Great Event - Monarchy - Give Us A King
great events – “give us a king”
INTRODUCTION:
1. Read text: 1 Samuel 8:1-9
2. Regarding text.
(1) This is a great event in Bible history; history of Israel; coming of our Lord Jesus.
(2) The children of Israel are in possession of the land of promise.
A. They have their people.
B. They have their law.
C. They now have their land.
(a) Not until an unbelieving generation died out in the wilderness.
(b) Not without problems (cf. period of judges – sin, slavery, supplication, etc.).
(3) Now, due to the conduct of Samuel’s sons, the people / elders reject Samuel as their leader.
A. Second verse in the same song of unfaithfulness for a troubling people.
B. Their ancestors did not wish to enter the promised land at Kadesh Barnea. God accommodate
C. They now do not wish to take close notice to the wisdom / will of God. God will accommodate.
3. This is a great event!
(1) Not in sense of great – wonderful, but sense of great – awful!
(2) You cannot reject the will of God without GREAT consequence!
A. You can refuse to hear.
B. You can refuse to heed.
C. BUT - You cannot refuse Him / His will, and expect it to be without consequence.
DISCUSSION: WHEN MEN AND WOMEN DESIRE LESS THAN GODLY LEADERS
I. symptom of Great discontentment.
1. If on a ship it would be called mutiny. If in a marriage, it would be called adultery; If in a time of war, it would be called treason. If Jesus were to illustrate it, He would perhaps label it the case of one being a prodigal / wasteful son.
2. Prov 14:14 ~ The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, But a good man will be satisfied from above.
3. Eccl 4:6 ~ Better a handful with quietness, than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the win
4. I don’t know why it should surprise any of us.
(1) Same people, led by pillar of cloud and protected by a pillar of fire, cowered in the wilderness at any sign of trouble… yearning for the leeks and cucumbers of Egypt (Pharaoh was a better master).
(2) Same people fashioned their own graven god, as God spoke.
(3) Same people, accepted delivery of the promised land into their hands, and immediately contracted a common form of spiritual amnesia.
5. 1 Tim 6:6 ~ Now godliness with contentment is great gain.
(1) Israel could not / would not muster either. Double ugly!
(2) Israel is not alone!
A. Americans have trouble balancing the two.
B. Especially around election time.
(3) If you don’t want what God provides, your discontent will be accommodated.
A. A form of godliness with discontentment is great loss.
B. What will it profit a man if he gain the whole world…
II. great disappointment.
1. Israel was disappointed for the wrong reasons.
(1) “Give us a king to be like nations” = like saying today, “Give us a Fuhrer like Hitler so we can be like Germany. Give us a president like Saddam, so we can be like Iraq.”
(2) Not disappointed in their refusal to follow; their corruption of worship; their “what’s in it for me” attitude. They disappointed in their leader!
A. Will you allow me to draw a modern day parallel?
B. Evidently, the condition of Samuel’s sons, had less to do with Samuel’s leadership ability, than it did the sorry condition of society of the day.
C. We often lament / wring our hands about conditions in public schools, gross immorality in our govt. (local, state, national).
D. These have less do with govt. than with those being governed.
a. The leaders of our land / society are in general a lagging indicator of where population.
b. Not until we become concerned / convicted / involved with presenting / preaching / and provoking our homes, schools, society, govt..
2. God was disappointed (perhaps better to say insulted and heartbroken).
(1) This was not an insult to Samuel as much as it was an insult to God.
A. Wouldn’t say God was not hurt by insult, but neither was He surprised.
B. Cf. 8:7 – They had been doing this since God brought them out of Egypt.
(2) But will you notice God’s response (1 Sam. 8:7).
A. Evidence of the loving, patient, nurturing nature of God.
B. Reminds us of our Lord (Mt. 11:28-30).
3. He who heeds the word wisely will find good, And whoever trusts in the LORD, happy is he. (Prov. 16:20)
4. Our Lord will not leave, nor forsake…(Heb. 13:5). Neither will he disappoint.
III. great departure.
1. Was it wrong to want a king? God intended for Israel to have a king.
(1) Proclamations were made previously (Gen. 17:6; Num. 24:17).
(2) Provisions were made in the law of Moses (Deut. 17:15-20).
(3) What if… Give us a king so we will be unlike the nations?
A. Israel was not existent to “be like the nations around her.”
B. Israel was in existence to be different (2 Cor. 6:17).
2. Problem is found in their proclaimed motivation. “To be like the nations around us.”
(1) How many times has man failed to understand the ways of God? (Isa. 55:8-9).
(2) How many times has man exchanged the truth for a lie?
(3) How many times have members influence preacher and perhaps elderships to preach less than the whole counsel of God (marriage, gambling, social drinking, immodesty, exclusive nature of the church,…)?
3. God will accommodate your desires and the devil is happy to use the reality.
(1) Israel departed. King in anger took away in wrath.
(2) NT church departed. Denominations and sectarian thinking abound.
4. My kingdom is not of this world.
(1) What if Israel… Give us a king so we will be UNLIKE the nations?
(2) What if the majority (church / denomination) were firmly committed to idea of being led by Jesus Christ and therefore being unlike the world?
A. Walking in light avoiding sin (Psa. 119:105).
B. Walking in light forgiven of sin (1 Jn. 1:7).
C. Walking not in a physical land, promised to Abraham, but in in the way that leads to the promised land of eternal life (Gal. 3:29; Mt. 7:13-14).
IV. Great disaster. (cf. 1 Sam. 8:10-22).
1. Let’s count the number of good kings Israel experienced after the division of the kingdom…. ANS. = 0 (out of 19 kings).
2. You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink. This was a people with great history in the art of rebellion (Cf. Judg. 17:6).
(1) They would have their king.
(2) They would not ever really desire that God be their king.
3. Gave you king in My anger, took away in wrath (Hos. 13:11)
(1) Captivity / bondage.
(2) Remember how God lead and protected Israel in wilderness?
A. Notice Lamentations: 2:1; 2:3 (cf. Heb. 12:29).
B. No wonder Jeremiah cried a fountain of tears.
4. Great was its fall.
(1) Mt. 6:24 – No man can serve two masters.
(2) Mt. 7:27 – “…and great was its fall.”
5. There is no greater disaster, than to journey through life toward death without the Lord as your leader.
(1) “I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (Jn. 8:12).
(2) Walking in darkness here (this life) will lead you to eternity in outer darkness there. No light, no peace, no hope! Only weeping and gnashing of teeth.
(3) It be a great disaster if you not allow the Lord to lead you through / to life!
V. Great delivery.
1. God promised great things to Israel (cf. Gen. 12:1-3).
(1) The greatest of blessings did not lie in the possession of a certain land.
(2) The greatest of blessings were to be found in the procession of the Savior.
A. Lion out of the tribe of Judah.
2. From eternity, God’s intention for Israel, involved a king.
(1) Jesus Christ, the king of Kings.
(2) Mk. 9:1; Mt. 27:11.
(3) Cf. Gal. 3:29
3. God’s patience. (2 Pt. 3:9).
4. God intends for His people to have a King, Jesus Christ the righteous.
(1) Rev. 3:20-22.
5. God gives. God gives us a King. God gives us delivery.
CONCLUSION:
1. From eternity, God intends for you to have a King. Jesus Christ is the King!
2. If you refuse:
(1) The discontentment is a great insult.
(2) The disappointment causes God great pain.
(3) The departure places you in great danger.
3. What is your plea?
(1) God give us a king to be like the nations around us?
(2) “God, give us a King so that we are better than the nations around us?” – “God give us a King so that we are the best that we can possibly be?”