(Audio version; Music: "King Jesus" by: Jeremy Camp and "King of Glory" by: Third Day)
Introduction
For those of you who might not
know, this is a presidential election year here in America! Of course, we're
not the only country experiencing, anticipating or hoping for changes in top
governmental positions. My experience in America is that the election process
can be extremely contentious. However, it has never led to all-out deadly
rebellion as it has in other countries. In any event, whatever your political
affiliation, how we are governed has been a passionate pursuit by many for
millenia.
For Americans, the quest for
independent governance began in 1776. The signing of the Declaration of
Independence still stands as the foremost significant event in American
history. Specifically because it inaugurated "American" history.
However, the second most important event in American history occurred in 1787.
That's when the founding fathers gathered to draft the United States
Constitution. The Declaration of Independence is the instrument documenting our
freedom while the United States Constitution is the instrument setting forth
how that freedom would be maintained. From just the opening paragraphs of the
Declaration of Independence it is clear that the founding fathers understood
that the only way to avoid the erosion of human freedom was to place strict
restrictions on the powers of government. And the United States Constitution
provides exactly those limitations. To the extent elected officials ignore the
limitations of power set out in the Constitution, freedom gives way to slavery.
A story is told that one day, as
the founding fathers were finishing their work on the Constitution, a woman was
said to have stopped one of them, Benjamin Franklin, in the street. “Well, Dr.
Franklin,” she supposedly asked, “what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?”
Ben Franklin replied, “A republic,
if you can keep it.”
The founding fathers didn't want a
democracy. Democracies, they believed, were not sustainable because the people
governed could be persuaded through bribery. Furthermore, they foresaw the dire
possibilities resulting from corrupt human behavior. Finally, they wanted to
avoid the real possibility of mob rule when majority passions were inflamed.
Without such safeguards, they believed the people would ultimately elect a tyrant.
Beginning two short years later in
1789, the founding fathers' fears of a tyrannical government would play
themselves out in another part of the world in the bloody French Revolution
where the governmental compliance instrument of choice was the guillotine!
Can anyone dispute that there is a
deep and burning desire within humanity to be free; to strive for liberty? This
is a desire of all people not just Americans. We were created to be free!
Freedom is a clear and vast biblical motif (in case you doubt me, “free” or its
derivative words are used 101 times in the Old and New Testaments)—we were
never intended to live in forced servitude to anyone for any reason. We were
created to be free to serve one another willingly and free to serve and worship
God wholeheartedly. Although freedom and liberty might be defined differently
around the world, no person desires or strives to be oppressed by anyone and
especially not by their own government. By “oppressed” I mean having the
government involved in governing the areas of our lives that we are perfectly
capable, able and gifted to govern ourselves as God’s highest and greatest
creation. By limiting government’s power over it’s citizenry, the intent of the
United States Constitution was to safeguard freedom. Maximum liberty was the
ultimate objective. The ability for a person to do all and be all that God
created them to do and be without unnecessary intervention by the government.
However, almost 230 years later, American government is involved in virtually
every area of American life. How did such limitation of government represented
by the United States Constitution go so horribly awry? I would like to
postulate that many have turned their backs on God for guidance, strength and
wisdom to care for themselves, their families and their neighbors and instead
look to the government to feed them, house them, clothe them, educate them,
give them their medicine, and provide countless other services that they are
usually perfectly capable of providing for themselves. You might think this
tendency to look to the government as protector, provider, or even as savior is
a recent phenomenon. Well, you'd be wrong. The desire to have the government
take care of us is hardly new. Thousands of years ago, Israel had the perfect
leader. God himself governed his chosen people through his appointed Prophets
and Judges. So how did the people respond to this ideal arrangement, just the
way humanity has always responded, they turned their backs on God and instead
demanded, We Want A King!
Subject Text
1 Samuel 8:1-22
When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was
Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. 3 But his sons did
not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and
perverted justice.
4 So all the elders
of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are
old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us,
such as all the other nations have.”
6 But when they
said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. 7 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. 8 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. 9 Now listen to them; but warn
them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will
do.”
10 Samuel
told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king.
