So, You Want a King?

1 Samuel 8:1-22

So, you want a king?

Photo by Payton Tuttle on Unsplash

When Samuel became old, he made his sons judges over Israel. The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beer-sheba. Yet his sons did not follow 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, "You are old and your sons do not follow in your ways; appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations." But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to govern us." Samuel prayed to the Lord, and the Lord said to Samuel, "Listen to 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. Just as they have done to me, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so also they are doing to you. Now then, listen to their voice; only-- you shall solemnly warn them, and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them." So Samuel reported all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. 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, and 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 courtiers. He will take one-tenth of your grain and of your vineyards and give it to his officers and his courtiers. He will take your male and female slaves, and the best of your cattle and donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take one-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 listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, "No! but we are determined to have a king over us, so that we also may be like other nations, and that our king may govern 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. The Lord said to Samuel, "Listen to their voice and set a king over them." Samuel then said to the people of Israel, "Each of you return home." - 1 Samuel 8:1-22

When I read today's Old Testament reading from 1 Samuel, I can't help but think about the situation in our country today.

The people want a strong leader to rule over them rather than be ruled by a committee of judges.

Samuel was right to turn to God and complain about the people's desire for a king. They saw how corrupt Samuel's sons were and wanted something better.

God told Samuel to let the people have what they want, so Samuel warned the people that there will be a steep price to pay for wanting a king. They would have to give up their freedoms to fight for and work for the king.

There is an expression. Be careful what you ask for; you just might get it. The people will get what they asked for and, according to Samuel, they will not be happy about it.

He tried to warn them that they will be put into service to please this king they wanted so desperately.

There are many people who are worried today that this will happen to our democracy, that the power will be concentrated in our executive branch of government and our democracy will crumble.

Our forefathers worried about that as well.

John Adams felt the democracy would commit suicide, and Thomas Jefferson warned that it was only a matter of time before our system would degenerate into what he called an "elective despotism."

They would probably be surprised that we are about to enter into our 250th year as a nation. For all those years, the balance of power worked, despite the best efforts of all of us.

God chose to give the people what they wanted, because He was angry with them for turning away from Him over and over again. What would God say today, looking at Israel?

It is not a kingdom, but there is considerable power that rests in its leadership, and it appears to be focused on survival at all costs.

What would have happened if we didn't have a strong leader willing to keep that power in check?

We began as a country with massive differences among the people of this nation. Many wanted to stay under the leadership of England's king, while others rebelled against that authority from afar.

We have what we fought for all those years ago, and every year since. Today, nearly half the nation would like to make a change in our economic system, believing that the desire to obtain wealth is evil and corrupting.

That is true. Wealth and power can be dangerous weapons of mass destruction, but they can also be a defense against those things.

So, here we are, torn and confused. As Samuel warned, there is a price to pay for strong leadership. But there was also a price they were paying for corruption and dishonesty among the judges they trusted to be fair. Which is worse?

We make choices and do our best to live with them. Or we fight for change and deal with the consequences of that.

How will we spend out 250th year as a nation? Will it be our last?

More to come...

---