Be Careful

“…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.’"—1 Samuel 8:5

Be careful what you ask for, you just might get it. For the nation of Israel, during their short time in the Promised Land, they wanted a king. They had been led by such great leaders: Moses and Aaron to start with and then the judges—Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, Gideon, Tola, Jair, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, Samson, and Samuel. But it was under the leadership of Samuel that the nation had enough. They didn’t want to be God’s special people i.e. that God was their king. They wanted to be “like all the nations.” Israel has always had an inferiority complex, battling the desire to be like the nations around them. And here they had had enough of their unique status as God’s people trading in their heavenly king for a far less inferior earthly one.

Samuel was disturbed by their request wondering if it was because of his leadership, but God corrects him 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.”—1 Samuel 8:7. Oh, my brother or sister, what a travesty it was to reject God’s Kingship! God would answer their request and give them a king, but it would come with consequences. Before God agreed to answer their request He wanted to make sure that they knew what they were getting themselves into and give them a chance to rescind their request before it was too late. He had Samuel tell the people what having an earthly king meant (as opposed to a heavenly one). Samuel informed them what it would be like,

“These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots. And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his implements of war and the equipment of his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants. He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants. He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take the tenth of your flocks, and you shall be his slaves. And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day”—1 Samuel 8:11-18.

Rather than be blessed they would be burdened. Rather than an increase in status they would be slaves again. And how did the people respond? They refused to listen to him, rejecting his counsel, and preferring to believe it was going to be decidedly different then the bleak portrait Samuel painted. Their response is very upsetting, “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.

They thought having an earthly king meant there would be one who would serve them, but instead they would serve him! They felt that having an earthly king would be far better than a heavenly one, but they didn’t understand that they were trading the perfect for the imperfect, and the majesty of the Almighty for the shifting moods of an earthly monarch.

God did give them a king and he did everything that Samuel had laid out—making many slaves and having them serve him. And there were some bright spots in the Jewish monarchy, but it was far less than what it would have been if God Himself were King over the nation. Many of the kings in Israel’s history led the nation into serious sin, sorrow, and great suffering.

How often do we want what the rest of the world has rather than what God wants for us? How often have we rejected God’s word and His Lordship because we have seen what the “nations” around us have? Too often have we sought what the world offers! And there are times when God has allowed us to have what we wanted. But we all too soon realize, like the prodigal son before us, that everything we thought we wanted leads to sin, sorrow, and suffering.

What happened to the nation of Israel happened as a warning for us. We must be careful to avoid the pitfalls and traps that ensnared them, making sure that we pursue God in absolute purity, careful to do everything in His word, and making sure that we are content with His rule and reign over us—which is infinitely better than what this sinful, passing away world would have us believe.

O Father God, may we delight in Your reign over us! And may we be careful in our earthly pursuits knowing that they so often can lead us away from a pure devotion to You! May we be content with all that we have, thankful for Your gifts of which You in Your mercy have chosen to lavish upon us. May we never tire of Your rule and reign, rather, may our hearts find the rest and satisfaction that can only be found in You—to the praise of Your great and glorious name. Amen.