Written by: Fiona Fisher

1 Samuel 8 v 1-5
When Samuel was old, he made his sons judges for Israel. His first son was named Joel, and his second son was named Abijah. Joel and Abijah were judges in Beersheba. But Samuel’s sons did not live as he did. They tried to get money dishonestly, and they accepted money secretly to make wrong judgments.
So all the older leaders came together and met Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, “You’re old, and your sons don’t live as you do. Give us a king to rule over us like all the other nations.”

Notes
Samuel ended up being the last of the Judges. Although he had made his sons Joel and Abijah judges in Beersheba, they were never accepted as judges by the people. This led to the elders coming to Samuel, complaining about his sons and asking for a king instead.

The judges were God's way of leading the people: by example and teaching. But the people of Israel had had enough of God's style of leadership: they wanted a king, like the other great nations had.

The people of Israel saw something of God in Samuel which they admired and respected. The problem with his successors: his sons - "[they] don't live as you do" (v5). Samuel's sons were not only a disgrace to him but also a disappointment to God. So much so that the people they were supposed to be leading to God were actually turned off Him. They saw an alternative, which the other nations had and they wanted it instead. They wanted a hero to look up to, to follow into battle, to be proud of.

Q. How well do you represent God in your daily living? You are the only bible some people will read - what are they seeing of God in you in school, college or workplace?

It is so easy to be drawn into the standards and lifestyle of the world and to view it as being more glamorous and exciting than your life. We need to remind ourselves of whose we are and whom we serve. Jesus is the perfect example of how we should be representing God in our lives.

1 Samuel 8 v 6-9
When the older leaders said that, Samuel was not pleased. He prayed to the LORD, and the LORD told Samuel, “Listen to whatever the people say to you. They have not rejected you. They have rejected me from being their king. They are doing as they have always done. When I took them out of Egypt, they left me and served other gods. They are doing the same to you. Now listen to the people, but warn them what the king who rules over them will do.”

Notes
Samuel took offence that the leaders of Israel were demanding a king instead of a judge. He took it personally: that they were rejecting him.

Have you ever been hurt by other people: by their attitude to you or by something they said or did? You have been trying your best and you thought everything was going well when all of a sudden, WHAM! Your feelings are hurt, your world is shattered and your relationships are damaged. What should you do?

1. Should you retaliate and tell the person who hurt you what you really think of them?
2. Should you go and bad mouth them to someone else in the hope of some sympathy for yourself?
3. Should you try and defend yourself, with the risk of making things worse by arguing?
4. Should you take it to God in prayer?

Samuel took his grievance, his hurt, his disappointment to God. The wonderful thing is that God listened to Samuel (v7), understood his hurt (v7), eased the pain (v7 - 8) and came up with a solution (v9).

There are many disappointments and frustrations to be faced in the Christian life. But how we handle them is a mark of our Christian maturity. How we handle difficulties must be different to those who are not Christians otherwise we will be seen as having nothing different to offer them than what they already have.

God has promised to hear our prayers and to answer them. "God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to Him" (1 Peter 5 v 7). It worked for Samuel - it will work for you.

1 Samuel 8 v 10-18
So Samuel told those who had asked him for a king what the LORD had said. Samuel said, “If you have a king ruling over you, this is what he will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and his horses, and they will run in front of the king’s chariot. The king will make some of your sons commanders over thousands or over fifties. He will make some of your other sons plow his ground and reap his harvest. He will take others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to make perfume and cook and bake for him. He will take your best fields, vineyards, and olive groves and give them to his servants. He will take one-tenth of your grain and grapes and give it to his officers and servants. He will take your male and female servants, your best cattle, and your donkeys and use them all for his own work. He will take one-tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that time comes, you will cry out because of the king you chose. But the LORD will not answer you then.”

Notes
Samuel did not let the fact that these men insulted him stand in the way of him doing God's work. It is so easy to let prejudices and bitterness disable our witness and effectiveness for God. Can you think of anything in your life or any broken relationship which is preventing you from being what God wants you to be? Confess it to Him now.

And old saying goes, "The grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence". Samuel delivered his detailed message of what God had said, to the group of men who had asked him for a king. The people of Israel were basing their desire for a king solely on what they saw others had. Samuel was trying to warn them of the reality of their request. But they had become so pre-occupied with getting what they wanted that warnings about the consequences were ignored.

It is so important that we consider the consequences of what we do and say before we take action. There are many situations when the obvious thing to do is to take the easy way out without thinking about the consequences. Many people are living today with the consequences of actions they took without thinking about the consequences e.g. the teenage girl who got pregnant; the young lad who's reckless driving caused a death on the roads; the teenagers who experimented with drugs and are now HIV+; etc.

God stills loves these people but He cannot turn back the clock. We live with the consequences of our words and actions but God does forgive those who ask Him. But we also need to be able to forgive ourselves and ask forgiveness from those whom we have hurt.

1 Samuel 8 v 19-22
But the people would not listen to Samuel. They said, “No! We want a king to rule over us. Then we will be the same as all the other nations. Our king will judge for us and go with us and fight our battles.”
After Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated their words to the LORD. The LORD answered, “You must listen to them. Give them a king.”
Then Samuel told the people of Israel, “Go back to your towns.”

Notes
One of the saddest verses in the Bible is 1 Samuel 8 v 22: "...Give them a king." Give them what they want: not what is good for them or what God wants to give them but what they want.

God was preparing a young shepherd boy, David, to be their king. If only they had waited a few more years, for God's timing, they would not have had to go through the difficulties they had during Saul's reign and would have had their king. One who was prepared and endorsed by God.

