1 Samuel 8

Samuel's sons did not follow in his ways. He made them judges in Israel, but they were dishonest men. Heartbreaking.

The leaders in Israel could see the difference between the father and his sons. They gathered together and confronted the elderly Samuel with their solution to the governance of the Lord's people. They wanted a king.

There was a provision in the Law of the Lord for Israel to have a king, but that coming king was to be very different from the rulers of this world. What the elders demanded from Samuel was a ruler “like all the nations.”

Samuel was distressed. The Lord was the King over Israel. They were not to look to the world for the answer to their troubles as if the model for right living could be observed from all the people groups of the earth.

Amazingly, the Lord directed His prophet to give the people what they wanted. God's saving providence would unfold even through this unrighteous demand. The Lord showed Himself to be a mighty King by the way He responded to this deeply troubling situation.

The Lord plainly told Samuel that this urgent plan of Israel was a part of their rejection of God. “They have rejected me from being king over them.” This was not a new development. It was a continuation of the rebellion that had characterized Israel since the day that God had delivered them from bondage in Egypt.

God would give them a king, but that provision would come with a warning. They would be plainly instructed that the peace and prosperity that they dreamed about would not come to them through the example of the nations of the world.

The kings that would reign over them would be sinners like them.

They wanted a king, and they would get one. They dreamed of great military victories that would cost them nothing. Instead they would have to give their sons and daughters to satisfy the desires of the king. The king would tax them and take their land. They would be his slaves.

When they would one day wake up from their dreams and find themselves in distress, they would call out to the Lord. Would he hear them then?

God's ultimate King for His people would come from the line of kings that He would establish in Jerusalem who were the descendants of David. More than that, the final King, the sinless King Jesus, would be God Himself as well as the Son of Man. Though He would be exalted far above all the kings of the earth, He would come to serve.

Jesus did not come from heaven to use and abuse people for His own pleasure. He did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. This is the King that saved us through His death. He is the Lord that we have received.

If we want to follow Him rightly, we need to walk in the power of love. We cannot imagine that heaven will be established on the earth by our ability to win wars against other nations or steal the fortunes of the wealthy for our own agendas. Our blessings come from the cross.

The most powerful thing we can do with our lives will be to believe in our great king Jesus. Let's take whatever we have been given from His hand and use it to serve others.

We are not here to court the favor of the powerful with the hope that we might serve ourselves. We are here to walk in the incomparable victory of the love of Christ.