Ignoring God’s warning
by Glenn Crouch
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It is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king (1 Samuel 8:7b).
Read 1 Samuel 8:1–22
Have you ever stopped to think about how blessed you are because God did not give you what you wanted? There have been many times in my life when I found that the things I wanted were bad for me, and the things I didn’t want were good for me. In my twenties, I told people so many times that I did not want to be a pastor. How blessed I am that the Lord had other plans!
This week, we follow the story of Saul as he becomes king. We start with the problem that Samuel’s kids were not suitable to take his place, and so what was Israel to do when he was no longer able to lead them? The solution: do what all the other nations do – follow a king.
The elders demand that Samuel give them a king (verse 7). They did not request Samuel’s help to learn God’s will. They also seem to have forgotten that the Lord God, who had led them out of Egypt, was the only king they would ever need.
God sends his people a stern message, explaining the downside of having a king like everyone else (verses 11–18). Yet, the people are still determined to be like everyone else and demand a king (verses 19 and 20).
So, the Lord gave them what they asked for (verse 22). As you read through Samuel, Kings and Chronicles, you will see there are very few good kings, and that all that God had warned about came to pass. Even David, their greatest king, committed adultery and murder.
The good news is that even though the people abandoned God as their king, he did not abandon them. Neither does he abandon us! Through the line of David, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords would come. God would become one of us and be the king we needed – not the one we wanted.
What is something you really wanted but are glad you did not receive?
Gracious Father, help me focus on what you want for me rather than what I want for myself. Through your Holy Spirit, make me into the follower of Jesus that I need to be. I ask this in his mighty name. Amen.
Glenn is the pastor of St John’s Lutheran Church in Esperance and looks after St Paul’s Lutheran Church in Kalgoorlie–Boulder, Western Australia. Glenn and Karen have been married since 1985. They have two grown sons and are enjoying regular video chats with their first grandchild.
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