11 He said, “This is
what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make
them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his
chariots. 12 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. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and
bakers. 14 He will
take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to
his attendants. 15 He
will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials
and attendants. 16 Your
menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will
take for his own use. 17 He
will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will
cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the Lord will not answer you in that day. ”
19 But the
people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. 20 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.”
21 When
Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the Lord. 22 The Lord answered, “Listen to them and give them a
king.”
Then Samuel said to the men of Israel,
“Everyone go back to his town.”
Context
From
the very beginning, God has governed his people. Adam and Eve received
instruction in the Garden, Abraham was instructed and guided to the Promised
Land, Moses was instructed on how he should lead Israel out of slavery and
thereafter received God’s laws and commandments that were to govern the lives
of the nation of Israel. Of course, Israel needed leadership after Moses died
so God appointed Prophets and Judges to govern Israel. Keeping in mind,
however, that there was no comprehensive governance of Israel until the first
Kingdom of Israel was formed. Until then, the 12 tribes were a loose
confederation that generally supported one another militarily in times of
crisis. Otherwise, Israel was governed by God’s laws and commandments. Up to
and including the time of Samuel, Israel never lacked God ordained/appointed
leadership. However, at this particular point in time, the text leaves us with
the impression that the various tribal leaders (referred to as Elders) seemed
to think that God’s provision for leadership was going to end with the eventual
death of Samuel. However, the text reveals their hidden motive when they insist
that Samuel give them a king so that they could “be like the other nations,
with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.” (v. 20)
Let’s
think about that for just a minute. Chapter 7 tells us that Israel lived under
the constant threat from the Philistines. “The background is Israel’s
subservience to their Philistine rivals and the ever-present threat of further
indignities from hostile neighbors—a threat which runs through chs 8-12 as well
and which was largely responsible for driving the Israelites to the political
expedient of monarchy.”[1]
However, what makes the matter even more insulting for God is that while Israel
was gathered together at Mizpah as recorded in Chapter 7, they were attacked by
the Philistines and it was through God’s divine intervention that the
Philistines were beaten. Guess who was leading Israel on that day…NO KING! It
was God who led them in victory! The theological function of this chapter
demonstrates that the “Old theocracy of the period of Judges was as capable of
dealing with Israel’s military emergencies as of directing its social and
religious life.”[2]
Nevertheless, at some point after the events of Chapter 7, what they had relied
on God to do for them and what they did for themselves to this point, they now
wanted a human king and formal government to do for them.
Text Analysis
When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was
Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. 3 But his sons did
not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and
perverted justice.
4 So all the elders
of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are
old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us,
such as all the other nations have.”
We
are introduced to Israel’s perceived problem in vv. 1-5. Samuel is old and his sons, whom he has appointed as
judges over Israel, are self-serving and corrupt. Consequently, since Samuel’s
sons have disqualified themselves from succeeding Samuel, it is not
unreasonable for the tribal leaders to make plans for Samuel’s successor. “The problem
arises in the nature of their suggestion…When the elders ask Samuel to appoint
a king to ‘lead’ them (lit., ‘judge’ them), they clearly have in mind more than
a simple change of leaders. They want a change in institutions, they want a
fundamental change of national constitution.”[3]
This is no insignificant request. As previously noted, Israel was comprised, to
this point, of a loosely related confederation of tribes. Nevertheless, the
socio-political structure afforded the nation, as a whole, the maximum level of
freedom and liberty without fear of anarchy, in large part because Israelite
society functioned against the backdrop of God’s laws and commandments.
6 But when they
said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. 7 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. 8 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. 9 Now listen to them; but warn
them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will
do.”
Samuel’s
reaction in vv. 6-9 to Israel’s
request for a change in leadership is completely understandable. Imagine
committing your entire life to faithfully and sacrificially leading, teaching
and guiding others just to have them come to you one day and ask for a
leadership change. It shouldn’t surprise us to find that Samuel is upset,
disappointed and no doubt hurt. However, God reminds Samuel that Samuel has
been faithful and it is in fact God that Israel has rejected. As is always the
case when we sin, the one that is hurt the most and the deepest is God himself.
