Resisting a Sovereign God
1 Samuel 8:1-22
Turn to 1 Samuel 7. If you have read our passage this week you already know that this is a crisis time for Israel, a crisis of leadership. And when there is a crisis in leadership it often causes us to become a little insecure as we become fearful of what lies ahead. So, we tend to do everything we can “humanly” to give us that security, but sometimes, the more we gather to help us feel more secure we actually feel less secure. If we asked this morning, what are the dangers that you worry about? Is it some disease? Is it maybe a food shortage? Maybe world unrest? I remember someone once saying that if you had a lot of food in storage to help you through some kind of disaster, after one week you are quite happy that you stored up food to share with your family. After two weeks you might start sharing with some of your closest neighbours. And after three weeks, people would be breaking into your house.
So, to stay secure we have locks on our doors. We have security systems, life insurance, home insurance, auto insurance. People give us advice about what to eat, how we should exercise, or they tell a young person that you should go into this field as it will be an area in demand in a few years. And of course, we save up for retirement, and then we hope that we do not live until we are 95, so we do not run out. Anne and I meet with a girl in Sarnia about our savings each year, and she always plans out what we will have when. And for some reason she always has Anne living longer than me. But I think she has me down for 92, and I always think, Lord, I want to be dead by then, just take me like Enoch. I mean Enoch has to be the classic hope, the ideal of the Bible. For Enoch walked with God and the Lord took him out.
And if all these things don’t work out for us, where do we look? Government! Government that is in so much debt, but we trust that somehow the government will make sure that we can still do the things that we have always done, after all, it’s our right! Now unfortunately government has delved into areas that are not really the responsibility of government, as the real priority for government is security for its people, referring to safely from those within the country that might harm us, and of course, those from outside the country that might harm us. But these are all concerns that we may have especially when we lack leadership. I mean when we were home with a very strong Mom and Dad, security was not an issue. Or times when life does bring uncertainty, even a strong political leader can calm the soul. This is why we can enjoy being encouraged by strong spiritual leaders as they, even within the storm, can empower us with their assurance and strength. Now, so far in our story, Samuel has provided that kind of leadership as he called the people back to the Lord.
“Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, ‘If you are to return to Yahweh with all your heart, then remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and set your hearts toward Yahweh and serve Him alone; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.’”
1 Sam 7:3 (LSB)
And he prayed to the Lord for the people, “… and Samuel cried out to Yahweh for Israel, and Yahweh answered him” (1 Sam 7:9b). And then we get a summary of his life in serving the Lord.
“Thus Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. And he used to go annually on circuit to Bethel and Gilgal and Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places. But his return would be to Ramah, for his house was there, and there he judged Israel; and he built there an altar to Yahweh.”
1 Sam 7:15-17 (LSB)
Everything is good in Israel, calm waters, beautiful sunsets. And then we read a statement like (8:1) “and it happened when Samuel was old.” We must understand that this relatively safe and peaceful period had gone on for a long time. Again, we do not want to jump from these events from story to story without realizing the time in between. But that security that the people enjoyed is now being threatened as Samuel is getting older and the next judges in line are his two sons who:
“But his sons did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after greedy gain and took bribes and caused justice to turn aside.”
1 Sam 8:3 (LSB)
So, what we have in this story are reasons for insecurity much like we might experience today. As we might be concerned about what lies ahead for many various reasons, as there is always something, isn’t there? And in our study there are two major concerns.
- Samuel is Getting Old
We realize that things change, don’t they? When we first encountered 1 Samuel we got used to reading that Eli was old. And now the little boy Samuel who everyone loved at the temple is now old, in other words, time marches on. Some of you remember when you were young at Elim, and now you are old at Elim Bible Chapel. When Anne and I left Emmanuel in Chatham to go into full-time ministry up in Blind River, we were always the young couple with the young boys. But we were now, Anne was 45 and I was 48, starting feel older. But when we got to Blind River it was an older congregation. So, we started to feel really young again. And then we come to Elim, such a young crew, I am starting to feel old again, maybe because I am sort of old.
Growing old, there are some advantages. I mean some of the advantages are that you do grow a little wiser. You become a little more confident in that you have faced certain things in the past that enable you to face things in the future. I mean your house might be paid for. And if you buy a new-used vehicle, you might be able to just for it. You can afford more treats, but you can’t burn them off as quick. In some ways, those who are older may find that their relationship with Christ is deepening, their walk with the Lord is becoming more meaningful, though that is not always the case with people. Yet there are some disadvantages to growing older. Your skating slows down for two reasons. One, you just can’t skate as fast; and two, you run out of gasoline quicker. You may lose some of your adventuresome spirit. You may be less likely to try something new, either because you are afraid mentally or you are scared physically.
