THE MAKINGS OF A BAD DECISION
1 Samuel 8:1, 3-22
1 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for Israel… 3 But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.
4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, "You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have."
6 But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD.
7 And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do."
10 Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. 11 He said, "This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots.
12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.
14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants.
16 Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves.
18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day."
19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles."
21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. 22a The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king." (NIV)
This morning, we’re gonna be talking about, “MAKING BAD DECISIONS.”
Now, if you haven’t been with us the past few weeks, we’ve been going through this study of the Book of First Samuel. And First Samuel is really an exciting book. It’s a book that’s packed with action. There’s not a whole lot of “Law” in First Samuel. There are no long lists of “begats” or anything like that.
But First Samuel, or basically, the first part of First Samuel, is pretty much, a bunch of stories of how God’s people can blow it. I mean really blow it. And so, I guess that’s why I can relate to it so well. Because I feel like I’m an expert on blowing it myself. Whether it’s taking a good situation and ruining it. Or, taking a bad situation and making it worse, that just seems to be one of my giftings.
In fact, I remember one time, Valentine’s Day was coming up, and, I didn’t know what to get Carrie. This is back when we were still dating, and so, there was a lot of pressure to really come through with something big. And so, I thought, “What would be something that would show Carrie that I loved her, and that she was the only one for me, and that I really enjoyed being with her, and that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.
And so, after much consideration, I bought the two of us…memberships to the Patrick Wellness Center in Fayetteville. And I thought, we can be together, and get healthy, and all that.
Well, needless to say, that didn’t rank too high on the ole “Romance Scale.” I didn’t even get her a card. But, in my thinking, I spent $70 dollars. I mean, that’s love, right?
Well, I took a good situation, or an opportunity for a good situation, and completely ruined it. And I’m sure that’s not the last thing I did. But in the interest of time, we need to move on.
But, the point is, that’s exactly what the Israelites did throughout the entire first part of First Samuel. They took God’s plan, God’s awesome plan for them, and they blew it. Over and over again, they ruined God’s plan to prosper them, to bless them, to protect them, and to lead them to peace and to victory.
And here, in chapter 8, they do it again.
You see, for over 300 years, God had been Israel’s king. It was God who had led them out of Egypt and through the wilderness. It was God who had brought them through, not only the Red Sea, but also through the Jordan River. And it was God who had brought them into the Promised Land, and given them victory over all the other nations who lived there. Yes, God had been a faithful and mighty king for the people of Israel.
And yet, the people of Israel weren’t satisfied. And why weren’t they satisfied? Because they wanted a king you could look at. They wanted a king with skin on. One they could flaunt and be proud of. One that would be a respectable representative among all the other nations. You see, the nation of Israel was tired of being looked at as a bunch of kooks.
All the other nations took their orders from mighty men of battle – great military leaders who had slain thousands upon thousands enemies. And Israel took their orders…from a box made out of acacia wood and covered with gold. I mean, you can kind of see their dilemma, can’t you? Nobody wants to be known as “the people who take their orders from a box.” Have you ever thought about it that way? Once a year, the high priest went inside this room that was covered with a curtain and he sprinkled blood all over this box and asked this box to forgive them.
Oh, sure, the Israelites knew they weren’t worshiping a box. But it sure didn’t look that way on the outside.
And so, basically, what the Israelites were telling Samuel was, “We’re tired of being weird.” “We’re tired of being different.” “We’re tired of being strange.” “We just want to be normal, like everybody else.”
And the Bible says, Samuel took exception to it. And not only did Samuel take exception to it, but so did God.
Because, you see, it was never God’s intention for His people to be normal. Because God knew that normal wasn’t all that good. In fact, God knew normal stunk. In fact, normal’s what got the other nations in trouble in the first place.
And so, right from the very beginning, God told His people that He didn’t want them to be “normal.” He told them that He wanted them to be different. Look at Leviticus 18:3. God tells them,
Leviticus 18:3
3 Do not follow the practices of the land of Egypt, where you used to live, or follow the practices of the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. You must not follow their customs. (HCSB)
Do you know what their customs were? Sexual perversion. Incest. Bestiality. Homosexuality. Adultery. Child sacrifice. And the like.
These are the things that the people of the Promise Land did. A lot of people say, “How could a good God tell His people to kill all those innocent people living in Canaan?” And the answer is, He didn’t. Because there were no innocent people living in Canaan, or He wouldn’t have. Well, actually, there were a couple. And guess what? He spared them. But the people who were slaughtered were vile, corrupt, despicable people. And they had gotten so wicked that God had to do something about them. And so, He decided to move them out, and give their land to His “different” people, the Israelites.
And so, God did not want His people to even resemble “normal.” He wanted His people to be different.
And yet, in every one of those instances, God’s people, the Israelites, chose to be…the same. Because they did not obey God and rid their land of such evil influences, they got sucked into doing all those things the Canaanites did that caused God to kick them out in the first place. Bar none.
And here, in chapter 8, we see the Israelites again, rejecting God’s desire for them to be different, and in so doing, rejecting God Himself.
And in verse 7, God says to Samuel,
1 Samuel 8:7b
7b …it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.
