Now, all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition (warning) upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 1 Corinthians 10:11
“We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us and His teaching in our history.” EGW
We Want A King!
The children of Israel had settled in the promised land. All seemed good. But they soon began to complain to Samuel for a king. They wanted to be like other nations and be ruled by someone they could see but still keep God—two masters, as it were. No longer satisfied with a theocracy governed by God through judges and priests, they desired an earthly monarchy. They felt a king would make them acceptable and powerful like other nations.
Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” 1 Samuel 8:4-5
Samuel was not pleased with their request despite the sound reasoning that Samuel’s sons would soon be their judges, but they were not like Samuel. They were corrupt:
But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice. 1 Samuel 8: 3
Samuel understood that establishing a king was a giant step in the wrong direction for the people of Promise. As the old proverb goes, “absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Like their forefathers who wandered in the desert for 40 years, the people had not come to trust God and put Him first.
Thought question: Do we make God our sole source of direction, or do we put our trust in a person or persons? The children of Israel would start down a path that would lead them further away from God by substituting God with a king.
We must balance this thought with the fact that God works through people whom He educates and gives power to do his will through truth and goodness. But the enemy also works through people to harm and divide.
Rejection of God’s Rule
Samuel did not know what to do nor how to respond to their logical reasoning about his sons and the eventual rule by corrupt judges. He did what every believer must do when faced with a challenging situation. He prayed to seek God’s wisdom.
So Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. 1 Samuel 6-7
Samuel must have been surprised by the response from God. Let them have what they want! Don’t feel bad, Samuel. They have not rejected you. They have rejected me and don’t want Me to rule over them.
Thought question: Do we do the same thing when we trust in priests, pastors, and strong personalities rather than God our Father? How can we know which are good and which have a different agenda than God?
After all that God had done for them by delivering them from the rule of Egypt and a powerful pharaoh, they sought to be placed under the sovereign whims of an earthly king. God told Samuel to remind them what God had done for them. Then, He warned them about what to expect. Samuel obeyed God and laid it all out in 1 Samuel 8: 10-18.
Consequences:
A king would take advantage of them. He would build up an army. They didn’t need an army under the protection of God. God had protected them from the pursuing army of Egypt.
A king would take their daughters and put them to work for him. He would bring the best of their agriculture and a tenth of produce and livestock. The people of God would become servants to the king. At some point, they would cry out to God, but He would not listen to them.
And you will cry out that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the Lord will not hear you that day.” 1 Samuel 8:18
Consequences-The Theme Going Forward
They would have to bear the consequences of not trusting God. That is the central theme of the people of God’s mistakes, which Paul warns us in our opening passage. It is what Paul wants us to hear, see, and understand so that we don’t do the same.
Thought question: How well is your trust in God? Can you trust Him, no matter the circumstance? Have you had to bear the consequences of making someone or something else king in your life?
Despite the gloomy prophecy, the people went ahead with their desire to have a man rule over them.
Nevertheless, the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but we will have 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
When the people of God desire to compromise and become like “all the nations,” they lose the power of God. They would become ineffective for Him and the truth that would save the lost. They would become poor witnesses to the only true God.
Our failure to trust in Him leaves us vulnerable. Instead of letting God fight our battles, we seek the government or some other entity to fight them for us. This is an unholy alliance and not in the will of God. In the book of Revelation, a corrupt church (Babylon) and the State will unite to enforce the church’s ungodly dogma through the government. The people of God should never seek to have the government force people to believe as they do. Our God does not work by force or through any government edicts.
Moral laws, as described in the last six commandments, are acceptable legislation to produce for a safe society, but the first four commandments of God relate to Him alone. These, in particular, are never to be legislated. They are about the worship of the only Creator. The beast of Revelation 13 creates laws about worship because the enemy seeks to replace God and how people worship Him.
As we will see as we move along in understanding the enemies of Israel, their captors want to eliminate the true God of the Israelites. The hate is not just about a people, but the only true God. Herein is the primary goal of the enemy.
The First King-Saul
And Samuel heard all the people’s words and repeated them in the hearing of the Lord. So the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed their voice, and make them a king.” And Samuel told the men of Israel, “Every man go to his city.”
1 Samuel 8: 21-22
Samuel broke up the crowd of unsatisfied grumblers and sent them home. Then Samuel went about the task of finding a good king. He desired a candidate who would be obedient and submissive to the guidance of God. His journey would lead to a Benjamite man named Kish, who was powerful and wealthy. Kish’s son Saul, a very tall and handsome man, was his choice. On the outside, he looked like a king who could influence the nations around Israel.
