Convenient Crisis
“And it came to pass, when Samuel was old, that he made his sons judges over Israel.” “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, 3-5)
Samuel was a good judge. His sons were not. Israel’s elders asked Samuel to appoint a king. Why did they not just ask him to appoint other judges? Why a king? Does that sound suspicious? It should.
A judge in Israel was a civic leader and a spiritual leader. Part of his job was to seek God’s guidance. God was Israel’s true king. The elders were to assist the judge to “…bear the burden of the people with thee [the judge], that thou bear it not thyself alone.” (Numbers 11:17) The elders were not to have their own independent authority. These elders apparently took it upon themselves to petition Samuel for a new form of government. They had no authority to do that. What they did was government overreach.
The elders wanted Israel to be like other nations. Yet God had warned Israel in Deuteronomy 18:9-10 NOT to do what the other nations did: “When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire (child sacrifice), or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,”
Leviticus 18 also gives a long list of the sexual perversions of the heathen that God didn’t want His people to imitate. The term used repeatedly is “uncover their nakedness;” a polite term for sexual activity. God also told Israel, “Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee,” (Deuteronomy 9:5) Yet the elders wanted Israel to be like the other nations?
Our story goes on: “…And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.” (1 Samuel 8:6-7) Israel’s elders were not trying to stop corruption. Samuel’s sons just gave them a convenient crisis to push their Godless agenda.
Here is the application. God wants to bless nations. Psalm 33:12 says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD;” Yet God’s blessing has to be on God’s terms. God said in 1 Samuel 2:30, “…them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.” Psalm 9:17 also warns, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.”
If you are a leader who fears God and wants to do right, you can expect opposition from people like the elders. They don’t care about God or His word, and they don’t mind doing whatever they feel it takes to push their agenda. Opposing such people can literally be a spiritual battle in a political arena.
Yet Moses once asked, “Who is on the LORD’s side?” (Exodus 32:26) Be on the Lord’s side. Stand for what God says is right. “The LORD is with you, while ye be with him;” (2 Chronicles 15:2) Take strength from God’s word. Pray for God’s grace in the fight. Pray for others to join you.
Most importantly, if you want to see from the Bible how to receive the Lord Jesus as your personal Saviour, please go to www.clevelandbaptist.org, click “Helpful Links,” then “How Do I Go to Heaven?”
Brian Miller 8/15/2023
Cleveland Baptist Church 4431 Tiedeman Road, Brooklyn, Ohio 44144 216/671-2822