And friends, the scary thing is, the Israelites didn’t realize that they were rejecting God. Even though Samuel told them they were, they didn’t see it because they had been blinded by their own selfish desires. They wanted what they wanted, when they wanted it, and they weren’t going to take “No” for an answer.
Does that sound like anybody you know? Doesn’t that sound like us? Doesn’t that sound like America? It is our culture to get what we want, the way we want it, and to get it immediately.
I mean, curbside service used to be good enough. But now, we have to have a drive thru.
Speaking of drive thru’s, I saw on TV the other night, a drive thru church. Have any of you seen that? You drive up to the window, and the pastor prays for you, and you drive off. Now, before you get any ideas, there’s not one around here…yet. But doesn’t that sound strange? But it fills our desire for convenience.
We get what we want, and we get it now.
I used to be able to live without my cell phone. But now, I can’t stand not to have it with me. In fact, my day is ruined. All I can think about is what phone calls I must be missing.
Or how about the internet? Have you ever had to live without the internet for any length of time? Now, I’m talking to those of you who rely on it to get stuff done. Some of you are like, “Internet? What’s the internet?” I’m not talking to you. I’m talking to those of you who know what “http” means. You know who you are. Have you ever had to live without it?
Now, think back to a time when you didn’t have the internet. It hasn’t been that long ago. Just a little over ten years ago for me. And yet, the thought of not being able to go and search for anything I need to know about, and have it pop up immediately , scares me. I mean, who has time to go the library anymore.
My point is, we, Christians in America, are a lot like the Israelites were back then.
We, like them, are called to be different. And yet, we, like them, often feel the tug on our hearts to forget about being different, to forget about God’s call on our lives, and just, live like a normal human being.
I mean, just think about it. Wouldn’t it be cool to just be able to sleep in on Sunday mornings?
Huh? Or, wouldn’t it be nice to keep that 10% that you, normally, put in the offering plate and, instead, spend it on something you’ve been wanting but just didn’t feel like you could justify buying? Wouldn’t it be nice to not have to care about whether or not so and so was saved or not? I mean, “I’ve got enough pressure on me as it is, just dealing with my own stuff, much less to have to worry about somebody else’s soul!”
Now, I’m not saying we’re all like that. All I’m saying is, I have been. I’ve thought about that.
But friends, that’s a dangerous place for us to be. Because, what’s really happening when we begin to feel that way is, we’re starting to reject God. We’re not rejecting a church, or rejecting a preacher. We’re rejecting God.
And, just like it was with the Israelites, the scary thing is, we don’t realize that’s what we’re doing. But we are.
And so, this morning, we’re gonna look at 4 ways that we can tell if we’re making a bad decision.
And the first way is…
I might be making a bad decision if…
1. …I ASSUME THERE’S A BETTER WAY THAN GOD’S WAY.
Again, God had been Israel’s king. And as long as Israel followed God’s commands, they were blessed. In fact, it’s interesting, they never lost one battle when they followed what God told them to do. Not one. When God told them to walk around the walls of Jericho for seven days. Guess what? That’s what they did. And guess what? The walls fell on that seventh day. Military strength couldn’t accomplish that. But God did. And God did countless other miracles on behalf of the Israelites as well. And as long as they followed God’s orders, they won. They were undefeated.
And yet, even though Israel knew that, they wanted to be normal. And so, they asked for a “normal” king. And God gave it to them. Look at 1 Samuel 12:12-13.
1 Samuel 12:12-13
12 "…you said to me, ’No, we want a king to rule over us’-- even though the LORD your God was your king. 13 Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you asked for; see, the LORD has set a king over you. (NIV)
And guess what? That “normal” king they asked for was “normal.” He did normal stuff like: abuse his authority, misuse his people, make military blunders, and lose the respect of the people.
And Israel was no longer a shoe in as far as victory went. Because they had traded their unconquerable king for one who was beatable.
And yet, they thought things would be better their way than God’s way.
And friend, anytime you start to feel like the grass is greener on the other side of God’s will, you’re in trouble.
And this happens to us in many areas of our lives. We get disillusioned by how we want things to be to the point where we’re willing to go against what God has said in order to make it happen.
For example, sometimes we see a person of the opposite sex, and we think, “Gee, I wish I had them instead of my spouse.”
Now, God has said that we are to be faithful to our own spouses. And that we are to love, and honor, and cherish them, and lay our lives down for them.
But we think, “That’s not what I want. It would be better for me to love and honor and cherish that person, than my own spouse.”
You see, we’ve just said that the grass is greener on the other side of God’s will.
Another example. And this one is just as prevalent. God has said in His word that fornication is wrong. Now, fornication is having sexual relations outside the bonds of marriage. That can include a lot of things – adultery, homosexuality, prostitution. But it could just mean sex between two people who are not married to anybody. And so, the Bible says, in 1 Thessalonians 4:3,
1 Thessalonians 4:3
3 “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:” (KJV)
It says in Ephesians 5:3,
Ephesians 5:3
3 “But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you…” (NKJ)
And so, the Bible is clear about sinfulness of fornication. And yet, sometimes, we think, “I know the Bible says it’s wrong, but I think it’ll be okay if I do it.” “I know God says don’t, but I want to.” And so, what we’re saying is, “I think I’ll be better off doing what God says don’t do.” In essence, doing the same thing that the Israelites did.
