Israel Demands a King (1 Sam. 8:1-9)

Wayne Galloway
12/20/13 - N/A

Series: Studies in First Samuel

Introduction:

1.  When you get old, and recognize that you cannot do the work that you once did, you begin to think about others whom you can put in charge of the tasks. 2.  Such was the case for Samuel.  He was a man powerfully devoted to God.  He had led Israel to put away their idols and devote themselves to God alone. 3.  Now he appointed his sons, Joel (“Yah” is God) and Abijah (my father is “Yah”), as judges over Israel.  But they were greedy for dishonest gain so they took bribes and perverted justice. 4.  The people were frustrated and looked for change.  Like many today, when God’s plan is not executed appropriately, they came up with a new plan.  What they should have done was to execute God’s plan correctly.   Instead they chose to step away from God’splan and thus His kingship over them and chose for themselves a kingship like the nations. 5.  Their plan seemed reasonable.   The judges were perverting justice.  The Ammonites were pressing them militarily (12:12ff) so it seemed that a king would answer their problems. 6.  But such was not a minor adjustment of procedure.   It was a total change of direction.  The people were choosing to throw away their special status as the people of God in order to identify themselves with the nations of the world.  They were rejecting God’s kingship!  They may have not seen it this way, but this is the way God saw it. 7.  Do you do what they did?

Discussion:

I.  Samuel recognized the severity of their demand.

A.  “The thing was displeasing (evil, margin) in the sight of Samuel” (8:6).

B.  Samuel had so allied himself with the Lord that for him the people were rejecting him in asking for a king.

1.  When he prayed to the Lord about their request God said, “They have not rejected you. They have rejected Me from being king over them.”

2.  This is often the feeling that God’s leaders experience when people do not walk in the way of the Lord.    Much like the parent of a rebellious child these leaders ask, “What did I do wrong?”

C.  Samuel’s leadership had been remarkable.

1.  He had led the way in restoration of true worship (7:3).

2.  He had prayed for the people (7:8).  He had offered sacrifices for them (7:9).  He had judged their cases with fairness and equity.

3.  He had taken no bribes, had not acted greedily, but had acted faithfully as a good servant of God (12:1-5).

4.  He had followed the Lord’s instruction and even now tried to persuade Israel to go in a different direction (8:12-18).

5.  Even though Israel was rejecting God’s kingship neither God nor Samuel abandoned them (12:22-25).  Samuel prayed for them, instructed them and reminded them of the great things God had done for them.

D.  Such is the lot of those who would lead the people of God.  Sometimes there are feelings of personal rejection (8:7), reviews of one’s behavior (12:3-5) and great grief, but there is still prayer, instruction and reminders of the great things God has done for the people. Ex.  Parents, elders, Bible class teachers, etc.

II.  Still the people insisted on having a king (8:19-22).

A.  God allowed them a king.

1.  The Lord will allow us to do most anything that we want to do, even if it is sin.

2.  We have a choice, but along with our choice there are consequences (8:10-18).

B.  God had always been willing to lead His people and to raise up someone who would lead them in His way.

1.  The Lord is king of the universe.

2.  He had ruled over Israel and the Philistines (7:13).

3.  Psa. 29:10 says He was king before the Flood.

4.  God had ruled over His people since Egypt (8:8).

5.  Hannah understood that God’s rule extended into her personal life, thus prayed for a son who could be used in God’s service.

C.  God had raised up Moses and Joshua as His deliverers.  Throughout Judges and into 1 Samuel Israel had been searching for leaders.

1.   God had raised up judges to deliver them.  At the beginning of Judges the leaders were commendable.  But soon there was deterioration.

2.  Sometimes leadership was neglected.  Men just gave little attention to it.

3.  Some had leadership thrust upon them.  Jephthah (Judges 11).

4.  Some sought to take power.  Ex. Abimelech (Judges 9).

5.  Some lead with little consideration to their devotion to God.  Ex. Samson (Judges 14-16).

6.  Justice, grace and equity had given way to greed, immorality, and despising the Lord.

D.  A king was not God’s way, but Israel insisted and God gave them Saul.

1.  He seemed just right for the job (9:1-2).

a.  Came from prestigious family.

b.  He was an attractive man.  He was taller than any of the rest.

c.   He even sought out a prophet for direction.

2.  Anointed by Samuel and validated by God through prophesying (chapter 10).

a.  And lest we get the idea that all of this meant that this met with the approval of God . . . read 10:17-19.

b.  Saul was appointed with some opposition (10:26-27).

3.  His military defeat of the Ammonites secured his position as king (11:14-15).

III.  Samuel’s word to them was to rehearse their history and call on them to follow the Lord (chap. 12).

A.  He called on them to remember how God had provided Moses and Aaron to lead them out of Egypt.

B.  He reminded them how they forgot the Lord and were delivered into the hands of the Philistines and the Moabites.  He reminded them of their repentance from idols and how God had sent Jerubbaal (Gideon), Bedan (Barak) and Jephthah and Samuel and delivered them.

C.  He reminded them how they then asked for a king and said, “The Lord has set a king over you” (12:13).

D.  Samuel’s message, “Listen to the voice of the Lord and do not rebel.”

E.  The people confessed their sin.

F.  Samuel communicated God’s grace (20-24) with warning (25).

Conclusion:

1.  Sometimes we are like Israel.  Even though God is trying to lead us we are straining against His leadership, trying to define our own direction, unwilling to submit to Him.

2.  We want God’s deliverance, but we want it on our terms.

3.  We demand our way and God allows us to have it.  All the while calling on us though His leaders instruction in the good and right way.

4.  Their message is clear and plain, “Consider what great things God has done for you and fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart.”