Give Them a King

1 Samuel 8:22

“Listen to them and give them a king.”

During football practice we would split up into stations. These stations divided the different positions we all had on the team; linebackers, linemen, backs and receivers. I was a linebacker. Our drills consisted of a bunch of tackling and hitting drills. Somedays, my head would be pounding because of all the hitting. Those days, I would look over and see the backs and receivers just running routes, not hitting anything, and I would dream about a practice where all we did was run routes and not constantly do hitting drills. Don’t get me wrong, I loved hitting and tackling but somedays, when my head was pounding, I strongly would have preferred just running routes. My coach thought differently. He knew we needed to get tougher and stronger. The only ways to get there was to practice hitting and tackling especially for linebackers. 

The book of Judges lasted over 380 years. For some perspective, the United States has been a county for only 244 years.  Israel once again is about to undergo a momentous change.  From a large group of nomads, to a slave nation, to a budding nation, to a nation ruled by judges, to now a nation ruled by a king. 

Back in Exodus, the Lord warned of this time when His people would reject the Lord as their king and choose a king from among the people.  If you study these changes, Israel has been littered with people and judges who did not follow the Lord and the book of Judges only records a few who did follow the Lord. 380 years later, Samuel hears from the Lord to give them a king. 

You might be thinking that this is God throwing the white towel, and giving in to a rebellious people.  Good for us we know the rest of the story here.  Samuel eventually anoints David as king and down the line of David we get Jesus our savior. 

1 Samuel 8:7 is a chilling verse. Here the Lord is speaking to Samuel about the people and their request. He says, “it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.” Who is the king and Lord of your life? Have you rejected Jesus as your king? Does He still sit on thrown of your life or is He something you pull out when things get tough? The Lord gives Israel a king, just what they wanted and they would have to suffer the consequences of that demand.

Praise the Lord for my coach back in the day that kept the linebackers hitting and tackling instead of just running. In the same way, we have to keep moving forward with the Lord even when things are not so comfortable. It is in those times we should do as David did in Psalm 118:24, “Today is the day the Lord has made and I will rejoice and be glad in it.” In our world of political issues, gender issues, sexual orientation issues, climate issues we can get really down and lose our peace. Just like here in 1 Samuel 8, a snap shot in time might get you discouraged about the way things are going. But we know how the hand of the Lord was behind all of it. We must also remember that God has plan and that faith is the only way you will find peace.