What Is God to a King?
Israel had made it roughly 350 years as a theocracy. God had raised up prophets and judges over that time to help keep the people straight. Things changed in 1 Samuel 8. The children of Israel had grown weary of Samuel’s children and determined that they were no longer suitable to lead them.
“And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel. Now the name of his firstborn was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: they were judges in Beer-sheba. And his sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre, and took bribes, and perverted judgment. Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, and said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” – 1 Samuel 8:1-5
They wanted a king. God’s ways were “no longer working”, and His workers were old or corrupt. But the pagans? They seemed to Really have it going on! They had kings and seemed to be functioning just fine.
Yikes.
Samuel, despondent, came before the Lord with the request of the people. God comforts Samuel by reminding him that the people did not have a problem with Samuel but with God. He reminds him that they have been this way for some time. They were like this in Egypt. They were like this in the wilderness. They mistreated me, and now they are mistreating you. Then God says something wild:
Give them what they want.
“Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.” – 1 Samuel 8:9
And Samuel obeys.
However, having a king was not going to come without consequences. In verse 9, God tells Samuel to give them what they want, but to let them know the cost. Those are outlined in the coming verses:
He will take your sons and use them for himself (v.11-12).
He will take your daughters and use them for himself (v.13).
He will take your fields, vineyards, and oliveyards. The best that you have. And he will give them to his servants (v.14).
He will take a tenth of your harvest and give it to his officers and servants (v.15).
He will take all your servants and use them for himself (v.16).
He will take a tenth of your livestock (v.18)
He will cause you to attempt to renege on your request, but it will be to no avail (v.19).
Your sons? Mine. Your daughters? Mine. Your fields? Mine. Your food? Mine. Your servants? Mine. Your livestock? Mine. Your happiness? It all belongs to me.
And in verse 19, they ask for the king anyway:
“Nevertheless, the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; 20that we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.” -1 Samuel 8:19
How could they? All God has ever been to them is good. He took care of them when they were in captivity. He set them free from that captivity. He gave them a cloud by day to stay cool. He gave them a pillar of fire by night to stay warm. Both pillars guided them through the wilderness. He gave them manna when they were hungry. He gave them quail when they were discontent. All God ever did for them was oblige. And after 350 years of God doing miraculous things for their survival and betterment, they decided that God was no longer enough.
Wild, right?
Don’t shake your head too quickly.
That looks just like us.
Exactly like us.
Reflect on your life. Has God not been good? A friend of mine said this to me, “If you are here and alive, God has brought you through 100% of your trials”.
If we were being honest, that would be the testimony of us all. Yet time and time again, God is not sufficient for us. We want a king just like the world does. The sad part is that most of the kings of Israel did evil and got them into a mess. Much like the kings of our lives do now.
The problem is that the kings we elevate over God end up becoming gods in our lives. And just like we see with the 450 prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18, they leave us high and dry.
So how do we get here? Well, in this passage it is quite simple:
First, it begins with discontentment with God. Was it God that took bribes and filthy lucre? No, it was Samuel’s sons. I think we can agree that those sons were not doing the right thing. However, the people did not pursue a change. They wanted to get rid of God’s leadership in their lives all together. The reason they were willing to jump ship so quickly is found in the same passage.
Second, they fixed their eyes on the wrong examples. This was their chance. This was the moment they could ditch God and set up their own systems. They had the intention of wanting God to correct the behavior of their leadership or ask God to erect an individual who will judge them well. They wanted a king. They wanted a king like the other nations have. They prosper over there. They thrive over there. All we have over here is an old man and his crooked boys. This does not work. What they do works.
Third, God gave them what they wanted. Sometimes, God giving us what we want may be the worst thing for us. Often, we want these things while we are emotionally charged and have not thought things through. God did not just grant their request. He warned them about the pain having a king would cause them, and they chose that option still.
Again, just like us.
When things stop going our way, we are prone to grow discontent with God. In our discontentment, we begin to fix our eyes on a system or structure that we are certain will work better than following God and doing it His way. Often, that decision brings us pain.
We must determine to follow God despite the circumstances. We must determine to bring our grievances and struggles to God with the mindset that God will take care of the problem within His way and by His timing.
Should you choose to forsake God to follow a king, God will allow you to do so. But when you do, it will cost you your sons, daughters, land, crops, servants, and livestock. All that you are and own are fair game.
Choose Wisely.
“When Eve found that apple attractive, it wasn’t apples she was after. It was the satisfaction of wisdom from other masters” – Jackie Hill Perry.