The First Book Of Samuel. Day 25, Samuel Reveals Saul's Destiny To Him

Saul and his servant have come to find Samuel because they have heard that he is a "seer". I don't know whether they understand that he is a major prophet of God but their plan is to ask him if he knows the location of Saul's father's lost donkeys. In that sense they are approaching him as if he is a fortune teller but Saul is about to find out that he's underestimated Samuel and the importance of their meeting.

Yesterday we learned that while Saul and the servant sought the donkeys, the Lord was revealing to Samuel that he's about to meet the first king of Israel. He said, "About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him ruler over My people Israel." Prophecies from the Lord are specific. We've talked before in our study of the Old Testament about the proof of being a prophet and about how a prophet had to be able to accurately predict, with some specific details, something that will happen in the near future. The prediction had to come true exactly as the prophet said it would. If the prediction for the near future did not come true, nothing the man said about the far off future was to be trusted. The Lord didn't give His prophets vague, unspecific messages that were open to all sorts of interpretation; He clearly said what He meant to say because there's no point in giving people messages that can't be understood or that won't be recognized when the events come to pass. The Lord tells Samuel to expect a man to arrive at this same time on the next day and He tells him the man will be a Benjamite. This is how Samuel will know he's anointing the right man. 

When Samuel arrives back at Ramah he spots the stranger in town. The Lord says to him, "This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern My people." This is where we concluded yesterday's study. Saul spots Samuel coming through the gate to the city. "Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and asked, 'Would you please tell me where the seer's house is?' 'I am the seer,' Samuel replied. 'Go up ahead of me to the high place, for today you are to eat with me, and in the morning I will send you on your way and tell you all that is in your heart. As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them; they have been found.'" (1 Samuel 9:18-20a)

Samuel says, "I'm the seer and I've been expecting you. You don't need to worry about those donkeys that wandered off three days ago. They've already been recovered." Saul has said nothing to him about any lost donkeys, much less that they have been missing for three days, but Samuel knows all about them and knows exactly how long Saul has been looking for them. On top of that, it's clear to Saul that Samuel knew he was coming. Samuel isn't the least bit surprised to find this stranger waiting for him at the gate; indeed, he appears to be ready to receive him with great hospitality. He also reveals that he's aware there are things weighing heavily on Saul's heart, for he says that in the morning he will "tell you all that is in your heart". Many Bible scholars have taken this to mean Saul was very concerned for the nation of Israel and that he was deeply troubled by the way the Philistines kept relentlessly making incursions into Israelite territory. We won't find Saul being a very spiritually-minded man but he loves his country and is a civically-minded man. He's worried about the future of Israel but may have thought to himself, "What can I do, though? I have a desire to lead my people and help them get out from under the oppression of the Philistines but how can somebody like me deliver my people?" Samuel now gives a very clear hint as to how Saul can help his people: "And to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and your whole family line?" (1 Samuel 9:20b)

Saul is aware that the majority of the Israelites have decided they want a king over them. In his heart I think he has political aspirations but believes he has no hope of being considered for the position of king. Certainly he has not put himself forward as a candidate. He's busy going about business as usual for his father's estate and no doubt he expects to spend the rest of his life doing the same things he's always done. When Samuel says what he says to him about all Israel turning toward him, he realizes this is a reference to the kingship. We know he does because this is how he replies: "Saul answered, 'But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?'" (1 Samuel 9:21) 

Saul may have dreamed of becoming king and leading the army of Israel but he did not believe he had any hope of seeing that dream come true. His father is a well-to-do man who is highly respected, as we were told earlier in our chapter, but this family is from the smallest tribe of Israel and from the smallest clan of the tribe of Benjamin. Compared to men of influence from the larger tribes, Saul's father Kish is really just a big fish in a small pond. This is not a family from which anyone would expect the first king to be elected. Outside of their own clan, people probably don't even know who Kish and Saul are. 

Samuel pays no attention to Saul's surprised and modest protests. He continues on with his plans for the day---plans which were put in place as soon as the Lord advised him the king was coming. "Then Samuel brought Saul and his servant into the hall and seated them at the head of those who were invited---about thirty in number. Samuel said to the cook, 'Bring the piece of meat I gave you, the one I told you to lay aside. So the cook took up the thigh with what was on it and set it in front of Saul. Samuel said, 'Here is what has been kept for you. Eat because it was set aside for you for this occasion from the time I said, 'I have invited guests.' And Saul dined with Samuel that day." (1 Samuel 9:22-24) In yesterday's passage the women at the well told Saul that the seer was coming to attend a special feast. The women apparently didn't know the reason for the feast but now we find out that it was planned by Samuel after the Lord told him to expect the arrival of the king. When Saul was speaking with the women at the well he had no idea that this feast was being planned in his honor! How could he have known since he was unaware that the seer was expecting him or that the seer would anoint him as king of Israel? Now he finds himself seated as the most important guest at the feast, being served the best portion of the meat. In treating him this way in front of thirty esteemed and influential guests, Samuel is clearly putting him forward as the preferred candidate for the position of king. And since Samuel is a prophet, the people know that the person he puts forward as king is the man the Lord has told him to promote.

