A series in this book, and we'll be continuing for a while in our evening service
looking at the book of 1 Samuel and what it has to teach us for today.
So let me read chapter 8, 1 Samuel chapter 8, and then we'll dig into it together.
1 Samuel chapter 8, when Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel.
The name of his firstborn son was Joel, the name of his second Abijah, they were judges
in Beersheba.
Yet his sons did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after Gain.
They took bribes and perverted justice.
Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him,
Behold, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways.
Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.
But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, Give us a king to judge us.
Samuel prayed to the Lord, and the Lord said to Samuel, Obey the voice of the people in
all that they say to you.
For they haven't rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.
According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of
Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing also to you.
Now then, obey their voice.
Only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.
So Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who are asking for a king from him.
He said, These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you.
He will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to
run before his chariots.
And he will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties,
some to plow his ground and to reap his harvest and to make his implements of war
and the equipment of his chariots.
He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers.
He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive orchards and give them to his servants.
He will take the tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and to his servants.
He will take your male servants and female servants and the best of your young men and your donkeys
and put them to his work.
He will take the tenth of your flocks and you shall be his slaves.
And in that day you will cry out because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves.
But the Lord will not answer you in that day.
But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel and they said,
No, but there shall be a king over us that we also may be like all the nations and that our king may judge us
and go out before us and fight our battles.
When Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord.
And the Lord said to Samuel, Obey their voice and make them a king.
Samuel then said to the men of Israel, Go every man to his city.
A long time ago, an unknown soldier wrote the following.
I asked God for strength that I might achieve.
I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health that I might do greater things.
I was given infirmity that I might do better things.
I asked for riches that I might be happy.
I was given poverty that I might be wise.
I asked for power that I might have the praise of men.
I was given weakness that I might feel my need for God.
I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.
I was given life that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among all men most richly blessed.
Very often there's a difference between what we want and what we need.
In tonight's passage, we see a group of people facing a national crisis.
Facing a real problem.
And demanding what they wanted.
What they thought that they needed.
And then we see God through the prophet Samuel warning them that what they think they need.
What they were saying.
What they really wanted.
Wasn't really what they needed.
Now we'll look at this passage in three parts.
We'll look at first, the problem they were facing.
Second, the demand.
For what they wanted.
And third, God's provision in the long run of what they really needed.
So first, their problem.
Just to set a little bit of the background in this book of Samuel.
So far in the first seven chapters, we've seen God raising up Samuel to lead the people of Israel in a dark time.
The book of Samuel begins at one of the low points of Israel's history.
It was a time when the leaders were corrupt.
When their enemies were a constant threat.
When they were dissolving at times into civil war.
Spiritually speaking, it was a time of approaching darkness.
And increasing chaos.
And ominous silence.
And God raised up Samuel as a prophet.
To speak his word into the silence.
And to bring order into the chaos.
And to shine light into the darkness.
And in chapter seven, the last chapter, God used Samuel to deliver the people from the enemies who were threatening them.
The Philistines.
And to judge the people with wisdom.
And fairness.
But the problem we see here in verses one through three.
Samuel's getting old.
And his sons didn't walk in his ways.
Samuel loved God.
And he loved the people.
And so his leadership resulted in stability.
His sons loved money.
And they loved themselves.
And the result was instability.
And chaos.
The future didn't look good.
For the people of Israel.
And it's a pattern, interestingly, that happens multiple times in this book of Samuel.
That God-fearing, a God-fearing generation is then succeeded by a self-centered generation.
So Eli the priest knew the Lord.
His sons didn't.
And his sons used their authority in the priesthood for their own gain and their own benefit.
Samuel judged wisely and impartially.
His sons took bribes.
And sought after dishonest gain.
David would later become the greatest king of Israel.
But then his sons ended up literally killing each other.
And you might ask, how does that happen?
How does one generation, parents who love God, how are they succeeded by people who could care less?
It shouldn't be that way.
Now the Bible doesn't tell us exactly how that happened.
But it does say that it happened.
And sometimes it still happens.
Now Samuel wasn't directly responsible for the selfish behavior, self-serving behavior of his adult children.
But what he was responsible for was he put his sons in leadership positions.
And he didn't really hold them accountable.
Verse 1 says, when Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel.
But if you read the book of Judges, which is sort of the background of the book of Samuel, Samuel actually didn't have to do that.
The office of judge was not a hereditary office that was supposed to be passed on from father to son.
From parent to child.
Right?
In fact, in Judges 8, the men of Israel came to Gideon, one of the judges, and they said, rule over us.
You and your son and your grandson.
Set up a dynasty.
And Gideon said, no.
I won't rule over you.
Nor will my son rule over you.
The Lord will rule over you.
So Samuel put his sons in positions of spiritual leadership, but they failed to live up to their responsibility.
And he didn't act decisively.
Now, he did put them down in Beersheba.
Now, that was in the southern, it was sort of the remote southern part of the country.
So he sort of put them off in a remote place, maybe to limit their influence.
But the problem was they weren't fit to lead anywhere.
Not in the remote part of the country, not in the central part of the country where Samuel was.
And putting them there only contained the problem temporarily.
It didn't actually solve it.
You know, one of the biggest challenges for every generation is passing on the responsibility for spiritual leadership to the next generation.
So in the New Testament, 2 Timothy 2.2, Paul says to Timothy,
What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others also.
And along with teaching others, Paul talks about setting an example for others.
So if you're in a position of Christian leadership, whether that's leading a Bible study for other college students,
or whether that's being an elder or a deacon in a church, or whatever it might be, being a parent,
one of the most important tasks that you're called to, is to train up other people who love God, who can lead alongside you,
and then who you can eventually pass on your responsibility to.
Because one day, like Samuel, you'll grow old.
And you won't be, or you might have to move out of town.
Or for whatever reason, you won't be able to be that leader anymore, and you'll have to find someone else to succeed you.
And this is where many otherwise godly Christian leaders have failed.
Many times through the years.
Either they haven't been willing to share leadership at all,
and so, when they finally die, their whole organization, their whole ministry falls apart,
because they don't let anyone else have,
they don't let anyone else into that leadership circle,
or, they're not careful about who they invite to lead with them,
or who they pass on the leadership to,
and it goes downhill.
So this is a warning.
That we see.
And this is the problem that the people were facing.
And so the elders, what we see is the elders of Israel,
they recognize this problem, rightly,
but then the second thing we see is what they think they need.
They come to Samuel, and say,
here's what we want.
Verse 4.
Or verse 5.
They say,
Behold, you are old, and your sons don't walk in your ways.
Now appoint for us a king,
to judge us like all the nations.
Now just as a background,
there hadn't been a king in Israel so far.
So the people of Israel had been led by different judges,
who were raised up sort of one by one,
generation by generation, person by person,
that God raised up at different times to lead the people of Israel.
And the people say,
enough of this judge stuff.
Give us a king.
Give us a dynasty.
Now verse 6 says,
Samuel was immediately displeased.
On the one hand,
he probably felt personally offended.
Because he had been a judge.
And he had,
he probably felt like,
man, like,
you're coming to me and saying,
my replacements aren't doing well,
and we need to restructure.
And I'm at the end of my career path.
Facing the end of his life,
felt like they were criticizing his leadership.
But God says more than that,
it's not just about them criticizing you,
it's about them rejecting me.
God said,
what's really behind their request
is not them rejecting you as a person,
it's them rejecting me.
And,
and clinging on to
other things.
Other gods instead.
You see,
their request for a king,
it wasn't wrong in principle.
In fact,
God has,
God had always planned
to one day establish a king in Israel
and carry out his purposes through a king.
So even before this place in the Bible,
there had been promises.
In Genesis 49,
God had promised
that one day a ruler would arise
from the tribe of Judah
who all the nations would obey.
And in the book of Deuteronomy,
God had said to the people of Israel,
when you go into the land
and you say,
I want to have a king
like all the nations around me,
he says,
you may indeed set a king over you
whom the Lord your God will choose.
It wasn't wrong in principle
to have a king.
What was wrong?
You might ask
with their request.
The problem wasn't their request,
it was their attitude.
And we see three indications
of what was wrong with their attitude.
The first indication we see
is they demanded from Samuel
instead of depending on God.
You know,
when we face real problems,
real dangers,
real insecurities,
if we don't cry out to God
in prayer and dependence on Him,
we'll often turn to other people
and start demanding
insistently from them.
Notice what Samuel did.
Verse 6.
He heard the people's request.
The first thing he does,
he prayed to the Lord.
Even before he responded to them,
he prayed to God.
And then again,
verse 21.
He heard all the words of the people
and it says he repeated them
in the ears of the Lord.
He went right to God
and said,
here's what they're saying.
What do I do with this?
But by contrast,
the other leaders of Israel
don't pray at all.
Now interestingly,
if you look back
just in the last chapter,
in chapter 7,
three times,
the leaders of Israel pray.
Chapter 7,
verse 3 says,
all the house of Israel
lamented after the Lord.
Chapter 7,
verse 6,
they gathered at Mizpah
and fasted and said,
we have sinned against the Lord.
Chapter 7,
verse 8,
the people came to Samuel
and asked him,
don't stop crying out to the Lord
on our behalf.
And Samuel cried out to the Lord
for them
and God answered him.
But here in chapter 8,
they don't ask Samuel
to pray for them.
They don't pray to God themselves.
They just come to Samuel
and they demand.
They say,
give us a king.
Samuel,
you can solve our problems.
Has someone ever come to you like that?
You can solve all my problems.
This is what you need to do.
Now.
And if you do that,
they're going to come to you again.
A week later.
And say,
this is what I need you to do.
And only you can do it.
It's not a fun place to be in.
You see,
when we don't come before God
and ask him for what we need,
we can sometimes end up making
excessive demands
from other people.
So that's the first issue
with their attitude.
They demanded from Samuel
instead of depending on God.
The second issue with their attitude
is that they spoke,
but they refused to listen.
In fact,
Samuel listened to them,
but they didn't listen to him.
Three times,
God said to Samuel,
obey the voice of the people.
And that word obey
could also be translated
something like,
listen carefully,
or heed,
or take to heart
what they're saying,
and respond appropriately to it.
God said to Samuel,
don't disregard what they're saying.
Even though their motives are bad,
listen to them.
But the people didn't,
and Samuel also listened
to what God said
in verse 7 through 9.
But the people didn't want to listen.
Even though Samuel was a prophet
who spoke God's word,
even though Samuel was a trusted,
wiser, older man
who had shown his trustworthiness
throughout his life
over and over,
even though his words were reasonable
and sensible,
they didn't want to hear it.
And do you notice
that after Samuel gave them
all his warnings,
what the people said
in verse 19 and 20,
they just repeated
what they had said before.
They said,
no,
there shall be a king over us.
They just become
a broken record,
and they keep repeating themselves
and keep insisting
on the same thing,
louder and louder,
over and over.
Now the irony is,
if you look at
why they want a king,
verse 19 and 20,
they say,
there shall be a king
so that we may be
like all the nations
and that our king
may judge us
and go out before us
and fight our battles.
But if you look back
at chapter 7,
they had done
exactly the opposite.
They hadn't followed
the pattern
of all the other nations
who were worshipping idols.
They had served
only the Lord.
Chapter 7,
verse 2.
And then when they were
attacked by the Philistines,
it says,
the Lord went out
before them
and the Lord
fought on their behalf
and delivered them
from their enemies.
And then the Lord
provided Samuel
to judge them wisely.
You see,
God had done
everything
that they wanted
this king to do.
God had already
done it
in the past
for them.
And God was willing
to do it again.
But they said,
no,
we want a king.
And they didn't
want to listen.
They didn't want
to listen to Samuel.
They didn't want
to listen to God.
They just wanted
to talk
and repeat themselves
over and over.
The Bible says
there's wisdom
in being quick
to listen
and slow to speak.
That's a question
that all of us
need to ask ourselves.
Am I teachable?
Will I listen
and obey
God's word
even when it's not
what I want to hear?
Will I listen
to older,
wiser,
trusted people
who have shown
their trustworthiness?
Will I stop
and reconsider
if one of them
comes to me
and says,
I'm not sure
what you're doing
is the best course
of action.
Are you open
to reason?