Kish had a son named Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else.1 Samuel 9: 2 NIV
The meeting between Samuel and Saul is very interesting. Saul’s journey to look for his father’s lost donkeys is recorded in 1 Samuel 9. I won’t take much time here, but I want to point out a couple of passages.
Saul is Born-Again
When Saul and Samuel’s paths cross, as directed by the Lord (See 1 Samuel 9: 16), the exchange of their first words is important:
Samuel said, As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them; they have been found. And to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and your whole family line?” 1 Samuel 9: 20b
Saul came looking for a prophet (Samuel) to help him find the lost donkeys. Instead, he is greeted by the prophet in a very respectful and unusual way. Then Saul reveals his character with these words:
Saul answered, “But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?”
God does not use the biggest, strongest, and most famous to initiate His will and leadership. It is the small and humble He seeks.
Something else demonstrates that God has prepared Saul for his journey as a king. He gave him a new heart.
So it was, when he had turned his back to go on Samuel, God gave him another heart, and all those signs came to pass that day. When they arrived there to the hill, there was a group of prophets to meet him; then the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. 1 Samuel 9: 9-10
God directed the meeting of Saul and Samuel. At least at this point, Saul was a humble young man born again (another heart), and the Spirit of God was upon him. Saul started well with a new heart and the direction of God’s Spirit.
However, as the story goes, this same Saul, after many years as king of the united kingdom of Israel, would change and lose his way. The people would also become different people.
Among the people were rebels who did not accept Saul as their king. This is important because, ultimately, there would be a clear division of the people of God’s kingdoms of the North and the South.
Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, accompanied by valiant men whose hearts God had touched. But some scoundrels said, “How can this fellow save us?” They despised him and brought him no gifts. But Saul kept silent.
1 Samuel 10: 26-27
Saul’s mentor, Samuel, had died. There came a point when Saul lost his way and did not rely on God. He grew impatient with God because of the clear and present danger of the Philistines.
In desperation, instead of waiting on the Lord, he sought wisdom from a medium. God forbade this for His people (Lev. 19:31), but Saul went to the medium of En Dor disguised in other clothes and at night. He hoped to have Samuel brought up from the grave to give him advice. Saul should have humbled himself and trusted God, but Saul had rejected God, and God rejected him.
When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, by Urim, or by the prophets…. So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went, and two men with him; and they came to the woman by night. And he said, “Please conduct a séance for me and bring up for me the one I shall name to you.” 1 Samuel 28: 5-6, 8
In the beginning, God had selected Saul and gave him what was needed to rule over His people, but now Saul was under this medium’s bewitching power and deception. She brought up a spirit that Saul “assumed” was Samuel (1 Samuel 28: 14) . This spirit made a prediction that would come true.
The spirit of God had departed from Saul and became his enemy. God had torn the kingdom from Saul and given it to David. Why? Because Saul did not obey the voice of the Lord nor attack the enemy with the wrath of God as God had instructed (1 Samuel 28:18).
As a result, Israel would be given over to the Philistines on the very next day. Further, Saul and his sons would die in battle. For the full story, see 1 Samuel 28 and 1 Samuel 31
After Saul came David, a good ruler. Then Solomon, who would take Israel to great heights. These three were the only three kings that would rule a united kingdom. Then, God’s promised land would be divided into the northern kingdom of Judah and Israel in the south.
As predicted by Samuel, the kings that the people cried for would become their enemies, oppressing and dividing them. Most of the future kings would lead them into sin and evil.
In the chart below, you can see that only a few were faithful to God. The 19 kings of the northern tribes of Israel were ALL disobedient to God. The southern kingdom had only 6 out of 20 (30%) who were obedient to their Maker! What a terrible record of these kings!
Without a doubt, the choice to have kings rule them was a very bad one. But God allowed them to have what they wanted.
Thought question: Is getting what we want better than what God has in mind for us?
The story of Saul and the following kings was recorded to show how turning our backs on God in favor of a king only leads to misery and failure. In the final events of Earth’s history, individuals will decide like the Israelites. Will God be our ruler, or will someone else steal our worship and devotion? Those who we think will be our savior will become our enemy…just as the kings of Judah and Israel became the enemies of God’s people. May we learn to lean on and trust the only faithful Savior of the world…. Jesus is the Messiah and the soon-coming King of Kings.
May their story of poor choices and lack of trust in God give us wisdom so we do not make the same mistakes.
Final thought question. Does the church have a king in modern society? Who is it?
Now, all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition (warning) upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 1 Corinthians 10:11
