1 Samuel 8 Devotional
by Pastor Lawrence
After God’s judgment came down upon the house of Eli, there is great hope for the young man Samuel whom God raises up to serve as both priest and judge over Israel, but, sadly, his sons aren’t any better than Eli’s, for they are said to have turned aside after gain in their role as judges taking bribes and perverting justice. It is this moral failure demonstrated by Samuel’s sons that leads the elders of Israel to covet the kings of the surrounding nations. Whatever possessed them to think that somehow gentile kings might be better than Israelite judges is not shared with the reader.
Technically, there is nothing evil about kingship itself nor the desire to be led by a king. Already in the Law of Moses, in Deuteronomy 17:14ff the Lord had foretold that this day would come when they would desire a king and how they would be allowed to set a king over them but only the one whom the Lord himself would choose. And the Lord had prescribed a number of qualifications and limitations for the king. For instance, he must not be a foreigner, nor acquire many horses, wives or gold for himself. Also, he must keep a copy of the law of God in his palace and read it all the days of his life that he might learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all God’s commands so that his heart might not be lifted up above his brothers and so that he and his children might live long in the kingdom of Israel. If only that were the norm.
In this case, where the Law of God prescribes, the prophecies of the Lord decry, for Samuel foresees all the evil ways of the king who shall reign over them. In vv.11-18, Samuel tells the people that their coveted king will force their sons to run before his chariots, appoint others to plow and reap his fields, and choose others to lead all the people into one battle after another where their blood would be spilt. Additionally, he will force their daughters to be his private perfumers, cooks and bakers and take the best of their fields, vineyards and orchards for himself exacting tribute of a tenth of all that they owned enslaving them to his own ends. And Samuel promises them that when all this happens, they would cry out to the Lord, but he would not answer them in that day since they had rejected the Lord as their king.
As you might imagine, this passage was one of the favorites of the colonial ministers during the Revolutionary War, for it served as a proof text for the rebellion against King George III. And at the conclusion of the war, they rejoiced greatly as the first nation to rid itself of the evils of a king. And they lived happily ever after. NOT! Back when King George III was still king over the colonies there were no income taxes, no estate taxes, no corporate taxes and no payroll taxes. Since then, our political leaders have happily added all those to a long list of many other taxes. When will we ever learn that it doesn’t make a difference whether we call men judges, kings, or presidents? For the nature of the man himself is the same, and certainly, the woman isn’t any better, for when either aspire to power, they seek to enslave the population who have eagerly rejected the Lord and his Word. Just like the Israelites of old, we got what was asked for, and when we cry out to the Lord for relief, he does not hear us because we have rejected him as king over our nation. We must remember that the book of Kings, 1st and 2nd, does not end well. Judah is invaded, Jerusalem is burned, the temple is destroyed and the Jews are taken captive to Babylon. What makes us think that it will be any better for us as a nation that looks even more like Sodom and Gomorrah and is actively hostile to Christ’s Church? The only hope for our nation is to turn by faith and repentance to Christ as king.