Saturday, May 10, 2014 [In Search of A King]
"The elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, 'You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now give us a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.'" (1 Samuel 8:5)
It had been a long rough road for Israel during the time of the judges. "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit" (Judges 21:25). When Samuel became priest and judge over Israel there was a time of peace. However, as he got older and allowed his sons to serve the people discovered that they were virtually right back where they had started. Samuel's sons stole, took bribes, and perverted justice. The elders of Israel asked for Samuel to give them a king, like the kings of other nations. This didn't sit well with Samuel. If ever there was to be a king it should have been the Lord. Of course, this is what Samuel believed. Yahweh affirms Samuel when during Samuel's prayer time He speaks, saying, "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king" (1 Sam. 1:6).
What was the big deal? Every other nation had an earthly king, why not Israel?
"For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession" (Deut. 7:6, 14:2).
Yahweh was supposed to be their King! God intended for Israel to be different, not like all of the other nations. However, Israel wanted someone that they could touch, hear, and see right in front of their faces. They wanted a king on their terms.
It's not always a good thing for us to get what we want. Like the elders of Israel, we often think that we know what's best for us. We see people around us doing well with their plans and we think that if we conjured up a plan of our own everything would be just fine. I mean, isn't this is normal? What is the harm in being like everyone else? I want something so I go out and get what I want no matter what it takes.
Here's the issue. It's not that we have the desire to have things, achieve/succeed, have relationships, etc. The issue for us is daily answering the question, "Who's the King?" Are we the kings or do we serve and worship a King far greater than us, with more insight, wisdom, and vision for our lives than we have? This can be a difficult question to answer emotionally because we don't always FEEL like following King Jesus. That's why this question always has to be answered by FAITH. What I believe and build my life upon must take priority to my feelings.
Questions
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1. When in your life have you chosen to go the way of your feelings rather than trust the King by faith? How did that turn out for you?
2. Do you find yourself wanting Jesus to rule over certain areas of your life and not others? What are they?
3. What do you need to hear from God in order to follow Him by faith? Ask Him to speak to You.
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