Saul's day has turned around for the better! When he arrived at Ramah, exhausted and frustrated and hungry, and with weightier matters than a few lost donkeys on his heart, he never imagined that the Lord had told the seer to expect his arrival, much less that he'd soon be seated as guest of honor at the home of Israel's judge and most well-known prophet of the time. In his wildest dreams it never occurred to him that his political and military aspirations had any chance of coming true. While he went about his duties on his father's estate, he may have sometimes daydreamed about how he'd govern the nation if he were king or about how he'd plan battle strategies against the Philistines, but he had no inkling he'd soon have the opportunity to do the things he wanted to do for his country. As we've said before, Saul won't be a very godly man but that doesn't mean the Lord won't be able to use him politically and militarily to do some good things for Israel. Saul has valuable skills and talents that can be of benefit to his nation. In tomorrow's passage Samuel will speak privately with him regarding what he is being called to do. 

The First Book Of Samuel. Day 24, The Lord Prepares Samuel To Meet The King

The donkeys of Saul's father have gone missing and Saul and a servant have been searching for them in several regions with no luck. Saul is concerned that by now his father is far more worried about him and the servant than the donkeys, so he suggests they go home. But the servant remembers that there is a man living nearby who is a prophet and he says they should see whether he can help them.

Saul is willing to go see this man but doesn't want to go empty handed. "Saul said to his servant, 'If we go, what can we give the man? The food in our sacks is gone. We have no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have?'" (1 Samuel 9:7) It was customary to take a gift to a prophet as thanks for his help, according to several passages of the Bible we'll study later in the Old Testament. It's not that Samuel (or any other prophet) wouldn't have rendered aid when needed, whether or not a gift was involved. But "the laborer deserves his wages", as the Lord Jesus said (Matthew 10:10, Luke 10:7) and as the Apostle Paul said (1 Timothy 5:18). If Saul and his servant are going to ask Samuel for help, they should recognize the value of his time with a gift.

Saul seems like a person who is willing to give up on a task when inconveniences arise. I can relate to that because a series of small inconveniences will sometimes discourage me quicker than one big problem will. In Saul's defense he's probably weary from traveling from town to town searching for them. I don't know how many days it took to travel through the regions mentioned in the first half of Chapter 9 but he and his servant are out of the supplies they packed for what they thought would be a quick journey. Saul is tired of looking for the wayward animals and wants to call it quits. He briefly rallied when the servant mentioned calling on the prophet but upon realizing his pockets are empty he thought, "We have nothing of value with us to give him. We might as well go home and tell my father the donkeys can't be retrieved." 

But Saul's servant has a more persistent character. He seems to possess a more positive attitude and it so happens that he's quite practical too: he's brought a little money along on the journey. "The servant answered him again. 'Look,' he said, 'I have a quarter of a shekel of silver. I will give it to the man of God so that he will tell us what way to take.' (Formerly in Israel, if someone went to inquire of God, they would say, 'Come, let us go to the seer,' because the prophet of today used to be called a seer." (1 Samuel 9:8-9) The author adds a little footnote here to tell us that earlier in Israel's history they referred to prophets as "seers". These two words can be used interchangeably and often will be as we continue traveling through the books of the Old Testament. 

The servant only has about three grams of silver but it's the only thing the two men have with them that's acceptable as a gift. "'Good,' Saul said to his servant. 'Come, let's go.' So they set out for the town where the man of God was. As they were going up the hill to the town, they met some young women coming out to draw water, and they asked them, 'Is the seer here?'" (1 Samuel 9:10-11) This is the town of Ramah, which is Samuel's home base, and we were told earlier in 1 Samuel that he built an altar at Ramah. The Philistines evidently burned the town of Shiloh, where the people used to worship at the tabernacle, so the center of worship has apparently been moved to Ramah where the Lord's prophet and last judge of Israel lives. The ark of the covenant is also no longer at Shiloh; after it's capture and return by the Philistines it has been kept at Kiriath Jearim. The importance of knowing that there is a major altar of worship at Ramah is that it explains the answer of the young women below.

When asked if the seer is in town, the women answer in the affirmative and provide additional information. "'He is,' they answered. 'He's ahead of you. Hurry now; he has just come to our town today, for the people have a sacrifice at the high place. As soon as you enter the town, you will find him before he goes up to the high place to eat. The people will not begin eating until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice; afterward, those who are invited will eat. Go up now; you should find him about this time.'" (1 Samuel 9:12-13) We previously learned that in his role as judge Samuel had to make a circuit of the towns and villages to hear legal cases. It just so happens (because the Lord made it happen this way) that the donkeys became lost at the same time Samuel would be returning home to officiate over what may have been a special holy day.

