1 Samuel 8:1-22
8:1-2 Samuel has lived his life serving God as his prophet, his messenger. Samuel advances in age and appoints his sons, Joel and Abijah, to be judges over the children of Israel.
8:3 It becomes clear that Joel and Abijah are not faithful to God; they do not follow in Samuel's footsteps and they certainly do not follow God's. Joel and Abijah align themselves with they ways of the world rather than with the instruction from scripture. In order to become wealthy and powerful, they work not dutifully for God, but instead for their own desires - resorting even to corrupt dealings and obstruction of justice.
8:4-5 The elders of the children of Israel notice quickly that Joel and Abijah cannot be a replacement for Samuel's judgement. Samuel was fair and empathetic but his sons proved to be unjust and selfish. Recognizing the problem, they request that Samuel appoints a king for the group. The king of king they want, they explain, is one like all the nations around them have: a man king.
The children of Israel are happy with Samuel as their judge but are never able to grasp, or accept, where his wisdom and power came from. Samuel understood that God was the reigning king, the administrator of justice. But the children of Israel begin again to covet the things their neighbors have, even though they were warned against doing so, Exodus 20:17.
There are two major reasons why God does not want us, or them, to covet what our neighbor's have:
- To covet means to become a slave to ones desires. God understands that we lose grip on our sense of justice and humility when we allow lust for things to drive our actions. Instead of realizing that they did have - a Spiritual King and abundant provider - the children of Israel, in their neglect, sought a lesser lifestyle because it looked good. Their minds desire to see a man king on a throne over them, perhaps to boast their nation and intimidate their neighbors. All unnecessary! God has already provided, but because of they cannot see Him, and parade His proof, they reject Him.
- We do not truly understand what or why our neighbors have what they do. From their eyes, tainted with desire, the children of Israel are unable to see the flaw and fragility of their neighbor's lifestyle - a mistake they consistently make and thus neglect to learn from. Life is very similar to a video game, we replay each level until we have gathered enough experience and wisdom to proceed to the next level. The children of Israel begin the process of moving away from God once again because they still refuse to reject the way of the world.
8:6 Samuel is disheartened by the request. Samuel has been so connected with God's word and God himself for so long that the concept of replacing Him causes Samuel distress. In his anguish, Samuel turns to God and begins to pray.
8:7 God patiently listens to Samuel's prayer and continues to remain true to Himself as he tells Samuel to allow the children of Israel to make their own decisions. Although it pleases God very much to have His children aligned with His philosophy, He does not force us to do so.
God's understanding is this: If the children of Israel are asking for a man-king, they need that experience to realize the flaw in that desire. Many of us with our human-experience have realized that people often only listen when the consequences of mistake are speaking.
Moreover, God does not wish to hold hostages and call them family. If the children of Israel chose to flee Him, indeed if we choose to walk away from Him, He allows us to walk away. God does not need to boast His authority by retaining prisoners or demanding fealty.
While dealing with the demands of the group, God is no less aware of Samuel's own pain. Samuel is so invested in faith that these fissures upset him; it breaks his heart to consider the group parting ways with God. A servant of God his entire life, Samuel begins to feel personal failure - failure to unite the group eternal with God. Samuel takes the rejection personal, figuring that he must have done something wrong to cause the group to reject him. After all, Samuel spent his entire life preaching one message and this latest request from the children of Israel toss it right out.
But God explains that it is not Samuel's fault, nor a failure at all: "... they have no rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them." Jesus teaches a similar concept:
John 15:18-21
18 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. 21 But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.
The children of Israel chose the way of the world. The rejection is not personal to Samuel, instead, it is simply a matter of the children of Israel choosing flesh over Spirit. It happens commonly even today: people give into the whim of their desire. Although He reigns, so many choose to put their faith in other kings. Too unruly a group to walk without a leader, their connection with God relies on a spiritually-stable man like Samuel. But Samuel is a chosen, by God, prophet and a succession of man-kings will not be.
God chose Samuel for his natural diligence and compassion. God raised Samuel to judge with justice and wisdom. The man-kings who will reign over the children of Israel will not be so prepared for the role.
8:8 God is used to this degenerative routine. He is used to being rejected by the children of Israel, and also by the rest of the world. God has rescued, redeemed and restored repeatedly, generation after generation. We consider the Bible to be an ancient book but its events continue even in this very moments in our present time. As individuals, a now-scattered group of remnants of the children of Israel and equally recruited peoples, we undergo the same process. God offers the same presence and power in humanity's lives - and in many ways humanity continues to reject it.