Now, if God saw it as a rejection of Him when they did it, how do you think He feels about it when we do it?
And so, one sign that you may be heading toward rejecting God is if…”I Assume There’s A Better Way than God’s Way.” Or, better yet, “If I assume my way is better than God’s way.”
A second sign I may be making a bad decision is if…
2. I MAKE EXCUSES TO JUSTIFY MY OWN SINFULNESS.
Notice what the Israelites said in verse 5.
1 Samuel 8:5
5 "…You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have." (NIV)
But then, look what they say in 1 Samuel 8:19-20.
1 Samuel 8:19-20
19 …"We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles."
You see, their first reason was just an excuse. It was just a smoke screen. It sounded good to say,
“Samuel, you shouldn’t have to be doing all this. You’re getting too old mess with us. And let’s face it, your sons just don’t have what it takes. They’re just not like you, Samuel. So, just give us a king so that you can rest, and we can have a ‘good’ ruler over us. How’s that sound?”
But that wasn’t why they wanted a king. They wanted a king so that they could be like everyone else. And they admit that in verse 20. “Then we will be like all the other nations…”
And so, another sign that you’re rejecting God is when you begin to make excuses to justify your own sinfulness.
Here’s how that may go.
“Oh, I’m not going to church anymore because that music is just too loud.”
Or, “I’m not going to church anymore because they’re all just a bunch of hypocrites anyway.”
Or, how about this, “It’s okay for me to look at this pornography because my wife just isn’t satisfying me.”
Or, “It’s okay for me to flirt with this person at work because my husband never shows me any attention.”
Or…You fill in the blank with whatever your vice of choice is.
But the fact of the matter, whether you admit or not, is, you’re rejecting God. You’re not simply sinning against your spouse, or your family, or your boss, or whoever. You’re sinning against God. And you’re doing so for your own pleasure.
Look at what verse 7 says.
1 Samuel 8:7
7 And the LORD told him: "…it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. (NIV)
Now, I want you to recognize, there was a problem with Samuel’s sons. They were corrupt. And Samuel was getting old. God was not denying that. But that wasn’t the real reason they wanted a king. That was just their excuse to justify their own sinful actions.
A third way you can check to see if you’re making a bad decision is, if …
3. I DISREGARD THE CONSEQUENCES OF MY ACTIONS
Samuel spent 8 verses warning the Israelites of the consequences of their actions. He told them all the downfalls of having a king. He told them the king would use them, and be burden to them. He also told them that they would end up being the king’s slaves. And he says, in verse 18…
1 Samuel 8:18
18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day." (NIV)
Friends, there are consequences to our actions. Some consequences sneak up on us. But others, we’re warned of right from the very start.
Things such as smoking. We know what smoking will do to you. I mean, it says so right on the pack. Smoking will give you cancer. Therefore, cancer is a consequence for my actions. Now, I’m not saying it always is. There are those who get cancer who have never smoked in their lives. But, for the smoker, cancer is a consequence.
And how about overeating? I mean, we all know what super-sizing will do to you. I know hot wings and cheese fries aren’t healthy. And so, when a heart attack comes, should I be surprised? No. Not really. Why? Because that is a natural consequence to my actions. Again, there are those who have heart problems who eat healthy. I’m not talking about them, I’m talking about the one who doesn’t eat healthy. There are consequences for that.
How about alcoholism? I mean, we know where alcohol takes us, don’t we? We know what it does. And yet, again, we don’t think it will ever happen to us. But we’ve seen it before. We’ve seen what it has done to other people. And so, it shouldn’t surprise us when we begin to suffer the consequences for our own actions.
But again,
1 Samuel 8:18 says,
18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day." (NIV)
You mean God will let me endure the consequences of my own actions? You bet He will. He says in Galatians 6:7,
Galatians 6:7
7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. (NIV)
And so, it should come as no shock when our lives fall apart because we’ve continued to do things, and live in such a way, that God has said, “If you do these things, and live this way, your lives will fall apart.”
And so, if you’re sowing into your life sin, and defeat, and depravity, don’t be surprised when you begin to endure the consequences for such actions.
And then the last way to tell if you’re making a bad decision is…
4. YOU WORRY MORE ABOUT HOW YOU LOOK THAN HOW YOU’RE DOING.
You see, the Israelites weren’t concerned about the spiritual state of their country. They were just concerned with how they looked to other people. They said,
1 Samuel 8:20a
20 Then we will be like all the other nations… "
Again, they were tired of being looked at as fools. They were tired of having an invisible god who wouldn’t let the make images of Him in order to worship Him. And they were tired of not having somebody to point to as their leader.
They were tired of being different. And so, their concern was not, “How do we get better?” It was, “How can we make ourselves look better.”
And when you’re more concerned with how you look than how you are, you’re backslidden.
Friends, I want to know how to get better, don’t you? I’m not concerned so much with how things look as I am with how things are. And so, let’s be honest about that. How are things?