Not only has the Lord set up the circumstances that will cause Saul and Samuel to cross paths, but He has prepared Samuel ahead of time to meet the man who will be king. "They went up to the town, and as they were entering it, there was Samuel, coming toward them on his way up to the high place. Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed this to Samuel: 'About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him ruler over My people Israel; he will deliver them from the hand of the Philistines. I have looked on My people, for their cry has reached Me.'" (1 Samuel 9:15-16) Just as the Lord used Samson to help the Israelites in their fight against the enemy Philistines, even though Samson was not a very godly man, the Lord intends to use Saul for the same purpose. Saul will turn out to have a knack for planning battle strategies. He is not a very godly man but he's a man who will be able to inspire and command the soldiers of Israel. There will be things the people won't like about Saul but he will be able to accomplish some important feats for national security. 

When Samuel arrives at Ramah, the man the Lord told him about is already there. "When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the Lord said to him, 'This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern My people.'" (1 Samuel 9:17) Samuel isn't happy about the Israelites' demand for a king but the Lord has already told him to give them what they want. He will be obedient to the Lord. He will do what the Lord tells him to do and anoint Saul of the tribe of Benjamin as the first king of Israel. As for Saul, he thinks he's only consulting the prophet about some lost donkeys. He has no idea the Lord has set up a divine appointment. Imagine his surprise in tomorrow's text when he learns he is about to be anointed king of Israel! Had he known this ahead of time, I have a suspicion he would have stayed as far away from Ramah as possible. He will be reluctant to take on this daunting task. I think this is why the Lord prepared Samuel ahead of time for the meeting but said nothing to Saul about what he is soon to be asked to do. 

The Lord tells us what we need to know when we need to know it. Like a good father, He doesn't give us more information than we're ready to handle. When the time comes for us to take on the task He's calling us to perform, He will supply the grace and strength to complete the task. He knows we have a human tendency to fear the unknown and will worry about how everything is going to come together if He tells us about things too far ahead. 

The First Book Of Samuel. Day 23, The Lord Sets Up A Meeting

Yesterday we learned the identity of the man who will be the first king of Israel. The Lord intends to set up a meeting between this man and the prophet and judge Samuel. He does so by sending Saul (who will become king) after his father's wayward donkeys.

We've talked about how Saul is not going to possess the right qualities, spiritually speaking, to be the king of Israel. And we've talked about how he's going to levy heavy taxes and all sorts of other burdensome requirements upon the people. But that doesn't mean his administration won't accomplish some good for the nation. Just as the Lord used Samson (a very carnally-minded man) to help the Israelites in their fight against the Philistines, the Lord will also use Saul to help push back against this enemy of Israel.

Yesterday we were told that Saul's father, Kish, is a well-to-do and prominent man. He owns much livestock and today some of that livestock goes missing. "Now the donkeys belonging to Saul's father Kish were lost, and Kish said to his son Saul, 'Take one of the servants with you and go look for the donkeys.' So he passed through the hill country of Ephraim and through the area around Shalisha, but they did not find them. They went on into the district of Shaalim, but the donkeys were not there. Then he passed through the territory of Benjamin, but they did not find them." (1 Samuel 9:3-4) 

We find Saul being obedient to his father, which is an admirable quality. He respects his father and cares about his father's feelings, as we will see momentarily. Saul is not all bad. Most people aren't, even those who don't choose to serve the Lord or who don't believe in Him at all. Many people who reject the Lord's authority still live law-abiding lives and are basically good citizens. Saul is a law-abiding citizen and he has proven himself trustworthy to oversee his father's estate. So it's not as if he's a dishonest scoundrel. He just doesn't really have a heart for the Lord and we'll find him displaying less respect for the Lord as time goes on.

Saul and the servant have been searching for the donkeys for so long that Saul fears his father will start believing the two of them have been in an accident or have been attacked by robbers and may be lying somewhere injured or killed. "When they reached the district of Zuph, Saul said to the servant who was with him, 'Come, let's go back, or my father will stop thinking about the donkeys and start worrying about us.'" (1 Samuel 9:5) I believe Saul loves his father and is a good son to him. Again, he is not all bad, but his love and respect for his father are not an indication that his heart is right with the Lord, for Jesus said, "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them." (Matthew 5:46, Luke 6:32) 

Because the two men are in the district of Zuph, where Samuel's hometown of Ramah is located, the servant recalls that a man known to be a prophet lives there. He wants to try one more thing before he and Saul give up on the donkeys and head home. "But the servant replied, 'Look, in this town there is a man of God; he is highly respected, and everything he says comes true. Let's go there now. Perhaps he will tell us what way to take.'" (1 Samuel 9:6) It does not appear to occur to either of these men to pray to the Lord for help in finding the donkeys. This suggests that neither of them is in the habit of consulting the Lord. It suggests that neither of them has a personal relationship with Him. When a person has a close relationship with the Lord, prayer is usually the first thing they resort to when difficulty comes their way. 