8:9 Give them what they want, but prepare them for what they will receive. Essentially, that is God's advice to Samuel. God has promised to go before us in life, scoping out the landscape before we enter, Deuteronomy 31:8. He knows what the consequences of choosing a mortal king will be and He is fair and compassionate in allowing them to know what they are walking into - and away from.
8:10 Samuel brings the message to the children of Israel: both God's consent and caution.
8:11 Samuel begins to explain the behavior they can expect from a man king. After all, the children of Israel have never had a human king before. They are used to the fair and flawless organization God has provided. God is always of even and empathetic temperament. His selfless nature and divine wisdom enable Him to reign and rule with a kind and adept mind and hand. Because they have been subjects under God's authority, they might not understand how the same position as subject to a different king, might be less than glamorous.
Samuel, advised by God, continues by telling the children of Israel that their mortal king will rule over the entire group with largely - if not totally - selfish motivations. The highest positions in society will be given to the king's family, rather than distributed fairly to the most capable or deserving. The positions of power and acclaim will be filled by those with affiliations to the king's personal agenda. Justice is easily perverted when all who hold the power have the same motivations. The children of Israel will lose their fair, unbiased judgement.
The king's men will be assigned to fight in his wars. If, when and why a mortal king decides to go to war will not matter, he can do so without input from those he rules over. Until this point, the children of Israel have only had to participate in war designed and won by God against evil. Their wars were necessary for escape or justice. A mortal king's wars will happen only to serve his desire to acquire or boast his power.
In our own generation we can understand this rather well - millions over centuries have fought in wars or died because of wars, over a handful of men in royalty's disputes and inability to negotiate. God's battles have always been quick, easy and decisive - and He only ever engages war against evil.
8:12 The focus of life will (and has) shift from maintaining peace to preparedness for war. The king's motives will be to feed his family and strengthen his armies for wars. The burden of production will be placed on the commoner, the citizen. God has thus provided for the children of Israel, placing them on fertile land and organizing in such a way that each family could provide for itself with enough left over for charity.
8:13 With the king's men so focused on war, women will be left as housewives. God always had bigger plans for women but with the strain of war so concentrated, there won't be room for women to be much else. They'll need to raise their children and maintain a household, husbands and sons absent - and neither of them to prophesy for the Lord. The king will use his authority to claim. God as king is a provider. It will be a stark difference for them.
8:14-17 The king will claim fertile lands, vineyards and gardens for himself. God raises prophets and judges as servants of the people but mortal kings only make servants of the people they rule over. Everything that the people produce, the king will claim as his own and take when it suits him.
8:18 All of this cautioning should cause the children of Israel to asks themselves: is the desire for pride and patriotism worth the election of a male king? Is it not better to live as servants of God? After all, a life lived in servitude to God is an abundant and blessed life. Once again we are reminded of the decision made in the Garden of Eden: is independence worth losing the benefits of dependence on God?
Samuel cautions the children of Israel, and even us, to answer these questions for ourselves. Because once we find ourselves independent from His protection and provision, we will realize stark vulnerability. If we reject and remove our connection with God, who will care about, answer, or even hear our pleas for help?
God wants each individual to realize that genuine commitment is necessary; the children of Israel cannot sway back and forth, half-halfheartedly pledging themselves to both Him and an alternate lifestyle. So they and we must ultimately ask ourselves: Am I in, or am I out? Because if I'm not all in, I am out.
8:19-20 The children of Israel choose out. It seems ridiculous that they would, doesn't it? And yet we commit the same mistake. Whenever we chose selfishness, hypocrisy, greed, vengeance, or pride, we choose out. Every time we choose impatience, anger and desire, we choose out. In both small and large moments, we choose out when our actions contradict the word of God.
The children of Israel are enamored by the prospect of a reigning man-king. Man has raised many kings, nations and patriotic flags and all of them have suffered because of it. From the very beginning, humanity has been unable to allow nature to define their lifestyle. Each nation strives for power and wealth and God's alternate lifestyle falls by the wayside.
8:21 God reminds Samuel to let the children of Israel choose for themselves; we get the feeling that Samuel is reluctant to do so. Deflated by their destructive choice but ever faithful to the will of God, Samuel sends the men home, winners of a most toxic prize. They shall have their man king.
