About 1 Samuel 8
1 Samuel 8
We have made it.
Chapter 8 of 1 Samuel is the chapter that marks the beginning of Israel’s transition from judges to a monarchy.
“As Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to be judges over Israel. Joel and Abijah, his oldest sons, held court in Beersheba. But they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and perverted justice.
Finally, all the elders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel. “Look,” they told him, “you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.””
Samuel appointed his sons to be judges over Israel, but being a judge is not an office that could be inherited and therefore it’s unsurprising that it was unsuccessful as Joel and Abijah “accepted bribes and perverted justice”.
Samuel’s response to this however, is different from Eli’s. Eli went to reprimand his sons after hearing reports about them [1 Samuel 2:22-25]. He was aware of what they were doing and let them be. Samuel on the other hand, goes to God after the reports and the suggestion of a king by the Israelites.
Eli’s actions brought destruction to his entire family line, while Samuel’s place him in a position to crown Israel’s first king.
- FaithLife Study Bible
By saying “give us a king to judge us like all the other nations” Israel rejects God as their king and Samuel as their judge.
God has intended for Israel to be distinct from the other nations:
“You must be holy because I, the Lord, am holy. I have set you apart from all other people to be my very own.”
God desires for us to be recognizably different from everyone else. Yet we look at what others have and want it for ourselves. When we do this, we are ultimately telling God that what He is giving to us is not enough and it’s a form of rejection of God’s will. We are basically placing what others have above God; we are placing our own will above God’s. This means that we are rejecting God and His perfect plan for us simply because on the surface someone has it better than us; because from our narrowed eyesight, they have everything we want.
Yet, we are not called to be like them.
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew 6:33, NIV
God knows our hearts.
Seek Him first.
Be patient as His will unfolds in your life.
He loves you.
You are precious to Him.
He cares about you.
Do not reject Him because you want to be like everyone else.
Embrace the fact that you are called to be different as a child of God.
Samuel’s first call was prayer, and that should always be our first call. Because when we seek God we will find Him, and He will lean in to hear our prayers, and He will answer them.
The Lord answered Samuel’s prayer about the Israelites’ request for a king, but He also warned them of the consequences of having an earthly ruler.
““This is how a king will reign over you,” Samuel said. “The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots. Some will be generals and captains in his army, some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment. The king will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him. He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his own officials. He will take a tenth of your grain and your grape harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants. He will take your male and female slaves and demand the finest of your cattle and donkeys for his own use. He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his slaves. When that day comes, you will beg for relief from this king you are demanding, but then the Lord will not help you.”
But the people refused to listen to Samuel’s warning. “Even so, we still want a king,” they said. “We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle.””
The Israelites didn’t care about the warning about the consequences of replacing God’s rule with a human monarch. They are willing to accept everything for the sake of being ‘like the nations around us.’
How many things have we overlooked for the sake of being like everyone else?
Every time we refuse to do or behave in a Christian manner for the sake of fitting in, we are rejecting God. There are no exceptions. We are not called to be like everyone else.
What did I learn?
We humans have not changed a single bit.
We still want to be like everyone else.
We still want to do things our way.
We still overlook the consequences of going our way.
This is why we must continually renew our minds.
This is why we must seek God consistently.
This is why we must have a relationship with God.
Our hearts must be for the things that break God’s heart.
Samuel was displeased when the people asked for a king, not because he might lose his job as judge, but because he knew they were going against God.
That’s why he turned to God first. Samuel prayed; he didn’t come up with his own solution, he went to God.
We must adhere to the repercussions of our actions.
We like to blame God when things aren’t working out, but we are the ones that ignored God’s warning and did that which is bringing us harm. We place ourselves in harms way willingly, because we have a narrowed perspective of how we should be living our lives.
We think we know it all, but in reality, we know nothing.
And since we know nothing, we should look to the One who knows it all.
Surrender everything to God.
Let Him be the King of your life.
He will fight your battles.
Stop looking at what everyone else is doing.
God has something specially planned for you.