Had Saul not heard of Samuel? It seems impossible he wouldn't know of Israel's current judge and prophet. But maybe he's never needed the services of a judge to decide a legal case for him. And he likely hasn't spent much time pondering spiritual matters. In tomorrow's passage we'll find him agreeing to go ask Samuel for help, and even though Saul and his servant intend to use Samuel in the manner of a fortune teller so they can find the donkeys, the Lord has another---bigger---purpose in mind for arranging this meeting. While the Lord is arranging for the donkeys to go astray, and while the two men are wandering around the countryside looking for them, He is preparing Samuel to anoint Saul as the first king of Israel. In tomorrow's passage we'll find Him telling Samuel to expect the arrival of the man who will be king. Everything about these circumstances has been orchestrated by God. Not one thing in our text is happening by chance. 

The First Book Of Samuel. Day 22, Introduction To The First King Of Israel

In the first half of Chapter 9 we will be introduced to the man who will become the first king of Israel. He will be from the line of Benjamin and not of the line of Judah, the tribe about which Jacob prophesied: "The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his." (Genesis 49:10) Jacob, upon inspiration of the Holy Spirit, blessed his sons and prophesied about their descendants. In a time long before Israel had a king, Jacob foresaw that the line of Judah would be the royal line of Israel. He foresaw the reign of many human Judahite kings, culminating in the reign of the King of kings: the Messiah. The Messiah is the one to whom belongs the scepter and the ruler's staff. The Messiah is the one to whom the nations will all someday bow.

After having been told by Samuel that the Lord is going to allow them to have a king, we don't find the people seeking candidates from the tribe of Judah. We don't find anyone, from the tribe of Judah or from any other, announcing his intention to run for election. The Lord told the Israelites in Deuteronomy 17 that the kings of Israel must be "a king the Lord your God chooses", so it may be that they are waiting for word from Him although they have gotten ahead of His timing in asking for a king at this particular point in history. The Lord referred to their request for a king as a "rejection" of Him in Chapter 8, so we know that He is not pleased with the request even though He intends to grant it. He actually is, in a sense, going to choose the man to rule over them, but He's going to tell Samuel to anoint a man who is the very image of what the human mind thinks a king should be. As one commentary I consulted phrased it, this man will be "the king straight from central casting". He will be the type of man Hollywood would choose to play the king of Israel, but he won't be a man with a heart for the Lord. His outward appearance will be all they could have dreamed of but on the inside there will be a spiritual emptiness.

"There was a Benjamite, a man of standing, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bekorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. Kish had a son named Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else." (1 Samuel 9:1-2) If the average citizen were asked in those times what type of man should be king, (from a human standpoint), Saul would fit the bill. He's from a wealthy and influential family; his father is "a man of standing". It's not likely the people would deliberately choose for themselves a poor man as king. It's unlikely they would choose for themselves a king whose family line is not well known and highly respected. In addition to having an impressive pedigree, Saul is exceedingly good-looking, for the text indicates that a better looking man than Saul could not be found anywhere in Israel. It is a human tendency (or failing) to treat physical beauty as if it is a virtue and deserving of reward. Many opportunities and advantages are awarded to those whose looks can turn heads, regardless of whether or not they have a good heart and sometimes regardless of whether or not they have the qualifications for the job at hand. On top of being so handsome that women and men both can't help staring at him, Saul is the tallest man in Israel. He's going to cut a fine figure when riding his horse ahead of his army or when holding court at his palace or when meeting with other heads of state. He's nowhere near as tall as the giants who still remain in the land (he will be confronted later---to his horror---by the most famous giant of the Bible) but he's tall enough to make his subjects believe a giant would think twice before challenging him on the battlefield. 

From the outside, Saul looks like the right man for the job. And the Lord will allow him to have the job for a time. But the Lord is letting him have the job not as a blessing upon the people, as a godly king would be. He's going to use Saul as an instrument of discipline. Because the people have rejected the Lord as king, as He said in Chapter 8, and because they refused to listen when Samuel warned them about everything the king would demand of them, the Lord is going to give them a man who will do all the things Samuel said the king would do. They will wish they'd waited for the Lord's timing and for a king who has a heart for God. But though Saul will not be a man who is led by the Lord in all his decisions, and though his looks and pedigree are not what the people should have been looking for in a king, the Lord is not going to turn His back on the nation in anger and walk away. Discipline is never pleasant but it's what the Lord administers to those He loves; discipline is not judgment. Judgment is for the wicked---for those who don't belong to the Lord. Discipline is for the Lord's children: "Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you." (Deuteronomy 8:5) "Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty." (9 Job 5:17) "The Lord disciplines those He loves, as a father the son he delights in." (Proverbs 3:12)

The Lord, like a good father, disciplines us when we need it. He does it for our own good. Saul will not be a good man but, after his unpleasant reign is finished, a man who loves the Lord with all his heart will reign in his stead. The people will be blessed by that king. There will be some hard times in between now and then but that doesn't mean the Lord has forsaken the people. 

