Give Us A King! Series

INTRODUCTION

• SLIDE #1

• The nation of Israel did not have an earthly king for many years, they were under the guidance of God. Men like Samuel were God’s intermediary between God and the people. Samuel was the last of the Judges of Israel (1 Samuel 7:15).

• The nation of Israel was to be like no other nation on earth, they were meant to be a model for the rest of the world to see. (Lev 20:26; Deut 4:6-8)

• Samuel had a long career of being God’s representative of the people, but Samuel was getting old and so he appointed his sons to help him, and they were not good guys, they were rotten kids as we will see from the text.

• The great complaint this week comes to us from the people of Israel, they demanded that Samuel appoint them a king so they would be like all the other nations.

• So, what is there in this complaint for us today? This is the question we will answer as we look at this fascinating exchange between the Elders of Israel and Samuel, and Samuel and God.

• We will see a lot of connections between what the nation of Israel was wanting and what many folks are seeking today.

• As Christians, we too are to be an example to the world of what it means to be guided by God, but just like the nation, sometimes we fight the Lordship of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit in our lives.

• The world should see something different in us.

• The story of Israel’s rejection of God is a cautionary tale for us today.

• Let’s turn to 1 Samuel 8 as we dig into our message, Give us a King!

• SLIDE #2

• 1 Samuel 8:1–8 (CSB) — 1 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. 2 His firstborn son’s name was Joel and his second was Abijah. They were judges in Beer-sheba. 3 However, his sons did not walk in his ways—they turned toward dishonest profit, took bribes, and perverted justice. 4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and went to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Therefore, appoint a king to judge us the same as all the other nations have.” 6 When they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” Samuel considered their demand wrong, so he prayed to the Lord. 7 But the Lord told him, “Listen to the people and everything they say to you. They have not rejected you; they have rejected me as their king. 8 They are doing the same thing to you that they have done to me, since the day I brought them out of Egypt until this day, abandoning me and worshiping other gods.

• SLIDE #3

SERMON

We want a new King because of…

I. The desire to conform to the world. (1-8)

• Samuel was getting old, so he appoints his sons to help him Judge Israel, the problem is that the sons are scandalous young men.

• Verse 3 tells us that his sons did not walk in his ways—they turned toward dishonest profit, took bribes, and perverted justice.

• Files this in your mind as we ponder another thought that was brewing in the background.

• The sons were scandalous, no doubt, much like Samuel’s Eli, his sons were terrible people.

• However, given that the sons were not taking over, I wonder why the Elders of Israel did not simply ask Samuel to remove the sons from their position?

• There is something deeper going on here.

• Based on the actions of the Elders, one could conclude that over a period of time as they say the splendor of the Kings of the nations around them, that they were jealous that they did not have a shiny toy leading their nation.

• Later in verse 20 that we will get in a bit, they stated they wanted a King he could judge them, and go out before them and fight their battles.

• Let me ask you a question? Why would they want an earthly king when God was their King?

• I believe the answer lies in the fact that they secretly yearned to be like the rest of the world along with the fact that they wanted someone else to do the work of staying free.

• They watched the glorious pomp and circumstance that surrounded the Kings of the other nations, so for them, God was not good enough.

• The situation with Samuel’s sons simply provided the opening for the Elders to express their true heart.

• For these people, God was not enough for them.