Sermon – Do You Really Want A King?
Scripture Lesson - 1Samuel 8:1-21 “As Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to be judges over Israel. Joel and Abijah, his oldest sons, held court in Beersheba. But they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and perverted justice. Finally, all the elders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel. “Look,” they told him, “you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.”
Samuel was displeased with their request and went to the Lord for guidance. “Do everything they say to you,” the Lord replied, “for they are rejecting me, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer. Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually abandoned me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment. Do as they ask, but solemnly warn them about the way a king will reign over them.”
So Samuel passed on the Lord’s warning to the people who were asking him for a king. “This is how a king will reign over you,” Samuel said. “The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots. Some will be generals and captains in his army, some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment. The king will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him. He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his own officials. He will take a tenth of your grain and your grape harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants. He will take your male and female slaves and demand the finest of your cattle[b] and donkeys for his own use. He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his slaves. When that day comes, you will beg for relief from this king you are demanding, but then the Lord will not help you.” But the people refused to listen to Samuel’s warning. “Even so, we still want a king,” they said. “We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle.”
So Samuel repeated to the Lord what the people had said, and the Lord replied, “Do as they say, and give them a king.” Then Samuel agreed and sent the people home.”
Introduction: Hannah was the mother of the prophet Samuel. After being childless for many years, this wife of Elkanah, she prayed for a son and promised to dedicate him to God. Her prayers were answered, and she brought forth Samuel and took the child to Shiloh for religious training under the Priest Eli. Samuel is an important figure in the Bible who served as a priest and became the first prophet and last judge in Israel. The name Samuel’s name means "name of God" or "God has heard." For four hundred years, God led Israel as their king and used Judges to guide and order their everyday life. God had removed Eli and his sons for blatant disobedience and sin. Eli failed to correct his sons in their abuse. Ironically, it seems as if Samuel made a similar mistake. Samuel was an upright and godly judge, but his son failed to follow his example. The people became so displeased with their leadership, Israel instead demanded a king who would judge them, go before them, and fight their battles (1 Samuel 8:20).
1.God Knows What’s Best Even in Our Present Discomfort. “Finally, all the elders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel. “Look,” they told him, “you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.”
In their discomfort they rejected God ordained leadership. In his mercy, God granted their request. God had already been their Judge. In Deuteronomy 32:36 God promise, “The Lord will vindicate his people and relent concerning his servants when he sees their strength is gone and no one is left, slave or free.” Not only would God vindicate his people, but He would also go out before them. In Exodus 13:21 He said, “By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.” God also promised to fight their battles in Exodus 14:14, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” But they wanted a king “the same as all the other nations” (1 Samuel 8:5). So they rejected their true King, the God of heaven and earth. God granted their request and gave them over to their desires, but not without a warning.
2. God Knows An Earthly King Cannot Solve Their Problem. “So Samuel passed on the Lord’s warning to the people who were asking him for a king. “This is how a king will reign over you,” Samuel said. “The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots. Some will be generals and captains in his army, some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment. The king will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him. He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his own officials. He will take a tenth of your grain and your grape harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants. He will take your male and female slaves and demand the finest of your cattle[b] and donkeys for his own use. He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his slaves.”
God Knows the manner of men, and nothing seems to corrupt men more than unlimited power. Yet God promised to give them a king like all the other nations. He would give them one who was selfish, oppressive, and ruthless. They didn’t heed His warning. They wanted to be like everyone else, don’t we all.
I want to be like everyone else, too. I want to look like everyone else, to be both beautiful and adorable, and so I make my appearance kingly. Then I find myself overcome by my obsessive eating habits and exercise routine. Turns out that king won’t provide what I need.
I want to have what everyone else has, to feel important and sophisticated, and so I make my possessions kingly. I spend my time, money, and energy, filling my closet with pretty new clothes. But I’ll never have enough because this king demands more and more and more. I could go on, and I’m sure you could, too. Our individual kings demand more from us than we’d ever be willing to give. They lie and tell us that if we could have what the world has, we would have freedom. Yet, Israel’s new freedom would lead to slavery.
Second Peter 2:19 warns against this: “They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption, since people are enslaved to whatever defeats them.”
God Knew best even though Samuel was old and his sons were unruly. We must not allow present discomforts and uncertainty to cause us to abandoned God’s plan. Even if God seems to be moving slowly, it does not mean that God is not working. God knew that an earthly king could solve Israel’s problem. Israel lost sight on who they were. They were not like other nation, they followed a different set of laws and precepts. They marched to the beat of a different drummer.
3. God Knows the Results of the Decisions We Make. “So Samuel repeated to the Lord what the people had said, and the Lord replied, “Do as they say, and give them a king. Then Samuel agreed and sent the people home.”
This is what happens when we, like Israel, fall prey to the desire of being like everyone else. Instead of gaining freedom, we become slaves of corruption. When we turn from the wisdom of the Lord and His ways, we “will eat the fruit of our way”
Proverbs 1:29-33, “since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord. Since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”
In her efforts to be like the world around her, Israel had become wayward and complacent. They missed out on what they truly needed. Liberty and freedom come from heeding God’s warning and submitting to God’s will and way as our true King. Believers are called to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and live godly and righteous lives. Our God is rich in mercy. He pursues us and draws us to Himself until we long for Him again. He even works through our rebellion, just as He did with Israel, providing what is truly best for us. After years of suffering at the hands of Saul, God would later appoint David as king over Israel, and through his family, provide the true King in Jesus Christ. He is the One who ultimately goes before us and fights our battles. He is all we need, and only in submitting to Him as King will we find freedom instead of slavery.
What displeased Samuel was why Israel wanted a king: “That we may also be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles”. They had set their hearts on an earthly king to lead them in battle and give them a sense of national identity, security, and unity. But they wanted a king “the same as all the other nations”. So they rejected their true King, the God of heaven and earth. God granted their request and gave them over to their desires, but not without a warning. He promised to give them a king like all the other nations. God Knows What’s Best Even in Our Present Discomfort; God Knows An Earthly King Cannot Solve Their Problems. God know the Results of the Decisions We Make. They sometimes lead us to eat bitter fruit, yet God will not abandon His children. Our hope is in the Lord. Psalm 33:20-22 “We put our hope in the LORD; he is our protector and our help. We are glad because of him; we trust in his holy name. May your constant love be with us, LORD, as we put our hope in you.”
Because of God’s word and our obedience, we can hope in God. Hope is a confident expectation and desire for something good in the future. Biblical hope has moral certainty in it. When the word says, “Hope in God!” it does not mean, “Cross your fingers.” It means to “Expect great things from God.” Because who He is and what he has promised. Numbers 23:19 reminds us, “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” We don’t need a king like all the other nations, we need to hope in God who knows what’s best, knows who can solve our problems and knows the end from the beginning. Amen.