The Lord's discipline is not intended to discourage us and make us feel forsaken. On the contrary, it's the evidence of a loving heart, as the Apostle Paul pointed out: "Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as His children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined---and everyone undergoes discipline---then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." (Hebrews 12:7-11)

We will conclude by discussing a word Paul uses in verse 11 above. He refers to the one who has been disciplined as one who has "been trained". We tend to think of discipline as correction, which it often is. But discipline also means training. Other words that mean the same thing as discipline are: self-control, development, practice, preparation, cultivation, exercise, and willpower. For example, a person who wants to get in good physical shape must be a person of discipline---a person with the willpower and self-control to do what is necessary to get in good physical shape. The Lord wants us to be in tiptop spiritual shape and that requires discipline, or training. Not all the hardships we face in this world are due to having drifted into sin. We can be living in a God-honoring way and still have problems come into our lives. If we have prayerfully searched our hearts and the Lord has not revealed to us that we have brought trouble upon ourselves through disobedience, we would do well to regard our hardship as training. The Lord has allowed the hardship not as correction/punishment, but as a tool for improving our spiritual fitness. And often the sooner we begin asking the Lord what He wants to teach us through this hardship, the sooner our difficult season passes by. The sooner we "get with the program" and learn what the Lord wants to teach us, the sooner we will be ready to move on into a blessing. You'll recall that a few days ago we talked about the danger of receiving a blessing before we're ready to receive it. Sometimes our hardships are not the result of sin but are being used to prepare us to receive a great blessing. A blessing received when we are not ready to handle it can actually become a curse and the Lord, as a responsible father, doesn't give us more than we can handle. The problems you and I are having today may be the very things that will enable us to receive and enjoy and responsibly handle a great blessing tomorrow.

The First Book Of Samuel. Day 21, What The King Will Do

In our study on Saturday we found the Lord telling Samuel to let the people know what they are getting themselves into before he appoints a king over them. Samuel is the final judge of Israel because the elders have come to him, on behalf of what is apparently a majority of the people, to ask for a king "such as all the other nations have". The Lord is going to allow Israel to have a king but He first makes sure they understand what the king will be like. They've asked for a king "such as all the other nations have" and the list of things below that Samuel says the king will "take" outlines how those kings ran their kingdoms. This is what Israel can expect from the one they appoint as their king.

"Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, 'This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.'" (1 Samuel 8:10-12) Every able-bodied and able-minded male of Israel aged twenty to sixty was considered eligible for the army but here we find the king conscripting young men into his service and it is not clear what age these young men will be. Since Samuel refers to this as "taking" their sons, I'm speculating that youths under the age of majority will likely be called into the king's service and that neither they nor their parents will have any choice in the matter. 

Some of these men will be appointed to prominent positions, becoming "commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties", but others will be assigned menial labor in the king's fields or will be put to the factory work of making weapons and making metal fittings for the king's chariots. It appears these positions will be assigned at the king's discretion and not necessarily because these are positions to which a young man might aspire. A physically fit youth with a courageous personality who would love to be a soldier might be given a job plowing fields instead of leading a troop. In other words, the futures of the sons of the Israelites will no longer be theirs to decide; the king will decide their occupations in life.

The king will have control over what their daughters do too. "He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers." (1 Samuel 8:13) Suppose a young lady wants to be a weaver and make beautiful rugs and fabrics? What if that is what her family's business is about? It won't matter to the king. If he wants to force her into his employ she will have no choice but to go to his palace and knead dough for his bread every day of her life. 

The king will levy heavy taxes on the people and will seize portions of their land with which to reward his closest aides and advisors. "He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants." (1 Samuel 8:14-15)

The king won't stop there. He will seize as his due some of the people's servants (probably slaves, in this context, not hired hands) and some of their livestock for his own. "Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day." (1 Samuel 8:16-18) 

The type of oppression Samuel describes is similar to, but even worse than, the oppression the Israelites have already experienced from time to time when their enemies managed to gain enough dominance over them to force them to pay tribute to heathen governments. The citizens of Israel will not literally become slaves under an oppressive king but, for all intents and purposes, they might as well be. They will lose many of the freedoms they enjoyed during the era of the judges. Their lives, their children, their property, and their livestock will no longer be fully their own. Many of their choices will be taken away from them. The burden the king will place on everyone's shoulders will be so heavy that in time they will cry out to the Lord for relief from a king "such as all the other nations have" but the Lord will leave them in these circumstances for a while to impress upon them the importance of doing things His way and in His timing. Here in 1 Samuel 8 it is not the right time yet for a king, yet the people will insist that Samuel appoint one. In 1 Samuel 9 they will select a man who is not right for the job, yet they will insist that he be anointed as their leader. 

