Who is King?

October 23, 2022 Background Scripture: 1 Samuel 8:1 - 9; 10:17 - 26 Lesson Passage: 1 Samuel 8:4 - 7; 10:17 - 24 God established Israel as a sovereign nation in the world. That is quite different from other nations established by men. The people who established nations decided the form of governance they would have since they were established to be independent of others. Israel was independent of other nations as well, but dependent on God. Israel was established as a theocracy, a God-governed nation. Israel was surrounded by nations that were autocratic, ruled, or governed, by monarchs (kings or queens). God placed human servants over Israel who were directly accountable to Him, and He instructed those servants on how to lead Israel. Moses and afterwards Joshua, were the first leaders of Israel. After Moses and Joshua, those servants became known as judges, The last judge, Samuel, placed his sons as judges over Israel because of his advanced age. (This was the only case where a judge attempted to name his own successor rather than depend on God to do so.) Samuel's sons were very different than him. They did not have the appropriate relationship with God to lead Israel as judges. The elders of Israel confronted Samuel and requested they be allowed to have the same type of governance as the surrounding nations. They wanted a king. Samuel and the elders of Israel were ignoring the main aspect of a theocracy. They were more focused on those who were to be servants of God rather than on God. God understood the elders' request for a king as not a rejection of the judge but as a rejection of His leadership. So, God told Samuel to listen to the elders' request and follow it. However, God stipulated that Samuel had to warn them about the consequences of having a king. Israel had not had a king, so they were not aware of the behavior of an autocrat. The kings of the surrounding nations had no allegiance to God. As kings, or autocrats, they were the absolute rulers with no accountability to anyone. The king' s decisions would effectively enslave the people of Israel and make them all servants of the king. The king would take the best of everything in Israel for himself. This included their material goods and their families. But given the prospect of a king who might do well and the corruption of Samuel' s sons that was known to them, the elders opted for the unknown of the king as their ruler. God sent Samuel to anoint Saul to be Israel's first king. Samuel called the leaders of Israel together and presented Saul to them as their king. Because of Saul's height, head and shoulders above the others in Israel, they were well pleased with him. They shouted, "Long live the king!" They had what they wanted, and they had who they wanted. Unfortunately, they did not have who God preferred for them. Their shout of celebration only mentioned the king. Israel for the first time would look like the other nations around them. They were given Canaan to subdue it and displace all the nations who inhabited Canaan. They had destroyed kingdom after kingdom in their conquest of Canaan under Joshua's leadership. Israel's godly leaders had followed God's instructions and they were successful as a result of obeying God. Israel did not look like any other nation around them because they did not have a king as those nations. They had destroyed many of those nations and their kings. Israel failed to understand that God was her King. No, they did not have a human king but rather than that, they had the King of kings. They did not have to proclaim "Long live the King" because God is eternal. This is what they rejected in favor of a human king. Robert C. Hudson October 1, 2022