“Samuel
was stung by the people’s rejection of his efforts, but the source of their
demand was not to be found in their relationship with him or sons. Instead, it
lay in their troubled relationship with God; Israel had rejected the Lord as
their king. The people’s demand for an earthly king represented the political
manifestation of a spiritual problem.”[4]
10 Samuel
told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king.
11 He said, “This is
what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make
them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his
chariots. 12 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. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and
bakers. 14 He will
take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to
his attendants. 15 He
will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his
officials and attendants. 16 Your
menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will
take for his own use. 17 He
will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will
cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the Lord will not answer you in that day. ”
Samuel
attempts to paint a picture in vv. 10-18
of what life will look like under the rule of a king. Samuel describes a
society ruled by someone who will take the very best for himself; someone whose
interest is only in the advancement of their rule and not what’s best for those
who are governed; someone who will take, by force if necessary, when its citizens
will not freely give. “The portrait of kingship that Samuel paints appears to
be an authentic description of the semifeudal Canaanite political structure as
it existed prior to and during the time of Samuel. He objects that having a
king like ‘all the other nations’ is not what Yahweh has in mind. Such an
unchecked human institution will become militaristic, conscript Israelite men
(even women!) into military service, confiscate property, and lead ultimately
to enslavement.”[5]
Israel’s future would be littered with parasitic kings that would take more
than give. Nothing would be beyond the reach of the king—children, property,
wives and even life itself. “Kings take and take, and then when everything is
gone, they force you to serve. The final indignation, ‘you yourselves will
become slaves.’” Ultimately, the cost to Israel for demanding that they have a
king is their freedom! Nevertheless, the people want a king because they want
to be “like the other nations” around them. “They are not content with what…was
their proper sphere in life. They are motivated by a perverse and
self-destructive urge to rise above themselves. As Adam and Eve in the
Yahwistic primeval history desired to be ‘like gods’ (Gen 3:5), so their desire
to become ‘like the nations.’ The people are naïve, almost childlike…We have
here a reflection of a traditional pattern, found more than once in the Hebrew
Bible, which presents men striving to exceed divinely appointed boundaries and
holds the tragic consequences up to view.”[6]
The end of this section of verses leaves off with a dire warning from God that
should strike fear in the heart of all who have ears to hear. God warns Israel
that when everything goes wrong after they get what they want and they come
crying to Him about how bad it is, He will refuse to listen to them!
19 But the
people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. 20 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.”
21 When Samuel
heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the Lord. 22 The Lord answered, “Listen to them and give them a
king.”
Then Samuel said to the men of Israel,
“Everyone go back to his town.”
We
get the impression in vv. 19-22 that
the people are almost mob-like at this point. As though they heard nothing God
was warning them about through Samuel. Now, they are insisting: We Want A King! So, because God never
forces us to love him or to be in relationship with him, He concedes and
instructs Samuel to give them what they want. The demand to have a king in
order to be “like the other nations” reveals something deeply troubling within
the DNA of the people of Israel. Their desire, in light of the dire warnings
given by God, seems almost irrational. They reveal “A profound dissatisfaction
with who they are as a people. They have been constituted as the people of God,
established in covenant at Mount Sinai, informed by Torah instruction, and led
and protected by divinely ordained religious judges. Now this very identity is
in doubt. They seek a status on the level with their new neighbors, the Canaanites.
They have lived among them for at least two centuries, and now they want to
become like them. They have grown weary of being unique, they seek conformity
and security. But as the passage makes clear, they are grasping for something
they fail to understand and will lose the very things they hope to ensure by
having a king.”[7]
We
read these verses and shake our heads in amazement as we wonder how Israel
could be so thick-headed. We wonder how they could insist on something that
will eventually destroy them. It really is like dealing with a petulant,
immature child. However, before we quickly condemn Israel for its foolishness,
we had best take a close look at our own attitudes toward government first.
Application
The
lesson from these verses can be difficult to apply in our modern/postmodern
age. A return to a biblical theocracy in practice is unlikely and probably
unrealistic—in large part because so many in our culture do not believe in the
God of the Bible if they believe in God at all. Nevertheless, as I outlined at
the beginning of the lesson, there is a common desire for all humanity—freedom!