You may realize that those you have looked up to in ministry are no longer around, and it dawns on you that you now must be that same spiritual strength to others. You think of some the great ministries of some men who have pastored at the same church for so many years and their ministry has brought so much security to that church and now there is the realization that they will soon be moving on. And here a whole generation has lived under the leadership of Samuel and have enjoyed the peace and security of being led by a man who loved the Lord, and by a man who greatly challenged the people to return to and serve Yahweh. Yet that is about to end. That cannot be an easy time for the leader or for the people. So, Samuel is getting old. The second thing:
- Samuel Proposes His Successors
Look at the end of (vs 1), “… he appointed his sons judges over Israel. The name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in Beersheba. But his sons did not walk in his ways.” You can hear some of the old guys talking about this one. Oh no, this is the same issue with Eli’s two sons all over again. Now to Eli’s credit, as he was the priest, and we usually see the priestly office being handed down from father to son as they came through the descendants of Aaron. However, there is no such pattern here for those who were judges. This action by Samuel to hand the reigns to his sons is one of those times in the Bible that we are not made aware of why someone really did what they did. We certainly do not receive anything negative about Samuel. Yet this certainly seems to be an unwise move, maybe he thought that this somehow might be good for them.
Over the years I have had many opportunities to see people become involved in ministry. Sometimes the motivation is that it would be good for them. Yet that rarely works well, nor is it the best way to view ministry. In other words, if someone cannot sing, it is probably best they do not lead in worship. One, it is probably not good for them, and it is probably not that good for us, as people need to be qualified in what they do in ministry. Now this is different from someone who is gaining experience, someone who is serving the Lord, who is walking close to Him, and then they gain experience in a ministry where the Lord greatly uses them. But to put someone in ministry who is not honouring the Lord in other areas of their life does not do them or anyone else any good to place them in some position of ministry. As we would hope that the best practice in church ministry is to choose from those who are following Christ, who are faithful to the ministry and hope that their influence would motivate others to do the same.
Just think of the security of these people if Samuel’s two sons were faithful and were serving the Lord. That would have been a wonderful transition, wouldn’t it? But it was not the case. It reminds us of the many situations in ministry where a son has taken the reins from his father, only to bring disgrace upon the ministry. We might think of someone like Jerry Falwell who started Liberty University, only to have his son Jerry Jr. who became president after his father’s retirement and who fell off the rails morally, as the spiritual growth in one generation does not guarantee the spiritual growth in the next. John Woodhouse wrote this:
“Israel’s well-being cannot be guaranteed by the sons of their leaders. The best of leaders can have the worst of sons. The old age of a great leader like Samuel was, therefore, a serious crisis. The peace, security, and prosperity of the years under Samuel were in jeopardy if his sons were to play any role in Israel’s future.”
John Woodhouse, 1 Samuel: Looking for a Leader 142
So vital in any church that it have within its ministry those working hard in the ranks, its next strong leaders. For not only is that great for the future, but it is also important for the current health of the church to know that security in the future. Now, when the elders first come to Samuel and he hears that they want a king, his first reaction is (vs 6) the whole idea seemed evil to Samuel. Then we have this dialogue between the people, Samuel, and God. Good for Samuel to take this matter to the Lord, and he certainly had his thoughts about the whole thing, but he still took it to the Lord. So, there are these ongoing conversations.
- The People Speak to Samuel (vs 4-5)
“Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah; and they said to him, ‘Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.’”
1 Sam 8:4-5 (LSB)
Funny, the last time the elders came up with a plan was back in chapter four, where they suggested bringing the ark into battle, and that one failed, yet they have come up with another plan. So, in their thinking they had a problem to solve: Samuel was the leader, he was old, and at least in their opinion could not be as effective as a leader any longer; and his two sons did not serve the Lord. Now we can read this story and maybe because we have read it before we might miss the surprise here of their request, (vs 5) “Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.” Those are surprising words to be heard in Israel, “to judge us like all the nations.” Now back in the days of Eli it was not only the leadership of the sons that was the problem, but it was also the desire of the people to worship the Baals and the Ashtaroth. And remember we said that the attraction to this was mainly the ability to live sinfully, as these gods promoted sexual sins and immorality. And here they want two things. One, they want a king to judge them; and two, they want an arrangement that was similar to the nations around them. Yet listen to what God had said to them years earlier.
“So now then, if you will indeed listen to My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My treasured possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”
Exod 19:5-6 (LSB)
In other words, God had declared them to be different from the other nations, yet they wanted politically to be the same as the other nations, and so were abandoning in many ways the ideal that God desired for them. I couldn’t help from thinking at this point in the story of wondering what would have happened if the elders had come to Samuel and said, now I know that you have appointed your sons as judges, yet the problem is that they are not serving the Lord, so, why don’t we pray to the Lord and ask Him what we should do? This would be good advice in all our hard decisions, Lord, what should we do? You have brought this situation into our lives and we are unsure of what to do?
