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1 Samuel 8 (click here to read the scripture)
As we read this passage, we’re suddenly thrust forward many years; Samuel is getting old and there is trouble on the horizon.
There are some interesting things taking place in this chapter, but if you really want to understand what’s going on, look back at Deuteronomy 17:14-20. The context in Deuteronomy when Moses speaks is mind-blowing. It is literally generations before 1 Samuel 8! Moses is speaking to the people just before he dies; giving them instructions as to what must happen when the people ask for a king. His words would have sounded strange and out of place to the people because they had finally figured out that God alone is their king. I can imagine them thinking, “A king? The Lord alone is our King. Why would Moses say this?”
In 1 Samuel 8, the people are rejecting God - again. Even worse, they want a king, “like all the nations.” They don’t want God as their king. We can understand their concern about their future. Samuel’s sons are no better than Eli’s sons; the people don’t want to go down that road again. However, they are not trusting or seeking God in all of this. They think that if they have a king like everyone else everything will be ok. This obviously hurts Samuel personally as the people are rejecting the Lord as king. God tells Samuel to inform the people of the costs that they will face if they have an earthly king. Yet, even after Samuel explains what it will be like, the people still want a king so that they might be like all the nations.
Before we judge the people of Israel too quickly, we should take a hard look at our own lives. We’re not all that different. We often trust in other things instead of Jesus and it happens pretty easily. We trust our own abilities, we trust the authorities, we trust our friends and our families, we even give our trust to technology. We can rely too heavily on those things. We should recognize that all those things will let us down.
So, what are we to do? If you’re reading this I believe you know the solution - entrust your life to Christ alone. You trusted Christ with your life that moment when you first cried out to the Lord, but it’s also a relationship that grows and matures as you deepen you seek to know the Lord more.
That’s something we see in the lives of great men and women of faith in scripture; Joshua, King David, and Abraham; of Rahab, Ruth, and Ester, Amos and Jeremiah, Peter and Paul (and there are many, many more).
I also think of people in my own life whose trust in the Lord has been such an amazing blessing to me. As they grew in relationship with God the Father and His Son Jesus, their trust in the Lord increased and allowed them to become amazing people of faith. All because they deliberately and intentionally centered their lives on the Lord. Not that they were perfect, but they continuously grew in faith and trust.
I want to encourage and even admonish you (and in the process, I admonish myself as well) to give considerable attention to your relationship with Jesus daily. Spend time with Jesus and take opportunities to talk with Him as much as you can. Take your time in the mornings to be with God and talk with Jesus - to read, pray and listen. Also, look for those moments during the day when you can reaffirm your relationship with the Lord and have a quick conversation with Jesus:
- Praying for a meal - don’t let it become a rote thing to do before you eat.
- Turn off the podcast or music in the car and just talk with God out loud.
- Shut off the TV for a couple of minutes, (difficult I know).
- Take a deep spiritual breath at the start of every hour.
Basically, find a way to talk with God throughout your day and trust the Lord with where that will take you. I think you’ll be surprised by what happens; how your relationship with the Lord will grow and the sheer joy you will have in your life regardless of your context.
God bless you and know that you are constantly in my prayers!
Scott
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation.
Hebrews 11:1-2 ESV
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV
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