One of the problems with society today is that we want everything now. We do not want to wait. Everything is instant e.g. instant coffee, instant communications, instant entertainment, instant credit, etc. Our instant society makes us impatient especially as far as the things of God are concerned.

We need to learn to trust God and His timing for our life decisions. "No good thing does God withhold from those whose walk is blameless" (Psalms 84 v 11). If we believe this, then we need to learn patience. God has His reasons for making us wait and we need to learn to trust Him in that.

What are you asking God for right now? Don't be tempted to force His hand or to snatch for something which is second-best. Hold out for God's best and you will not be disappointed.

1 Samuel 9 v 1-5
Kish, son of Abiel from the tribe of Benjamin, was an important man. (Abiel was the son of Zeror, who was the son of Becorath, who was the son of Aphiah of Benjamin.) Kish had a son named Saul, who was a fine young man. There was no Israelite better than he. Saul stood a head taller than any other man in Israel.
Now the donkeys of Saul’s father, Kish, were lost. So Kish said to Saul, his son, “Take one of the servants, and go and look for the donkeys.” Saul went through the mountains of Ephraim and the land of Shalisha, but he and the servant could not find the donkeys. They went into the land of Shaalim, but the donkeys were not there. They went through the land of Benjamin, but they still did not find them. When they arrived in the area of Zuph, Saul said to his servant, “Let’s go back or my father will stop thinking about the donkeys and will start worrying about us.”

Notes
Saul was just what the elders of Israel would have wanted when choosing a king: tall, strong, good-looking, fit and from a good family. Perfect ... from the outside. How often do we use our eyes and other senses to determine how we consider people. The constant pressure is to look good, dress well and be seen in the right places. God knew the hearts of these people and gave them a king just as they desired: one who looked good on the outside.

But the Bible tells us that God doesn't care much for what He sees on the outside. It is what we are like on the inside that really matters to him. That is why, when the choice was left to Him to find a king that He chose a small, young, rosy-cheeked, insignificant (from a worldly point of view) shepherd boy. Aren't you glad He did?

We need to stop being obsessed with what we look like on the outside and start being concerned about what are lives are like from the inside. On the Day of Judgement, God will not be looking through your wardrobe to see what designer clothes you owned or how many wrinkles you have. He will look at your heart and will want to see Jesus sitting there, right in the centre, controlling all you have said and done. That is what makes you great in the eyes of God.

1 Samuel 9 v 6-9
But the servant answered, “A man of God is in this town. People respect him because everything he says comes true. Let’s go into the town now. Maybe he can tell us something about the journey we have taken.”
Saul said to his servant, “If we go into the town, what can we give him? The food in our bags is gone. We have no gift to give him. Do we have anything?”
Again the servant answered Saul. “Look, I have one-tenth of an ounce of silver. Give it to the man of God. Then he will tell us about our journey.” (In the past, if someone in Israel wanted to ask something from God, he would say, “Let’s go to the seer.” We call the person a prophet today, but in the past he was called a seer.)

Notes
What a reputation to have as a Christian: "people respect him because everything he says comes true" (9 v 6). How difficult do you find it to tell the truth all the time? Samuel had a special gift from God: that of forth-telling His message. So long as Samuel kept in touch with God, listened carefully to what He was saying and delivered the message as He received it, what he said would come to pass. He had a reputation for telling the truth.

One of the Ten Commandments reminds us that we should not "bear false witness" but always speak the truth. Telling lies is an offence to God.

Equally offensive is when we know the truth and do not declare it. How often have you had the opportunity to speak to someone about Christ and not done so (knowing the Truth and not declaring it)? How often have you been involved in a discussion with friends or colleagues when there has been an opportunity to give the Christian perspective and you have not done it (knowing the Truth and not declaring it)?

Ask God to give you the courage to speak out the Truth when there is the opportunity. For those who feel they do not know enough, God has promised to give us the words, when we need them. Even the Apostle Paul felt inadequate and frightened at times, but reminded himself: "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes" (Romans 1 v 16). We need to daily read the Bible, meditate on it and seek God's face through prayer.

1 Samuel 9 v 10-13
Saul said to his servant, “That’s a good idea. Come, let’s go.” So they went toward the town where the man of God was.
As Saul and the servant were going up the hill to the town, they met some young women coming out to get water. Saul and the servant asked them, “Is the seer here?”
The young women answered, “Yes, he’s here. He’s ahead of you. Hurry now. He has just come to our town today, because the people will offer a sacrifice at the place of worship. As soon as you enter the town, you will find him before he goes up to the place of worship to eat. The people will not begin eating until the seer comes, because he must bless the sacrifice. After that, the guests will eat. Go now, and you should find him.”

Notes
From the time that God granted the people of Israel a king until he was actually anointed by Samuel there is the question of how they were ever going to meet. Chapter 9 of 1 Samuel unfolds almost like a Hollywood movie where 'co-incidences' inevitably bring the two leading characters together.

God has amazing ways of bringing people into our lives who can shape the future direction of our lives for ever. God is a God of purpose and He has a plan for each of our lives a plan which he will reveal bit by bit. It is our job to follow His plan and to seek each day to establish what is of God and therefore for our good and what is not and therefore to be avoided.

Saul was sent on what seemed like a simple, straightforward errand: to find his father's wandering donkeys. Had he refused to go, he would never have met Samuel and never have been anointed king.

We are often put through situations and difficulties which we do not understand at the time. But if we continue to trust God through these times who knows what we will receive at the other end.


word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes