We should ‘NEVER’ replace GOD as OUR KING!
March 22 Bible
Reading: 1 Samuel Chapters 7-9
We should ‘NEVER’ replace GOD as OUR KING!
And
the Lord said to Samuel, "Heed the voice of the people in all that they
say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. According
to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out
of Egypt, even to this day--with which they have forsaken Me and served other
gods--so they are doing to you also. Now therefore, heed their voice. However,
you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who
will reign over them." (1 Sam 8:7-9)
The books of
1st and 2nd Samuel tell us about the transition of Israel
from being under the authority of judges to the rule of kings. In this context,
this incident in chapter 8 is the turning point for the people who petitioned
Samuel to appoint an earthly king over them (1 Sam. 8:4–5). Previously, Eli’s
sons yielded to the lusts of the flesh (1 Sam. 2:12–17), while now Samuel’s
sons were lovers of money (8:1–5). Due to this, the Israelites disqualified
them from leadership and requested that Samuel appoint them a king like those
who ruled the other nations.
In fact, the
Israelites wanted to be like their
neighboring nations (8:5, 20), and it was common in the ancient world for
religious leaders to choose kings. However, the insistence of the people of
Israel to have a king over them actually was a rejection of theocracy, the form of government in which God was
ultimately their King. It was God’s intention, of course, that He Himself
should be the King of Israel. His people were to be holy, and not like any
other nation on earth. But they didn’t want to be different; they wanted to
conform to the world. It was also true that God had made provisions for the
rule of kings in the law (Deut. 17:14–20), but His perfect will was that He
Himself should be their King always (8:7; 12:12).
God was the
King who reigned over the Israelites, and the people had now rejected God’s
rule over them through Samuel. What we can see here was that they failed to
recognize God as their true King (12:12). Their offense lay not in the concept
of human kingship in itself, but in breaking their covenant relationship with
God. Their sin was to reject God as their king and to take instead a human ruler
(10:19; 12:12–20). We can contrast this demand with Gideon’s refusal to rule
over Israel instead of God (Judges 8:23).
Let us be
clear of a basic principle that we should follow: God is forever our ultimate authority. Governments may come and go,
but God remains the One to whom we owe our final allegiance! Let us never replace God as our king in our
lives! One day in the not-too-distant future, we will sing songs
acknowledging God as our rightful King as the sample below:
