Well, let's turn back to our reading in 1 Samuel.
!
So the Philistines.
But the Lord had thundered out and won the battle for the people.
You see that in verse 10.
But the Lord thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion.
And they were routed before Israel.
So they had won a battle.
In the midst of danger, the Lord was with them.
And then in verse 12, Samuel took a stone, the Ebenezer stone, the remembrance stone, and set it up.
And these great words in verse 12.
Till now, the Lord has helped us.
So it was very much a sense of the Lord was with them in all of these things.
And then in verse 15, it says, Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.
And he went around all the different places, bringing the word of God to the people.
So that's the context of what was going on then.
But then in chapter 8, as we come into chapter 8, there's a jump.
There's a jump in the time frame now.
And we see that in verse 1 when it says, when Samuel became old.
So time has moved on.
And there's a jump in the time frame here.
And Samuel has become old.
He's made his sons judges over Israel, his two sons.
One commentator put it like this.
There was one problem with Samuel.
He was mortal.
He couldn't go on forever.
While Samuel was alive and judging the people, things were going well.
Even in the midst of times of threat, like the Philistines there in chapter 7,
they could still say, till now, the Lord has helped us.
The Lord was with them.
But now things are about to change.
Samuel is an old man.
He's got two sons, Joel and Abijah.
But it says of them in verse 3, his sons did not walk in his ways.
They didn't follow the way of Samuel following the Lord.
Instead, they turned aside after gain.
They took bribes and perverted justice.
So this was now the leadership that was coming up behind.
And it was already impacting the people.
As you see, with the people of God, even up to this point,
it's that recurring theme of turning away from God.
And here it is again.
The people's attitude is changing.
Their desire towards God is changing.
The repenting of their sins before God is on the way.
And again, there's almost no thought of their sin coming in once more.
It doesn't take long for change to come.
And it's ongoing, as you see throughout the Bible,
the sense of being near to God, blessing God, and then drifting away from God.
You see it in the Old Testament.
You see it in the New Testament.
And you see it down through the ages of history to our own day.
Today, it's the ongoing theme.
Are we going to be with God?
Are we going to be trusting God?
Are we going to go our own way and do things in our own way?
Well, having had God near and the blessing of God with them,
we see a period of change is about to come here as well.
And what do the people want?
Do they want God with them?
Do they see Joel and Abijah and their wicked ways,
their bribery, their corruption, their perverting justice?
Do they see this and say,
Samuel, cry out to God for us?
No, they come with their own ideas.
And they want a king.
They want a king over them as a people.
In verse 5.
Now, appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.
And in many ways, it sounds right.
And as we'll see in a moment, it does seem like a good request.
But it's what is the motive behind it.
What is behind what they're asking?
They want a king just like all the other nations.
But why?
And for what purpose?
They had been used to having judges over them,
judges who were leading them towards God.
But now their eyes were starting to wonder
and see what else was going on around them
and think, maybe we should go that way.
And that's so often the problem for ourselves today as well.
We can become so accustomed to calling ourselves
maybe a Christian people or a Christian nation.
And we think that we have everything in our hands that we need.
But then we start to see little things around us
that catch our attention and lead us away
and make us think, well, maybe what we need
is we can still have God to a degree,
but we can have all these other things as well.
And eventually, God is pushed out.
And instead we're saying,
we want to be just like everybody else around us.
Just think back in our own lifetime.
We had a queen, Queen Elizabeth II,
who ruled for over 70 years,
an incredible length of time.
And for many of us, it's all we knew
from a very young age up until 2022
when she passed away.
It's all we knew.
Queen Elizabeth II was all we knew.
And it's hard to imagine anybody saying
during her reign,
we don't want her as queen anymore.
There would be maybe one or two
who weren't royalists in that sense
who would say it.
But the majority of people would never come
and say, we don't want you as queen over us anymore.
You would never get like this,
the elders of Israel or the parliament
coming to the queen in our day and saying,
we don't want you as queen anymore.
We want something else.
We want something different.
But change often happens
and it brings in a sense of a different perspective.
So today, maybe many more would say,
we don't want a king over us now.
We had a queen for 70 years.
That's long enough.
Let's have something different.
Let's go a different direction in our day and age.
Do something different.
Let's be like other nations.
Let's get a president.
Or let's just have somebody else over us.
Or let's not have anybody at all ruling over us.
Let's just do things the way we want to do it ourselves.
Well, that's what was happening in Samuel's day.
They'd had Samuel for a long period of time.
But change is coming in and it's no longer,
we don't want Samuel anymore.
It's more we don't want the Lord anymore.
So let's just see what our options are.
And so we want to see just what this meant in Samuel's day.
Sometimes we take peace for granted.
Sometimes we take the blessing of God for granted,
that he has given us days of peace and his goodness to us.
And we start to suddenly think,
maybe we don't want that anymore.
We don't want the Lord anymore.
And as we see the world in which we live,
I almost could say it's at a tipping point today,
where every nation is asking,
well, who is going to be our king?
Who is going to be our ruler?
Who is going to help us in the midst of all that's going on?
And it's all about egos and personalities.
Instead of every nation of the world saying,
may the Lord be king over us.
We are always in danger of pushing God out.
And with that, there are serious consequences.
And there's three things I want us to see in this chapter today
as we think of the people's request for a king.
The first thing is just the request itself.
We'll begin with that.
The request that is made by the people.
And like I say, the people's request,
it's not a wrong request.
In fact, if you go back to the book of Deuteronomy,
it's something that the Lord has already told them
that's going to be happening.
And the Lord has said to them that,
you will have a king over you.
In Deuteronomy 17, verse 14, it says,
when you come to the land,
the Lord your God is giving you,
and you possess it and dwell in it,
and then say, I will set a king over me
like all the nations that are around me.
You may indeed set a king over you
whom the Lord your God will choose.
So the request itself wasn't wrong.
They had heard from the Lord that this was going to happen,
that this would take place.
And here in this tipping point in their history,
they're about to move from having judges over them
to having a king over them.
And you think, great, we're going to see the Lord
working out his plan.
But there's a problem.
When you look at Deuteronomy,
it says, a king over you
whom the Lord your God will choose.
But here in verse 5, it's saying,
now appoint for us a king
to judge us like all the nations.
They are wanting to have their say.
It's not about the Lord's choosing,
but just their own desires.
And so from here we see the request for a king,
not itself wrong,
but it's a motive behind it that is wrong.
You could say the people were right to call for a change.
They see, Samuel, you're old.
Your sons are taking bribes and perverting justice.
Something's got to change.
So we're going to take it into our own hands.
And we are going to sort out this mess.
But what they want is to be like all the other nations.
It's a testing time for the people.
And they're wondering which direction to go in.
And what they want is, as you see down in verse 20,
we want a king,
that our king may judge us
and go out before us and fight our battles.
It says there,
they're wanting a king who's going to do what they want
and the way they wanted.
And the people did not trust God in their battles.
That's what they're saying here.
We need a king who will go before us in our battles.
If we are going to be successful,
we must be like all the other nations around us.
Because we look at them,
they've got a kings themselves.
That's the way we need to go.
They didn't want to be different to everybody else.
And therein is the challenge
that the people had to face up to.
Who did they want to be?
Where was their identity to be found?
Just like everybody else around them
or their identity in the Lord
and the Lord as their king.
And that's the challenge for ourselves today as well.
Whether it's individually
or collectively as a church
or even as a nation,
a nations of the world.
It's what are we going to be like?
You see in so many ways
that every nation
and all the leaders,
they want to be the ones taking the lead.
We want to be the ones going ahead
of everybody else,
setting the tone,
setting the ways
that others might follow us.
You think of the discussion
and the debate going on
over assisted suicide just now.
It's like,
well, we're seeing other people doing it.
We're seeing other nations doing it.
Let's be like them.
Let's show that we are just like
everybody else around us.
That we're open-minded.
That we're the ones in control.
That we're the ones who have power.
Let's just push what God is saying
in his word away from us.
And let's just be like the rest.
But if we are to be God's people,
we are to be different.
We are called to be holy
and to be set apart.
And to stand apart
from everything else
that goes against
the word of God
and say,
no,
we are not just going to be like
all the rest around us.
We're not going to have
the king over us
as just the king of this world.
When we have the king
of the heavens and the earth.
When we have the king
who made all things,
who has everything in his hands.
Why would we want to be like
everybody else around us?
So what is our motive in life?
The motive behind the request here
was that they would be like
all the other nations.
Well, as a people,
what do we want?
Do we want to be like
everybody else around us
who pushes God out?
Do we want to be like
other nations
that just do things
their own way?
At the end of the book of Judges,
it says the people did
what was right in their own eyes.
They had no king over them.
And that's what happens.
We descend into that chaos.
We just do what is right
in our own eyes,
but we are called to be holy,
to be set apart.
And what the Lord is saying here
is the request of the people.
They are not rejecting you, Samuel.
They are rejecting me.
In verse 7,
Obey the voice of the people
in all that they say to you,
for they have not rejected you,
but they have rejected me
from being king over them.
Rejecting the Lord as king.
The same thing that Jesus speaks about
in the parable of the 10 minutes
in Luke chapter 19,
where it says,
we do not want this man
to reign over us.
They were rejecting
the Lord as king.
Are you?
Are you rejecting
the Lord as king today?
Are you rejecting Jesus?
I will not have this man
reign over me.
Think about what that means.
You want to be like
just the rest of the world
around you.
But where is the world going?
Descending into darkness
and chaos.
When in the king,
our king as Jesus,
we have one who is light,
who is truth,
who is life.
What are we asking for?
Well, the second thing we see
is the response that God gives.
And herein we see
the Lord make clear
this is what you are asking for.
Just so you may be aware,
you need to hear
this voice.
It says in verse 9,
Now then,
obey their voice.
Only you shall solemnly
warn them
and show them
the ways of the king
who will rule
over them.
So,
the Lord is saying,
Samuel,
they're not just rejecting you,
they're rejecting me
as their king.
But warn them.
Warn them if this is the way
they want to go,
that this is the kind of king
that they are going to have
over them.
So,
he gives them a clear warning
that things
are not going to be
what they might expect.
And there's a lesson there
for ourselves.
Today's a lesson
we see in Psalm 106,
verse 15,
where the psalmist says,
He gave them their request.
He gave them what they wanted,
what the people wanted.
And then it says this,
He sent leanness
into their soul.
They got what they wanted,
where did it take them?
Leanness
in their soul.
They were missing out
on the blessing
of God.
Be careful
what you ask for,
for you might just
regret it.
And that's the kind of world
that we are living in
today as well.
Where our requests
are saying,
we don't want
the Lord as king,
we want the kings
like other nations.
Let's be careful
what we ask for.
What lesson do we learn
in God's word
in the Old and New Testament
when we see the history
of the nations
in the world?
Well, we see that
when God gives the people
the desires of their hearts,
it so often descends
into moral chaos
and corruption.
Like I mentioned,
the days of the judges,
they had no king over them,
and they did what was right
in their own eyes.
The same is true
in the book of Romans,
chapter 1.
When you go through
that chapter,
you see chaos descending.
Why?
Because in verse 22,
it says,
claiming to be wise,
they became fools
and exchanged the glory
of the immortal God
for images resembling
mortal man
and birds and animals
and creeping things.
Therefore,
God gave them up
in the lusts
of their hearts
to impurity.
He gave them over
to the desire
of their hearts.
Do you want to be
just like the people
around you?
Do you want to find
your fun
and your satisfaction
and your pleasure
and wholeness
in everything
that the world
has to offer?
Is that the way
you want to go?
Well, be careful
because there are consequences.
Be careful
the direction
it takes you
because it leads us
away from the grace
of God
and leads us
into chaos
and that's what we see
in the next few verses
from verse 10
down to verse 18.
We see the chaos
it leads to
going completely
the wrong direction.
A world class
runner
was once
invited
to a race
in a major city
in America
and they were
very excited
to go to this race
a very prestigious race
with a great reward
if you won
and so this runner
she went
to the city
and thought
she knew
where she was going
as she'd been
given directions
but as she came
into the city
she found herself
thinking she was
in the right place
but not sure
exactly where to go
so she stopped
at a shop
and asked
there's a race
taking place today
can you tell me
where it is?
Oh yes
the shop assistant
said there's this race
it's just about
a mile up the road
there if you make
your way up
you'll find
it's just about
to start
you'll find
the runners there
and so she left
and hurried
arrived just in time
to register
and enter the race
there was fewer
runners than she
anticipated being there
and she thought
well it gives me
a better chance
and so she ran
in this race
and she came first
a few minutes
ahead of everybody else
she was delighted
at first
but then she started
to realise
there's no talk
of the prize
being given
she got a medal
and that was it
but she was expecting
money
and she said
oh I'm sorry
there was no prize
fund for this
is this not the race
such and such
oh no
that's in a town
seven miles away
so she had just
ran a race
on the wrong
course
and missed the chance
of winning the prize
because she was given
the wrong direction
and that's the way
we are living today
we are seeking
a prize
but the prize
of being offered
is very different
to what the Lord
offers
we're in the wrong
race
when we choose
to reject God
and to turn away
from him
and notice
the way the Lord
speaks
here in these verses
notice the word
that is used
so often
he will take
that's all
that keeps appearing
in verse 10
through to verse 18
he will take
your sons
he will take
your daughters
he will take
the tenth
of your great gain
and he will take
your male servants
and female servants
he will take
the tenth
of your flocks
everything here
this king
is going to be
about taking
away
they are going
to lose
so much
he will take
and that's what
the king
of this world
offers
that's what
the world
offers to us
come in this
direction
but it's all
about
I will take
from you
I will take
from you
and we are
in danger
of losing
everything
we are in
danger of
losing
the blessing
of God
we are in
danger of
losing
the gospel
we are in
danger of
losing
our life
our very
soul
if we choose
to go in
this direction
because the
God of this
world is
the devil
and he
will take
take
everything
away from
us
take our
very soul
if he has
opportunity
he will
take
he will
take
he will
take
and we're
left
with nothing
this is
the king
that the
people
have asked
for
and look
at the
response
even when
God
says
this is
the kind
of king
you will
have in
verse 19
but the
people
refused
to obey
the voice
of Samuel
and said
no
but there
shall be
a king
over us
we are
warned
in the
gospel
of the
consequences
of rejecting
the lord
as our
king
everything
will be
taken
from us
will you
say
no
but I
will still
have
this world
as my
king
I will
have this
world
as my
domain
I will
have the
pleasures
of this
world
as my
playground
will you
have
that
but lose
your soul
he will
take
he will
take
he will
take
well let's
see
as we
think of
the response
of God
let's see
the reasoning
why we
must come
to our
senses
the people
refused
to obey
the voice
of Samuel
they wanted
their own
king
but what
should they
have asked
for
they should
have asked
for what
God gave
them in
Deuteronomy
the king
of his
choosing
and that's
the king
that we
need to
do
that's
the king
that you
and I
both need
to do
because what
will it
profit a
man if he
gains the
whole world
but yet
loses
his soul
we need
the Lord
as our
king
we need
Jesus
as
our
king
a king
not who
takes
who takes
but who
gives
a king
who came
not to be
served
but to
serve
a king
who came
not to
take life
but to
give his
life
and to
give his
life as
a ransom
for many
a king
who says
I have
come
that they
might have
life
and life
in abundance
the one
who has
come
to give
and to
give
and yet
we would
say we
don't want
this king
it would
be madness
it would
be foolishness
to see a
selfish king
who would
take and
said
that's my
king
that's what
I want
instead
to see
Jesus
who says
I give
my life
for you
I give
you life
I give
you life
eternal
so will
you not
come
to me
will you
not have
me
as king
over you
it's such
a difference
that Jesus
makes
as king
to his
people
the difference
he makes
to us
individually
the difference
he makes
to us
as a
church
the difference
he makes
to us
as a land
and as
nations
of the
world
if we
would
but say
lord
be king
over us
rule
over us
the world
will take
but Jesus
gives
and so
what is
our desire
today
what is
your desire
today
when you
think of
who is
king
over you
who do
you want
as king
do you
want the
world
that will
take your
soul
or do you
want Jesus
who will
give you
life
individually
every one
of us
should desire
to find
that life
in Jesus
as our
king
and collectively
as a
church
here
let's have
Jesus
as our
king
as our
focus
the one
who has
given
his life
for his
church
as a
nation
may we
pray
that Jesus
would be
king
that he
would rule
in all
things
in our
parliaments
in Westminster
in Holyrood
in all our
leadership
throughout our
land
in all
our
homes
and all
our
families
that Jesus
would be
king
and in
our world
in which we
see so
many
troubles
may we
pray
that Jesus
would be
king
and bring
peace
and stability
may we
as a
people
not refuse
the king
that is
before us
but receive
the king
of kings
and the
lord of
lords
with gladness
with joy
and with
praise
he is
there for
us
the people
in Samuel's
day they
wanted to be
like all
the other
nations
rejecting
the lord
as king
may we
not be
may we
instead
receive
our king
with joy
and look
to him
and give
thanks to
him
that he
has come
not to
take
but to
give
blessing
upon
blessing
to his
people
if they
will but
return
to him
let us
pray
our father
in heaven
we thank
you for
the one
who is
king
over all
and yet
the one
who is
rejected
by many
and we
pray
lord
that we
would
have
only
the lord
as our
king
jesus
as the
one
who is
on the
throne
high
may we
lift his
name up
and may
we praise
him
for all
his goodness
to us
that he
has come
that he
might give
for his
people
and give
to his
people
we ask
oh lord
that you
would guide
our every
step
in his
paths
as we
ask it
with the
forgiveness
of our
sin
in his
precious
name
amen
we're
going to
conclude
by singing
to god's
praise
in
psalm
106
page
378
psalm 106
at verse
1
we sing
from verse
1 to
verse
5
the tune
is
Huddersfield
give
praise
and
thanks
unto
the
lord
for
bountiful
is
he
his
tender
mercy
doth
endure
into
eternity
god's
mighty
works
who
can
express
or
show
forth
all
his
praise
blessed
are
they
that
they
that
judgment
keep
and
justly
do
always
we sing
from
verse
1 to
5
to
God's
praise
to
wisdom
man
unto
the
lord
for
bountiful
is
he
his
strength
the
mercy
doth
endure
unto
eternity
!
O
mighty
words
to
come
express
our
show
for
love
his
praise
blessed
are
!
of
judgment
keep
our
judgment
justly
do
always
!
Remember
me
your
breath
and love
which
thou
to
thine
dost
fail!
with
thy
salvation
O
my
God
to
visit
me
you
near
I
chosen
to
!
chosen
to
see
!
and
in
their
joy
rejoice
!
and
may
with
love
and
with
cheerful
voice
after the
benediction
i'll go to the main door we'll close with the benediction
now may grace mercy and peace from god father son and holy spirit rest upon and abide with you all now and forevermore amen
who
Thank you.