, and rejecting the warning, they got what they wanted.
The Lord would appoint a king over His people, and we will meet him next time…
——>Lord, forgive us from turning from You, and believing that we know what is best. Help us to seek You with all of our hearts, and fill us with Your Spirit, that we might ask for what is pleasing to You, and what brings praise and glory to Your holy name. Help us to seek You first, for You know what is best in every situation. Lord, be our number one priority, be all that we need, and let us find true joy in You. Amen.
Dave Earley http://www.init-2-winit.org/faithlikeamustardseed http://www.init-2-winit.org/forum
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