First and foremost, we must be honest about the things we have traded for our
freedom. I’ll name just a few for you to consider. I’m sure you’ve already
thought of some very specific areas in your own life and society that I’m sure
I’ll fail to mention here. What freedoms have we forfeited as a result of personal
and national debt? What freedoms have we forfeited because we allow or maybe
even insist that the government feed people, clothe people, house people,
educate people and insure people’s health? What freedoms have we forfeited
because we want others to believe the way we do—by force if necessary? If these
matters are too abstract to you, let me get a little more personal. What
freedom have you forfeited because of your dishonesty? What freedom have you
relinquished because of your addiction? What freedom have you relinquished
because of your anger and hatred? What freedom have you relinquished because of
your unforgiveness? You see, freedom is both corporate and personal. Freedom is
essential for us to be able to live as we were created to live—in a loving
relationship with God and one another.
Nevertheless,
whether you believe in God or not you must be willing to concede that anytime
we borrow from anyone or insist that someone do for us what we are capable of
doing for ourselves, we relinquish part of our freedom. If you do this often
enough in enough areas of your life over an extended period, you will find that
you have no freedoms left at all. You will then find yourself fighting the very
difficult, and possibly deadly, uphill battle of recovering your lost freedom.
During this season of political choice, unrest, upheaval and violence, before
you insist that your position is the best position, be honest enough to
consider whether or not your position advances corporate and individual freedom
or relinquishes such freedom perhaps even in the name of freedom!
It
can be maddening, this desire to be free by giving away our freedom! At the
root of this schizophrenic behavior is that age old problem—sin (not believing
in God does not absolve you from this problem—sorry). As previously noted,
humanity first relinquished its freedom in the Garden of Eden. When Adam and
Eve sinned, they forfeited their freedom to live the same as they had prior to
sinning. Thereafter, sin imprisoned and enslaved humanity. Throughout history,
we have forfeited our freedom in exchange for money, sex and power—all in the
quest for freedom—freedom to make money at all cost, freedom to have sex on our
terms and freedom to wield power for our own self-satisfaction. Yet we do not
have to be slaves to sin—ironically, because of a King—Jesus Christ! Unlike
humanity’s kings (governmental structures) Jesus is the King of kings (Rev
17:14). Jesus has come to give us back what was lost as a result of sin—our
freedom! Freedom to be in a loving relationship with God and one another.
Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, sin has been defeated and we have
been set free (Rom 6:5-7). So when we say, We
Want A King! Jesus is the King we should be seeking. Not some earthly king
(governmental system) that can do nothing but enslave us. Instead, Jesus is the
King who has come to set us free (Jn 8:36). Once we have returned to God
through Jesus Christ and received our free gift of salvation and have been set
free from sin, we can then begin the long and difficult process of returning
the corporate freedom to our culture. True freedom is only possible by trusting
in God’s wisdom, guidance and provision for our lives. True freedom is only
possible when we are in a loving relationship with God and one another. True freedom
is only possible if we will assume the responsibility to serve one another
sacrificially. Trusting in an earthly government to set us free and do for us
what we can and should do for ourselves is certain folly and will only lead to our
enslavement.
Governments
can be a blessing or a curse depending on whether or not they are willing to
concede that God is still sovereign over all. And we must constantly be mindful
of that fact lest we give away our freedom by insisting, like ancient Israel, We Want A King!
“The
time is near at hand which must determine whether Americans are to be free men
or slaves.” –President George Washington (1st President and one of
the Founding Fathers of the United States)
“But
a Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored.
Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.” – President John Adams, (2nd
President and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States)
[1]
R. P. Gordon, 1 & 2 Samuel, Old
Testament Guides, (Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press, 1998), p.
41.
[2]
Ibid.
[3]
Bill T. Arnold, 1 & 2 Samuel, The
NIV Application Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003), p. 149.
[4]
Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel—The New
American Commentary, (Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group, 1996), pp.
116-117.
[5]
Ibid., p. 151.
[6]
P. Kyle McCarter, Jr., 1 Samuel, The
Anchor Bible, (New York, NY: Doubleday, 1980), pp. 160-161.
[7]
Arnold, 1 & 2 Samuel, NIV, p.
150.
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