Or do you just
dig in your heels
and start repeating
yourself over
and over
and louder
and louder?
So they demanded
from Samuel
instead of depending
on God,
they spoke
but didn't listen.
And the third thing,
the third issue
with their attitude
was they latched
onto a substitute
instead of
the source.
Verse 8,
the Lord said,
ever since I brought
them up out of Egypt,
they've been forsaking me
and serving other gods.
They're doing
the same thing now.
God had delivered them
because they were
slaves in Egypt
and God had
brought them out
and set them free
and provided for them.
And God says,
what they've done
in return
is they've gone
and latched on
to these other things
as substitutes
for me.
And here,
it was just
the king.
The king became
their god.
The office
or the ideal
of a king
had become
in their mind
the answer
to all of their
problems.
They were just
like the people
back in chapter 4.
A couple weeks ago
we looked at chapter 4
when they were
defeated by the Philistines
in battle.
They said,
let's bring the ark
here
so that the ark
of God
can save us
from our enemies.
And God said,
no.
The ark is meant
to be a symbol
of my presence
with you,
a sign
and a reminder
that I'm with you,
but the ark
isn't a magic box.
I'm not in that
magic box.
And you can't put me
in that box.
And it's not
going to work
if you think
that that box
is going to
protect you.
It can't replace
who I am.
And the people
were doing
the same thing here.
They were
latching on to
not the ark
but here
a king
as the answer
to all their problems
as a substitute
for God.
Is there something
that you really,
really want?
Like the people.
That it's become
a substitute
for God
in your heart
or in your life.
Maybe you're
constantly looking
to be
in a relationship.
And if someone
else questions you
and says,
is this really
the right time
for you to pursue that?
Or,
is that person
really,
is this really
a healthy relationship
or is it,
has it become
codependent?
Or are you really
pointing one another
towards,
God?
Or are you just
sinking more deeply
into each other?
If people ask you
those questions,
you immediately
become defensive
and you say,
no!
I'm going to be
in my relationship
and don't you dare
question me.
Or maybe all your
energies are
focused on
getting into a
certain
grad school program
or landing a
fellowship
or getting a
certain kind of
job.
And you think,
once I get that,
I'll have it
made.
And then I can
worry about
everything else
in my life.
But right now,
that's what I'm
focused on.
You know,
the ladder
just keeps going
up and up.
And you think
you see the top
and then you get
there and you
realize there's a
bunch of people
further up.
And even when you
get to the top,
then you have to
worry about how
long can you
stay there.
and if that's
the one thing,
if that's the one
thing that you
focus all your
life around,
you can never
be completely
satisfied.
You can never be
fully secure.
No, none of
these things are
bad in themselves.
Relationships
are good.
God meant us to
be in community
with each other.
God provided
marriage as a
good thing.
God calls us to
pursue friendships
in all kinds of
different ways.
God gives us the
opportunity to work.
That's a blessing
from God.
That's a good thing.
It's worth pursuing.
But when it
becomes a substitute
for God,
when it becomes
that one thing
that defines you
more than everything
else,
and that one thing
that you're always
thinking about,
that's always in the
back of your mind,
and that's driving
you,
then it's become
a substitute
instead of the
source.
And Samuel warned
the people.
Substitutes end
in slavery.
Samuel said,
you think this
king is going to
fix all your
problems,
but you don't
realize he's
going to create
all kinds of
new problems
that you haven't
even thought of.
Notice what he
says about what
the king's going
to do.
Verse 10
through 19.
Verse 10
through 18.
He said,
a king will
take,
take.
He'll take
your sons.
He'll take
your daughters.
He'll take
a 10%
of your grain
and the best
of your fields
and vineyards.
He'll take
from you
and keep
on taking.
And he says,
finally,
you'll be his
slaves.
You'll be just
like it was
all the way
back in Egypt,
except this time
you chose it
for yourselves.
others.
And if a
relationship
or if work
or whatever
else,
a good thing,
if it becomes
your God,
it will just
start to take
and take
until it
leaves you dry
and broken
and you become
a shell of who
you once were.
you've come
to that place.
Maybe you've
been there.
Maybe you are
there.