Now this again is one of those situations where God has already planned this for Israel. We saw last week with the story of the Magi how God had already determined that many male children would die, already recorded way back in the book of Jeremiah. And here, though it seems like a great dilemma being proposed, yet God has already determined that this would happen in His sovereign plan, as are all things. Remember here that this is wrong, the people are abandoning God. Yet God is planning for His king, David, and eventual King, capital “K” Jesus. And he had already recorded this:
“When you enter the land which Yahweh your God gives you, and you possess it and live in it, and you say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me.”
Deut 17:14 (LSB)
Is this not amazing? That every turn we make God has already written down. Now there are two major concerns with a king. One is the control and authority that one man has over a people, and we see that in Israel over the years how they were influenced by both good kings, but by mostly evil kings. And secondly, the whole concept of successors to the throne would run the risk of evil kings following good kings? So, they thought that if they could now have a king, they know who would come next. This is human security thinking here. In other words, they were willing to risk some things in the future for at least stability and certainty of leadership, good or bad. This is the human desire to have everything in place, and everything decided upon. In other words, done that, looked after that, no more concern? Or at least we think so until the next problem arises. That human tendency even in the Christian can make someone who is responsible and good at getting priorities accomplished, and there is good in that. And yet so often it is at the cost of leaving God out, or at the cost of allowing God to redirect or change our path. How dare we do that! I mean if a king is appointed in Israel, no more worries about who is going to rule for our children and our children’s children. Problem solved as everything is predictable. Yep! Problems solved?
- Samuel Speaks to God (vs 6)
“But the thing was evil in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to Yahweh.”
1 Sam 8:6 (LSB)
Well, Samuel did not like the request. I do not think that Samuel was personally affected by this, in the sense that he resented their decision. For he would have known God’s Word, and that it specifically said that the Lord would raise up judges to save them. So, Samuel prays to the Lord. Now we do not know what Samuel prayed, yet he has been here before when they had worshipped other gods. This prayer could have included both asking for the Lord’s direction, as well as asking for the Lord to be merciful to them.
- The Lord Speaks to Samuel (7-9)
“Then Yahweh said to Samuel, ‘Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day—in that they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. So now, listen to their voice; however, you shall solemnly testify to them and tell them of the custom of the king who will reign over them.’”
1 Sam 8:7-9 (LSB)
Now this is likely the most shocking part of the story. This would not have been what Samuel would have expected, for here he believes the hearts of the people are evil. And he is right, yet he is to obey their request. And notice that the Lord does not try to downplay the request of the people. “They have rejected Me … they have forsaken Me … they have served other gods.” But (vs 7), “… listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you.” So, what the people have requested was evil in the eyes of Samuel, and what the people have requested is evil in the eyes of the Lord. Yet, obey the voice of the people. But also, Samuel, warn them, so that they know what they are getting themselves into. Warn them that there will be some real consequences of having a king.
Now I wish to pause here and understand that these people are basically rebelling against God and yet God is allowing them to go on their merry way, though it will mean some great heartache and the fact that their choice is an evil choice. But what we do not read in this passage is that God, though he allows their disobedience, notice He does abandon them. God is no less invested in them. They are still one hundred percent God’s people. One, God is showing great mercy here by not taking them out, and He will actually use their sinfulness to fulfill His plan of sending them a Saviour and a King. No one else has the character of such actions as God, nor does anyone possess the power to do such things. Notice (vs 9), warn them of the custom of the king, in other words, the way in which he will act or the ways he brings about justice. And what God is warning here is that their new king may pervert justice just as they were worried about with Eli’s sons and Samuel’s sons.
- Samuel Speaks to the People (vs 10-18)
After Samuel speaks to them, they would not have been unsure of the Lord’s warning to them: (vs 11) he will take your sons and appoint them for armies; (vs 12) he will use them to make weapons of war; (vs 13) he will use your daughters for cooks and bakers; (vs 14) he will take the best of your fields; (vs 15) he will tax you to death; and (vs 16-17) he will take whatever animals from you that he wants. Oh, and by the way, if you cry out to Me about all this, (vs 18), the Lord may not answer you. This was a really good choice. We might think of a young person who chooses to marry a non-Christian. Great choice! Or someone who takes a job doing something that dishonours the Lord. Great choice! Or someone who chooses to have an affair. Great choice! Or someone who might cheat on your taxes or somehow at work. Great choice! Or someone who lives a hypocritical life before their family. Great choice! It’s all good, but I may not bail you out. You may have to suffer the consequences. So, the people hear all these warnings from the Lord and they fall down on their knees and ask the Lord to forgive them. No, not even close.
