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
The year is 1050
B.C. The nation of Israel had just come through hundreds of year of affliction
and oppression. The Bible tells us in the book of Judges that leaders were
raised up by God in order to be agents of redemption for the people of Israel,
but they were not permanent or in total authority. The judges were kinds of
influential spokes people, if you will. The people of Israel saw time and time
again the positive affect judges had on the nation after so many times falling
into affliction due to their sin; but it simply was not enough for Israel, as
the whole Old Testament makes clear nothing ever is.
Israel wanted a
permanent, authoritative, powerful, salvific ruler. Israel wanted a king! Why
did the people want a king rather than the system of government they have had
for the last several generations? For three reasons the desire for a king was
too great for the nation to keep quiet any longer. 1) There were a few certain
judges who became very corrupted and lived a lifestyle of sinfulness (1 Sam. 8:1-6).
2) Israel wanted to be governed and seen like all of the nations which were
surrounding them (1 Sam. 8:19-20). And finally 3) there was an impending
oppression from the king Ammon and the nation was afraid which led them to want
a strong, powerful ruler to defend them (1 Sam. 12:12).
Not being
content, jealousy, and fear. These are the reasons the people wanted a king.
Oh, how often can we resonate with these three emotions? It is an interesting
thing about the United Kingdom of Israel when you think about its history. It
is not as if the nation had never been in this situation prior. They had
corrupt judges al l through the book of Judges. There had been impending
affliction and oppression, that’s the very reason the judges existed in the
first place. In 1 Samuel 8 however, it just became too much for the nation and
they gave into their insecurities.
Like Israel we
face the same temptations and possible sins day after day, constantly. It’s not
like we will experience some temptation and think “Oh my, I’ve never been
tempted by this before!” There is nothing new under the sun. It is not a matter
of being tempted it a matter of giving in to the temptation and therefore
rebelling against the Lord. Rebelling against God? Yes, just like Israel did
when they requested a king.
1 Samuel 8:6-7
tell us that whenever Samuel cries to God about this request the Lord responds
by saying “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.”
The Lord had ordained not a monarchy but a theocracy; a God-governed system. God wanted to be an integral part of the life
of the nation but by having a king God is removed from the governing equation
entirely. Moving through the life span of the kingdom in the Old Testament it
is apparent that when God is removed from the governing equation, it typically
does not go well for the people of Israel.
What happens we
allow our lack of contentment with how things are going, our jealousy and envy
of what someone else has, or even our fear that we are incomplete or on the
verge of a total meltdown control the way we interact with God? Or even
further, how often do we let these things affect whether we interact with God
at all? When God is removed from our governing equation how can we expect
anything to happen differently than what occurred in the book of 1 Samuel with
the nation of Israel?
Let us for a
moment address the three reasons Israel wanted an authoritative king
individually.
1. They
were not content with the governing system they had due to corruption and
sinfulness.
We know that the Lord provides
all that we need. That can be read in any given passage on the Bible. If the
nation of Israel would have remembered the sovereign exodus from Egypt they
would have remembered what Moses wrote down in Exodus 15 when God establishes
himself as the king over the nation. So when they asked for a king it was a
blatant rebellion to God because that title was already assumed by him. Perhaps
instead of not feeling content with the situations we face in life we ought to
think about all of multitudes of previous situations the Lord has been faithful
in. And before we gladly rebel against the sovereign Lord we should take a
moment and think about what takes place when we trade the position God holds
with man taking over.
2. Israel
wanted to be like other nations.
It is a fallen human condition to
be jealous and envious of people. For this reason we must be ever vigilant to
focus on and become more and more like Jesus. James 3:16 says that “where
jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile
practice.” This is exactly what took place in 1 Samuel. Leviticus 20:26 is a
statement directly to the people of Israel that tells them “You shall be holy
to me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you
should be mine.” For Israel to want a king like
other nations it is taking this statement made by God and throwing it
directly back in his face and telling him that you would rather be like others
than holy to God. As believers we are also set apart for God. We are made holy
with the purpose of becoming more Christ-like. We are not to be like this
world, but become more and more different than the world. We should desire to
be more like Jesus not more like other people.
3. Fear motivated the cry out for a king.
3. Fear motivated the cry out for a king.
Fears are those emotions that are
sudden. Seldom do people grow in fear. You are either afraid of something, or
you are not. I can’t think of a time I was not afraid of something and
gradually became afraid of it. This is not to say fears cannot increase, but
the fear had to previously exist for it to increase. But it is not something
that the people are God are supposed to have. By this I do not mean things such
as spiders, or heights, or the ocean; I mean fear of life altering oppression
or of other people. Isaiah 41:10 tells us “fear not, for I am with you; be not
dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will
uphold you with my righteous right hand.” The Lord is good and fear is not
needed when He is present. We must believe, as the nation of Israel should
have, that our God is able and will defend and protect us.
When
the nation of Israel cried to Samuel for a king it was sign of rebellion and
disobedience. Much can be gleaned and learned from the failures of others. We
have a faithful and patient God that is slow to anger knowing that our sin will
cause punishment enough in our lives. Let us learn from Israel and not follow
in their footsteps.
In Him,
Andrew J. Belcher
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