You've latched
on to something,
hoping to find
life in it,
thinking this is
what I really,
really want,
and you've got
it.
And you end
up in slavery.
Maybe you lose
it.
And you feel
like you don't
have anything.
And you cry
out and you
wonder if
anybody will
hear you.
You know,
there's good
news in this
passage.
Samuel warned
the people of
what would
happen.
He warned
them what you
want isn't
really what you
need.
You know,
if you keep
reading in the
Bible, the
good news is
God doesn't
just say no to
them and leave
it at that.
He doesn't just
give them what
they want.
Ultimately,
God provides
what we need.
God told
Samuel, listen,
obey their
voice and make
them a king.
Some ways it's
surprising.
With all the
warnings about it,
God seems to
give in to their
demand.
But God had
always planned to
carry out his
purposes through a
king.
And so God chose
to work through
their flawed and
wrong motives for
his ultimate good
purposes.
You know,
sometimes God
refuses to give
us what we
demand, what we
want, out of his
love for us.
To protect us
from getting
entangled and
enslaved in
something that we
latch onto too
much.
Sometimes God
gives us what we
ask for.
He says, okay,
this is what you
want, I'll give it
to you.
And then I'll show
you that that's not
really what you
need.
And it's not really
what's going to
satisfy you in the
end.
And I'll let you
have it because you
so deeply want it.
I'll let you have
it.
But in the end,
I'll bring you to
see that it's me
that you really
want.
And it's me that
you really need
more than anything
else.
They got a king.
But you know
what?
Their hopes that the
king would save
them and do
everything for them
and fix all their
problems were
disappointed over and
over.
If you read the rest
of the Old Testament,
many of the kings
failed.
They all fell
short.
They got what
they wanted.
And then they
realized that what
they wanted wasn't
what would satisfy
them deep down.
But God didn't
give up on them.
And he doesn't
give up on us.
He always had a
plan to give
them what they
really needed.
And what they
really needed was
for the Lord
himself to be
their king.
Not a king like
all the kings of
all the other
nations who would
take and
take and take
but a king like
God himself
who would give
and give
and give.
And ultimately
that's why God
sent his one and
only son Jesus
Christ into the
world.
Not to come to
us and take and
take and take and
demand
but to give
and give and
give.
all the way to
the end.
Jesus said the
son of man
referring to
himself came
not to be
served but to
serve and to
give his life as
a ransom for
many.
as we sung
about how Jesus
paid it all
how he laid
down his life
on the cross
he gave himself
for us
that's the kind
of king
that we really
want
that we really
need
a king
a leader
who deserves
our full
loyalty and
allegiance
who is
sacrificially
committed to
us
even to the
point of
giving up
his own
life.
That's what
Jesus did.
That's why he
deserves our
full loyalty and
our full
allegiance
more than
anything else
because he's the
source.
He's not a
substitute
that's going to
end up in
slavery.
He's the
source
who gives us
life.
tonight we're
going to
celebrate
what we call
communion
which is
simply
reminding us
of the
sacrifice that
Jesus made
how he gave
his life
for us
so that
everyone
who turns
to him
and trusts
in him
and says
Jesus
I want
you
to be
my king
the promise
is that
everyone who
does that
receives
forgiveness
of all of
our sins
and life
now and
forever with
God.
So that's
what we come
to celebrate
and remember
that God
provided for
us what we
really really
needed
and he doesn't
always give us
what we think
we want
but he does
give us what
we need.
So as we
prepare to do
that let's
pray.
Lord
our hearts
are often
fickle
we want
all kinds
of things
and we
think we
know what
we need
but often
Lord
we are so
short sighted
and we see
all of the
potential
and none
of the
danger
and we
latch on
to good
things that
you've made
good gifts
from you
but we
neglect you.
Lord
forgive us.
I pray
that we
would
listen to
you
and receive
from you
and trust
in you
with all
our hearts.
Thank you
Lord that
you're a
king like
nobody else.
Lord you
didn't come
to take
and take
because you
already had
everything.
Everything
was already
yours.
You came
to give.
You came
to give
your life
for us
and we
thank you
for that.
Help us
be shaped
by what
you've done
for us.
In Jesus
name we
pray.
Amen.