A Study of the Life of Samuel
Sermon # 6
”Give Us a King!”
1 Samuel 8:1-18
Many People are painfully aware that things would be far better in their lives if they had made wiser decisions. It is especially frustrating to realize what they are going through now is the result of one poor decision in our lives. Tonight is such a time in the life of Israel. Probably some twenty to twenty-five years have gone by between the events recorded in chapter seven and those recorded in chapter eight.
1. When Excuses Are All You Have.
(vv. 1-5)
“Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. (2) The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. (3) But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice. (4)Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, (5) 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."
The elders presented their request to Samuel and backed it up with several arguments or excuses. Anytime we want to justify a course of action we wish to take we come up with a list of what we think are logical arguments which are often really nothing but excuses to do things the way we want to do them.
“A radio news series about honesty in America talked about excuses. The commentator said that people use three types of excuses when guilty of wrongdoing.
• The first is outright denial—a rejection of any involvement. Sometimes this is done even though the person is obviously guilty.
• The second is the “It’s not my fault” excuse. The person looks around for someone he can blame. (Often it is a loved one - a husband or wife or parent. Sometimes it’s the boss.)
• A third form of excuse is the “I did it, but “ approach. In this instance the person blames circumstances for his shortcoming. Either he’s been struggling with some illness or the assignment wasn’t clear or the car’s been giving him trouble.(http://www.bible.org/illus/ excuses. Source unknown)
The following illustration of excuses is one of the best I have every heard; “The commanding officer was furious when nine GIs who had been out on passes failed to show up for morning roll call. Not until 7 p.m. did the first man straggle in. “I’m sorry, sir,” the soldier explained, “but I had a date and lost track of time, and I missed the bus back. Being determined to get in on time, I hired a cab. Halfway here, the cab broke down. I went to a farmhouse and persuaded the farmer to sell me a horse. I was riding to camp when the animal fell over dead. I walked the last ten miles, and just got here.”
Though skeptical, the colonel let the young man off with a reprimand. However, after him, seven other stragglers in a row came in with the same story—had a date, missed the bus, hired a cab, bought a horse, etc. By the time the ninth man reported in, the colonel had grown weary of it. “Okay,” he growled, “now what happened to you?”
“Sir, I had this date and missed the bus back, so I hired a cab .”
“Wait!” the colonel screeched at him. “don’t tell me the cab broke down.” “No, sir,” replied the soldier. “The cab didn’t break down. It was just that there were so many dead horses in the road, we had trouble getting through.” [Contributed by John F. King
www.bible.org/illus/excuses]
Now let’s examine the excuses that the elders offered for wanting a king. First, they tell Samuel that he is too old to lead them, in verse five they say “look you are old.” Obviously they had never read the book, “How to win friends and Influence People.” At this point Samuel is probably 65 to 70 years of age. (Which is by the way a lot younger than it use to be.) They seem to be suggesting that Samuel is “as good as dead” and that his leadership is over. The second reason that the elders give for wanting a king is “your sons do not walk in your ways” in other words your sons are not fit to lead. Ouch that must have hurt. This must have been true for it is never denied. But it seems to be more of a convenient pretext than the elder’s real motives to over throw the theocratic system in favor of a human king.
2. When We Try To Be Like The World
(v. 5c)
Finally, the real reason is given, in the last part of verse five, we want to be “like all the nations.” But Israel was never designed to be just like the other nations, they were to be unlike them and superior to them in every way. Just like the Christians of today is not be just like the world but that according to 1 John 2:15, we are “not to love the world or the things in the world.” Unfor-tunately too many Christians are still trying to follow the world’s example, to look like, sound like and act like unbelievers.
Up until this point in history of the life of the nation of Israel has been characterized by disunity, each tribe did its own thing. There seem to be no real pattern for the selection of judges. Viewed this way the desire for a king probably seemed very logical, except that it left God completely out of the picture. There is not the slightest indication that they wanted Samuel to determine God’s will regarding a king. There is no reference to prayer on their part and no evidence of humility. They wanted what they wanted and they wanted it right now. That sounds thoroughly modern, doesn’t it?
The problem is not just that Israel requested a king; it was insisting that God give them a king immediately.