We must ask ourselves: how many times do we feel so proud of things we should be ashamed of parading? God understands that we are imperfect and weak, He offers to compensate for that. He does not ask us to be perfect but He does ask that we genuinely try to seek only Him and with our whole hearts. For when we begin to desire for anything else, we begin a descent of character.
Every time we decide that instead of wanting what God wants for us... we want what we want for us, we become slaves to our misinformed and insatiable desire.
Samuel, advised by God, continues by telling the children of Israel that their mortal king will rule over the entire group with largely - if not totally - selfish motivations. The highest positions in society will be given to the king's family, rather than distributed fairly to the most capable or deserving. The positions of power and acclaim will be filled by those with affiliations to the king's personal agenda. Justice is easily perverted when all who hold the power have the same motivations. The children of Israel will lose their fair, unbiased judgement.
The king's men will be assigned to fight in his wars. If, when and why a mortal king decides to go to war will not matter, he can do so without input from those he rules over. Until this point, the children of Israel have only had to participate in war designed and won by God against evil. Their wars were necessary for escape or justice. A mortal king's wars will happen only to serve his desire to acquire or boast his power.
In our own generation we can understand this rather well - millions over centuries have fought in wars or died because of wars, over a handful of men in royalty's disputes and inability to negotiate. God's battles have always been quick, easy and decisive - and He only ever engages war against evil.
8:12 The focus of life will (and has) shift from maintaining peace to preparedness for war. The king's motives will be to feed his family and strengthen his armies for wars. The burden of production will be placed on the commoner, the citizen. God has thus provided for the children of Israel, placing them on fertile land and organizing in such a way that each family could provide for itself with enough left over for charity.
8:13 With the king's men so focused on war, women will be left as housewives. God always had bigger plans for women but with the strain of war so concentrated, there won't be room for women to be much else. They'll need to raise their children and maintain a household, husbands and sons absent - and neither of them to prophesy for the Lord. The king will use his authority to claim. God as king is a provider. It will be a stark difference for them.
8:14-17 The king will claim fertile lands, vineyards and gardens for himself. God raises prophets and judges as servants of the people but mortal kings only make servants of the people they rule over. Everything that the people produce, the king will claim as his own and take when it suits him.
8:18 All of this cautioning should cause the children of Israel to asks themselves: is the desire for pride and patriotism worth the election of a male king? Is it not better to live as servants of God? After all, a life lived in servitude to God is an abundant and blessed life. Once again we are reminded of the decision made in the Garden of Eden: is independence worth losing the benefits of dependence on God?
Samuel cautions the children of Israel, and even us, to answer these questions for ourselves. Because once we find ourselves independent from His protection and provision, we will realize stark vulnerability. If we reject and remove our connection with God, who will care about, answer, or even hear our pleas for help?
God wants each individual to realize that genuine commitment is necessary; the children of Israel cannot sway back and forth, half-halfheartedly pledging themselves to both Him and an alternate lifestyle. So they and we must ultimately ask ourselves: Am I in, or am I out? Because if I'm not all in, I am out.
8:19-20 The children of Israel choose out. It seems ridiculous that they would, doesn't it? And yet we commit the same mistake. Whenever we chose selfishness, hypocrisy, greed, vengeance, or pride, we choose out. Every time we choose impatience, anger and desire, we choose out. In both small and large moments, we choose out when our actions contradict the word of God.
The children of Israel are enamored by the prospect of a reigning man-king. Man has raised many kings, nations and patriotic flags and all of them have suffered because of it. From the very beginning, humanity has been unable to allow nature to define their lifestyle. Each nation strives for power and wealth and God's alternate lifestyle falls by the wayside.
8:21 God reminds Samuel to let the children of Israel choose for themselves; we get the feeling that Samuel is reluctant to do so. Deflated by their destructive choice but ever faithful to the will of God, Samuel sends the men home, winners of a most toxic prize. They shall have their man king.
We must ask ourselves: how many times do we feel so proud of things we should be ashamed of parading? God understands that we are imperfect and weak, He offers to compensate for that. He does not ask us to be perfect but He does ask that we genuinely try to seek only Him and with our whole hearts. For when we begin to desire for anything else, we begin a descent of character.
Every time we decide that instead of wanting what God wants for us... we want what we want for us, we become slaves to our misinformed and insatiable desire.
