Asking for a King (1 Samuel 8:1-9)

5/5/2010 8:54 AM

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY

 

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  Asking for a king

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  1Samuel 8:1-9

 

            Message of the verses:  “1 ¶  And it came about when Samuel was old that he appointed his sons judges over Israel. 2  Now the name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in Beersheba. 3  His sons, however, did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain and took bribes and perverted justice.

    ‘4 ¶  Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah; 5  and they said to him, "Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations." 6  But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." And Samuel prayed to the LORD. 7  The LORD said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. 8  "Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day-in that they have forsaken Me and served other gods-so they are doing to you also. 9  "Now then, listen to their voice; however, you shall solemnly warn them and tell them of the procedure of the king who will reign over them.’”

            Dr. Wiersbe believes that this portion of 1Samuel took place around 20 years after the meeting at Mizpah.  There was a new generation in Israel who were looking to solve the problems of the nation in a worldly fashion and not through a Spiritual way.  So they came to Samuel and pointed out that he was getting old and that his sons were not walking in the way that he was for they were taking bribes as they judged Israel, and this must have deeply hurt Samuel because I am sure that he knew that this was true.  It was also deeply distressing to Samuel to have the elders of Israel to come to him and ask for a king.  At this point the story gets a little bit mysterious to me, and as I have studied this portion of Scripture by reading over it in my journey through the Bible I have made some progress in understanding what is going on here.  I understand that there was a wrong motive in asking Samuel to ask God to give them a king.  I believe that the king that God gave them was the king that they asked for and not the king that God had picked out for them and would give them if they would have had the patience to wait for the Lord.  The elders of Israel were not spiritual and therefore were going about trying to answer a spiritual problem with a worldly answer and this never works.  When one looks at Saul in his appearance they could see that he was taller than anyone who was in Israel at that time, and when one looks at David’s appearance they would not think that he could be any good at being a king for even Samuel was surprised at his appearance. 

            John MacArthur writes this commentary on the 20^th verse of 1 Samuel 8 which has to do with the motive of the elders asking for a king:  “Up until this point, the Lord Himself had fought the battles for Israel and given continual victory (Jos.10:14; 1Sam. 7:10). Israel no longer wanted the Lord to be their warrior; replacing Him with a human king was their desire.  It was in this way that Israel rejected the Lord (see verse 7).  The problem was not in having a king; but, rather the reason the people wanted a king, i.e., to be like other nations.  They also foolishly assumed there would be some greater power in a king leading them in battle.”

            Samuel knew that the elders of Israel had the wrong motive for asking for a king.  When one looks back at different places in the OT before 1Samuel they can find places where God mentions that there would be a king in Israel.  Abraham was told that kings would come from his body, and Jacob announced that Judah would be the kingly tribe, and Moses gives directions on a king in his writings, so it was not if Israel would get a king, but when they would get a king.  The problem was the motive in which they asked for a king and this grieved the heart of Samuel.

            God tells Samuel in an answer to his prayer that he should warn them about how a king would rule them, but in the end that would make no difference for their hearts had grown cold towards the things of God.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Motive seems to be what stands out in this section of Scripture for me as I look at it.  One can do things for the Lord as He directs him to do and that is fine, however one has to have the correct motive in doing things for the Lord or they will not turn out well.  The people of Israel were to receive a king from the Lord at His timing; however this was not the right timing so this made the process wrong. 

            I have a great desire to move to Florida, and I am struggling to find out if this is what the Lord’s desire for Sandy and I to do, and I surely do not want to make a mistake in this so I continue to pray about it to see if the Lord will give me a promise about going there or an answer for me not to go.  My motive has to be right about this for in and of itself this is not a wrong desire, but I covet to know what the Lord has for me to do about this.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:

 

1. I think that as happened in 1Samuel 7, I need to get rid of my idols before the Lord will answer me. 

 

5/5/2010 10:00 AM