In verse six we learn that the elders request for a king, “… displeased Samuel. The Hebrew word for “displeased” means “to see the evil in something.” Samuel was very upset with the request of the people, and there probably was any number of reasons why. He certainly had room to take offense that the people were linking his age with the need for new leadership. Samuel may have felt more than a little threatened and devalued by the request of the elders. Samuel left the scene convinced that he had been rejected by the people he had spent a lifetime faithfully serving. As any godly leader would Samuel probably agonized over whether what is happening is due to some failure on his part. You may never have thought of it, but when some member of the congregation fails to live like a Christian should, the pastor grieves and asks himself, “What could I have done to prevent this?” But perhaps most of important of all Samuel saw what Israel’s rejection of God will cost.
3. When We Feel Unloved and Unappreciated (v. 6)
However, much to his credit Samuel instead of arguing with the people or defending himself, the reminder of verse six says that he “prayed to the LORD.” In the response he received both personal affirmation, which made him feel good and instructions for the people, which frustrated him. In verse seven we read, “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. (8) According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day--with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods--so they are doing to you also. (9) Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them."
The Lord answers Samuel’s prayer. He always has and he always will. Paul in his Philippian letter (4:6) says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Prayer did several things for Samuel. First, it provided God’s guidance on how to respond to the Elder’s request. Secondly, it gave encouragement to Samuel in his service. God reminds Samuel it is not he, that is Samuel, whom they are rejecting.
Israel’s request for a king is seen than much more than a mere desire for an earthly king, they are rejecting God’s kingship in their lives. This is not the first time that Israel has rejected God. At Sinai will Moses is on the mountain receiving the law, the people are in the valley demanding that Aaron “make them gods” (Ex. 32:1). Disgruntled in the wilderness they said, “Let make a captain and let us return to Egypt.” (Numbers 14:4).
4. When God Gives Us What We Ask For (vv. 10-22)
In verse ten Samuel, “… told all the words of the LORD to the people who asked him for a king. (11) And he said, "This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. (12) He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. (13) He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. (14) And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. (15) He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. (16) And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. (17) He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. (18) And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, and the LORD will not hear you in that day."
Israel’s demand of a king in the face of all the bad things they have just heard is unreason-able. They thought that they knew what was best, they took counsel of their own hearts and having chosen a course independent of God, they proceeded at once to follow it up.
No one could do for Israel what God had already done. It was also ungrateful because it ignored the evidence of God’s past goodness. In spite of all the Lord had done for Israel from the call of Abraham to the conquest of the Promised land, they decide to turn there back on Almighty God and choose to have a mere mortal to rule over them. And it is willful because even after Samuel’s explanation, Israel insisted on her own way. In spite of all the warnings, the people insisted that God give them a king.
We have all heard the old saying, “You made your bed and now you have to lie in it.” God will of course forgive the sin of our demanding our own way, but he may not remove the consequences of that choice. Sometimes the severest judgment God can give us is to let us have our own way.
Notice the progression in rebellion evident in the text, they begin in verse six by asking Samuel to … “ give us a king” but now in verse nineteen they defiantly “… refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, "No, but we will have a king over us, (20) 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."
God has previously told Israel that she would one day have a king. God had promised Abraham and Sarah that kings would be among their descendants (Gen 17:6, 16). Jacob named 1Judah as the kingly tribe (Gen. 49:10).
Some have pointed to the prophesy of Deut. 17 (verses 14-20). "When you come to the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, "I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,’ (15) you shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. (16) But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the LORD has said to you, "You shall not return that way again.’ (17) Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself. (18) "Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. (19) And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, (20) that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.”
Didn’t God say that Israel was to have a king? Yes. Does that mean that it was alright for Israel to demand a king? No. The fact that something is prophesied in scripture is not proof that what is being told is good and right. The betrayal of Judas was foretold, as well as the fact that Israel would reject Christ as the Messiah. But that does not mean that either of these acts was good or right. It only means that God want us to know that it was part of his eternal plan.
In verse twenty-one, we are told, “And Samuel heard all the words of the people, and he repeated them in the hearing of the LORD. (22) So the LORD said to Samuel, "Heed their voice, and make them a king." And Samuel said to the men of Israel, "Every man go to his city."
One of the great mysteries of God’s work among men is that the Bible is interwoven with stories of how God works with people even in the midst of their failures to bring purposes to be.