- The People Speak to Samuel (vs 19-20)
Notice how the people respond here, (vs 5) Samuel, appoint a king for us; and (vs 19) there shall be a king over us. They get more adamant and seem a little angry. Careful here, careful that when we get mad, of how we respond. Careful what we might say to someone when we get angry, “I’m not doing that!” What a turnaround for the people of Israel as the battle cry in the days of Joshua was, the Lord would fight our battles! But now (vs 20) our king will fight our battles. In other words, we will do this!
- Samuel Speaks to the Lord (vs 21)
This may have been a little unnerving for Samuel to see such hardness in their response to God and not repentance. But Samuel obediently reports back to God what the people had decided.
- The Lord Speaks to Samuel (vs 22a)
“Then Yahweh said to Samuel, ‘Listen to their voice and appoint them a king.’”
1 Sam 8:22a (LSB)
Interesting, if we were describing a good leader we might suggest that a good leader will not allow the people to do what they wish when he knows that it will lead to heartache, though a little different here when that decision by Samuel has been overridden by the Lord. This may have required some humbleness by Samuel, as he is commanded to obey the voice of those who are disobeying the Lord.
- Samuel Speaks to the People (vs 22b)
End of verse 22, So Samuel said to the men of Israel, ‘Go every man to his city.’” Here Samuel simply dismisses the people without a lot of answers to many questions. Who will be king? How will the king be chosen? What will happen to these people? It is interesting that the people seem to be content to leave all this in Samuel’s hands. You know I work at a church that has many hands working, yet this is not true of all churches. Many churches have people who would suggest a number of things the church should be doing, but with little motivation to suggest how to get it started and with no motivation to get involved themselves. This seems to be a people that says, Samuel this is what we want, so Samuel, you do it! Well, what do we make of all this? There are some lessons from this story.
- The problem of disobedience.
Israel desired all that the world offered from kings to pagan gods, to immoral conduct. Richard F. Lovelace wrote:
“When men’s hearts are not full of God, they become full of the world around like a sponge full of clear water that has been squeezed empty and thrown into a mud puddle. Only the fullness of Christ’s life and the transformation of our minds by the renewing action of the Holy Spirit illuminating the whole counsel of God can effectively prevent this conformity to the world.”
Richard F. Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual Life 184
See, the problem of disobedience is not only the consequence of the disobedience, it is also the uncertainty of our decision-making, direction in life, that is all being done outside of an intimate relationship with Christ. Question: Am I going to make a number of bad decisions if I am not walking closely with the Lord? Answer: Yes, a thousand times yes!
- The problem of prayerlessness.
This is a similar issue as number one, that we may believe there to be a few options for us concerning life direction, but without coming to the Lord in prayer, we may miss completely God’s best. Which ties into the next lesson.
- The problem of stubbornness.
Stubbornness in Scripture could be described in many ways. In one way that it shows its ugly head is when we get our feet dug in. We are now dealing with our human pride. That no one, even God, is going to stop us in our foolishness. But also, stubbornness is a symptom of unbelief as it really says that I know better than God knows. Careful! Finally:
- The blessing of the Lord’s mercy.
This is such a fascinating passage of a time when the people go against the Lord and He allows them to, as He ultimately will bring them a king through their disobedience. So, the whole story really depicts the disobedience of man versus the mercy of God. The conversations in the passage are so interesting to hear the people go from “appoint us a king (vs 5), to “there shall be a king over us” (vs 19). And here man is calling the shots and he is determining his own destiny, and yet it’s exactly the plan and the purpose of God. Many years later there was a time when the people again rebelled against God. In fact, it was against His son, their King. Luke writes that “The kings of the earth took their stand,” in other words, they dug in their heels. “And all the rulers were gathered together … against the Lord and against His Christ.” The One whom you anointed Lord, the King that you sent them, the One they had asked for. And all the people, all the big wigs and all the little wigs: Herod, Pontius Pilate, the Romans, and the peoples of Israel. And you know what they did? Everything Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur. They killed the Lord’s Son, the chosen King, so that we may be saved. The great mercy of God!
Let’s pray. O Lord, forgive us for our disobedience. Forgive us for the times we move forward and make decisions without You. Forgive us for our pride when we dig in our heels, whether within our families or at work or in church-life. But Lord we do thank You for Your great mercy. May we not presume on it, for the people of Israel in our story had to face years of struggle. But we do know that man cannot usurp the plans of God. So, may we be a people who cling to Your promises and purposes. Those things that are best for Your people. Those things that are Your desire for us. For we serve a good God, and a great God, a sovereign God, a holy God, Almighty God, for You Lord are God Alone. And all His people said, amen.