The Lord, like many parents, believes in using consequences as a teaching tool. He doesn't always have to apply direct discipline when we disobey Him; He often allows the consequences of our actions to teach us the lesson we need to learn. If we are wise, we'll be persuaded by those unpleasant consequences to never commit that particular act of disobedience again. If we do not respond appropriately to these consequences, the Lord will have to take further corrective action to get us back on the right track because that is what a responsible father does. He is concerned about every aspect of our wellbeing and His love for us compels Him to correct us when He sees us heading for disaster. The people of Samuel's time are going to regret choosing a king for themselves and the Lord is going to allow the consequences of their unwise choice to be a teaching tool. When the Lord's perfectly chosen time for a king arrives, and when the right man for the job has gained the maturity and experience to fulfill the role, He will place that man on the throne of Israel and that king will be a stark contrast to the man the people chose for themselves.

Samuel has obediently relayed the words of the Lord to the people but they still insist they want a king. The Lord tells him to give them what they want. "But the people refused to listen to Samuel. 'No!' they said. 'We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.'" (1 Samuel 8:19-20) The Lord---the King of kings---has been leading them and going before them to fight their battles! But they want a mere human being riding in front of their army. Lest we think we can point our finger and shake our heads at their obstinacy, let's stop a moment and think about times when we have rejected the Lord's best plan in favor of plans of our own making. How many times have we gotten ahead of the Lord or gotten completely out of His will altogether? Any time we sin against the Lord we are essentially saying, "Not Thy will, but mine, be done." We are saying, "We will not have Him as king over us." 

Samuel has heard the decision of the people and he gets alone with the Lord to talk with Him about it. "When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the Lord. The Lord answered, 'Listen to them and give them a king.' Then Samuel said to the Israelites, 'Everyone go back to your own town.'" (1 Samuel 8:21-22) Samuel dismisses the assembly because their request has been heard and granted. I don't know whether those who had been assembled rejoice when they hear that they're getting what they want. But there's really nothing to rejoice about. It's a sad day. Samuel is feeling down because he's been rejected as judge over Israel. The people no longer want a judge. The Lord is being rejected as the king of the nation and as supreme general over its army. The people want a mortal human being, with all the limitations that humanity entails, to lead them. It should actually be a day of great mourning, not a day of celebration.

Whenever we reject the Lord's plans or get ahead of His plans, it should be a day of mourning because there are always consequences to getting out of the will of God. We are setting ourselves up for some tough times and regrets. I've ended up regretting it every time I've gotten ahead of the Lord and taken steps to get for myself something now that He intended to bless me with later. I've always brought hardship on myself whenever I've decided to do something that I know is wrong. Living in this fallen world is hard enough as it is, for trouble sometimes finds us even when we're living within the Lord's will, but we bring a lot of extra trouble on ourselves by getting out of His will. When that happens we have no one to blame but ourselves, which is what the Lord and Samuel were trying to warn the people about in today's text. When the king they choose brings upon them all the oppression they were warned about, they can't claim nobody told them what would happen. In this same way, when you and I choose to do something the Lord warned us not to do, we can't claim ignorance. We'll have to accept that we have no one to blame but ourselves and that can be a very bitter pill to swallow. Believe me, I've had to swallow that bitter pill a number of times! But the Lord can use a feeling of regret to lead a person to repentance and restoration. It's when a person feels no regret or shame at all over their sins that their soul is in extreme danger. Regret is an unpleasant and uncomfortable emotion but when we respond to it in the right way it will help us live closer to the Lord than ever before.

The First Book Of Samuel. Day 20, The Lord Tells Samuel To Warn The People About Having A King

In Friday's study we found the elders of Israel coming to Samuel asking him to appoint a king over the nation. This request was precipitated by the fact that Samuel is getting up in years and has handed some of his duties as judge over to his two sons. His sons, seduced by love of money, have been judging legal cases unfairly in favor of whoever could pay them a bribe. A king is not necessary in order to get these problems under control: Samuel is by no means mentally infirm or too physically frail to continue in his role as judge of Israel and he could simply fire his sons as his deputies. If he needs help due to his age and due to the traveling that is required as judge, he could appoint godly men of good reputation as his deputies to handle some of the workload. But the Lord foretold, in Deuteronomy 17, that a day would come when the people would demand a king. That day has arrived.

Samuel's feelings were hurt when the elders suggested it was time for him to retire and that he needed to appoint a king over the nation. He took his hurt feelings to the Lord and poured out his heart to Him. But the Lord pointed out that Samuel shouldn't be taking the men's words personally: "It is not you they have rejected, but it is Me they have rejected as their king." This is where we pick up our text today, with the Lord going on to say, "As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking Me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.'" (1 Samuel 8:8-9) 

The Lord always intended to establish a royal line in Israel; we find Jacob prophetically blessing the line of his son Judah, saying that to his descendants would belong the "sceptre" of Israel. (Genesis 49:10), but at this point in time the people are asking for a king for the wrong reasons. Just as the Lord predicted, in 1 Samuel 8:5 they ask for a king "like all the nations around us". (Deuteronomy 17:14) The Lord never wanted Israel to be like all the other nations. Time and again He has pointed out that they are to be different from all the other nations. He will agree to their request for a king but since at this particular time they want a king for the wrong reasons, He is going to allow them to have a king who does not have the right character for the job. In time the Lord will give them a king of His own choosing, who will be right for the job because he will have a heart for the Lord, and that king will be a blessing upon the nation. But the first king will be appointed as an instrument of discipline.

The Lord always intended to allow Israel to have kings but this is not the time period in which He wanted to do so. I've asked for things at the wrong time, haven't you? The thing I wanted may not have been sinful---it might even have been a very good thing---but it wasn't the right time for the Lord to cause it to come to pass. There have been occasions when I've gotten ahead of the Lord and have taken steps to make the thing happen when I wanted it to happen. That's always been a disaster! The Lord, like a good father, knows when we are ready to handle something new. To use an example of modern times, learning to drive a car can be a fun thing and it can be a blessed thing if it's done at the right time. A good father isn't going to hand the car keys to a ten-year-old and tell him to have a good time. A good father will wait until the child is physically tall enough to drive a car. A good father will wait until the child is legally old enough to drive a car. A good father will patiently teach his child to drive a car and will not hand over the keys and let his child drive alone until he is certain the child can responsibly do so. Many times in our lives the Lord intends to bestow a particular blessing upon us but He is waiting until we are ready to handle it responsibly. In the day in which the elders come to Samuel asking for a king, the people aren't yet ready to handle this particular thing responsibly. As we will soon see as we continue to move through the book, their choice of king will not be a wise choice. They will not appoint a man who loves the Lord with all his heart, which is what the Lord intended when He gave instructions for kings in Deuteronomy 17. As a result of not choosing wisely, the man they appoint will be carnally minded and selfish and will, as time goes on, fall prey to violence and obsessive delusions.

In tomorrow's study Samuel will do as the Lord says: he will warn the people about having a king. He will lay out for them what a king will demand of them. It can never be said that the Lord let them go into this venture blindly; He is going to tell them exactly what they are getting themselves into. The king they choose will demand much of them---more than they will want to give---because the man they appoint will not be operating in the right spirit. An ungodly leader is like a curse. But thanks be to God, there will be a number of godly kings in the Old Testament. There will be men who love the Lord and who love the people and who will set a wonderful spiritual example for the nation. 

The First Book Of Samuel. Day 19, Israel Asks For A King

In yesterday's study the Israelites experienced a spiritual revival and rid themselves of the foreign gods among them. The Philistines attacked them again but this time the Lord miraculously intervened. We were told: "That day the Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites." (1 Samuel 7:10b) We don't know what the author means when he says the Lord "thundered". It could mean His powerful voice---the voice that spoke everything into existence---thundered mightily from heaven as it did at Mount Sinai in Exodus 20. Many times throughout the Bible we will find the voice of the Lord referred to as thunder. Or the author of 1 Samuel may mean He sent a literal thunderstorm along with hail and lightning to strike the Philistine troops. Whatever the Lord did on behalf of the Israelites, it gave them the upper hand and they were able to subdue their enemy.

As we closed our study yesterday we found Samuel setting up a stone to commemorate the Lord's action on behalf of Israel, saying, "Thus far the Lord has helped us." The Philistines will refrain from attacking Israel for a time following the defeat at Mizpah. They will not permanently stop making incursions on the Israelites but the Lord will thwart their efforts during the days of Samuel. "So the Philistines were subdued and they stopped invading Israel's territory. Throughout Samuel's lifetime, the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines. The towns from Ekron to Gath that the Philistines had captured from Israel were restored to Israel, and Israel delivered the neighboring territory from the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites." (1 Samuel 7:13-14) No doubt because they heard how the Lord terrified the Philistine army at Mizpah, the Amorites are unwilling to cause any friction between themselves and the Israelites for fear that the Lord will confuse and defeat their army too.

"Samuel continued as Israel's leader all the days of his life. From year to year he went on a circuit from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah, judging Israel in all those places. But he always went back to Ramah, where his home was, and there he held court for Israel. And he built an altar there to the Lord." (1 Samuel 7:15-17) In his role as judge Samuel held court in his hometown of Ramah but he also held a traveling court for the convenience of the widespread citizens of Israel. 

Why he was allowed to build an altar at Ramah instead of going up to Shiloh, and why the ark of the covenant was housed at Kiriath Jearim for twenty years instead of at Shiloh, has not been explained to us in Chapter 7 but many scholars suppose it is because the town of Shiloh was destroyed by the Philistines earlier when the Philistines won a great battle against the Israelites and captured the ark of the covenant. The author of 1 Samuel does not tell us that at that the Philistines burned Shiloh and slaughtered a large number of the people there but Asaph speaks of it in Psalm 78, saying that the Lord allowed the ark to be captured and Shiloh to be destroyed because of sin in the nation of Israel in the times of the judges. "He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent He had set up among humans. He sent the ark of His might into captivity, His splendor into the hands of the enemy." (Psalm 78:60-61) The prophet Jeremiah also speaks of the destruction of Shiloh in Jeremiah 7 and 26. The only reason I can think of that the Lord would allow Samuel to build and maintain an altar of worship at Ramah, instead of Samuel and the people going up to the tabernacle at Shiloh to worship Him, is because that option was not available to them. 

The final paragraph of Chapter 7 sounds as if it is wrapping up the life of Samuel but the majority of what we will learn about Samuel is yet to come. Most of his words and deeds related to us by the Bible occur in his old age. We now move into Chapter 8 and find Samuel being asked in his later years, by the elders of Israel, to appoint a king over the nation.

"When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as Israel's leaders. The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice." (1 Samuel 8:1-3) Samuel tries to become semi-retired in his older years, appointing his two sons to attend to far-flung matters in the nation. He makes the same mistake Eli, the high priest under whom he served at the tabernacle, of relinquishing some of his authority to his sons. Like the sons of Eli, Samuel's sons are ungodly men. They are not judging fairly but are accepting bribes in exchange for deciding cases in favor of whoever could pay the most. They've been seduced into sin by their love of money.

It's hard to say what went wrong in the spiritual lives of Joel and Abijah. It's safe to assume they were brought up right. We know Samuel lived a life that honored the Lord in their sight. But not everyone who is brought up in a God-honoring home will turn out wanting to serve the Lord. You probably know some parents who did their very best to bring their children up in the right way but their children have gone far astray from the Lord. I can think of several examples of that myself. I don't know whether Samuel was aware of what his sons were doing while they were judging matters away from home but it was his business to know because he was the Lord's chosen judge of Israel. Whether or not he knew what they were up to before we arrive at Chapter 8, he's informed of it by the elders of Israel in Chapter 8. "So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, 'You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.'" (1 Samuel 8:4-5)

The elders from all over Israel have had complaints brought to them about the behavior of Samuel's sons. They have decided that something must be done. We might expect them to come to Samuel to demand that he make his sons do right, or that he would relieve his sons from their duties. But instead they see this as a good opportunity to demand a king. They say something like, "Your sons are sinning against the Lord and perverting justice in the land. We understand that you handed some of your duties off to them because you are getting up in age but these men are not fit to judge cases in Israel. Since you are elderly and no longer feel you are able to fully meet all the demands of your job as judge, why not retire altogether? And before you retire, why not appoint a king to rule us like all the other nations have?"

The Lord foretold that a day would come in which the people would desire a king like all the other nations. His perfect will for them was that they would install and keep Him as King of their hearts but His permissive will is to give them a king when the time comes that they ask for one. If He had not intended to ever grant this request, He would not have laid down the rules for kings in Deuteronomy 17. But Samuel is offended when he is asked to anoint a king over Israel. He is offended not so much for the Lord's sake but for his own, as indicated by the remainder of today's text. "But when they said, 'Give us a king to lead us,' this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him: '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 Samuel 8:6-7)

By the Lord's words we know that Samuel's feelings are hurt. I think that when the Bible says, "He prayed to the Lord," it means that Samuel took his complaint to the Lord. He took his wounded pride to the Lord. He took his anger to the Lord. He poured out before the Lord everything the elders said to him and I think he poured out how he felt about what they said to him. Should Samuel have been more offended for the Lord's sake than for his own sake? Perhaps, but Samuel did the right thing with his feelings. He didn't lash out at the elders in anger. He didn't try to defend the wayward behavior of his sons. He didn't try to defend his unwise decision to turn over some of his duties to his sons. He took the elder's request for a king and his upset feelings straight to the Lord. That's the best way he could have handled this situation! It's the best way you and I can handle hurt feelings, wounded pride, and anger too. It's a good idea to follow Samuel's example when someone takes us to task for something. Instead of getting offended and saying things we might regret later, we should take their words to the Lord to allow Him to reveal to us whether they are right. Sometimes they are! I've had people point out attitudes or actions of mine that they feel are wrong. My first instinct, in my carnal flesh, is to feel offended. But often the Lord reveals to me that they are right and that I need to adjust my attitude or stop doing something that doesn't reflect who I am in Christ. Now I'm not saying that people won't sometimes be wrong about us, but whenever someone accuses us of being in the wrong frame of mind or of doing things that go against the Lord's word, the best thing we can do is consult the Lord and search our hearts to see if these things are true. 

Join us tomorrow as the Lord instructs Samuel on what to do next.