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Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
Yesterday we gave consideration to “defining moments” which change the course of our lives, as we looked at the encounter between Samuel and the elders of Israel, who confronted their spiritual leader with this harsh news: “You are old and your sons do not walk in your ways, now appoint a king over us to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” (1 Samuel 8:5)
The issue was not Samuel’s advanced age, in fact have you noticed how often people who are in Samuel’s category of “old” are very significant in our world and our families? Many Scriptures calls us to honor, respect and learn from older people. Consider Psalm 71:17,18 or Psalm 145:3-7. Remember how Paul urged Timothy and Titus to respect and urge older Christians to mentor younger ones in all they had learned as they had ‘walked with Jesus’? Can you name some of the many people in Biblical history who achieved very significant things in their older years?
How about Abraham who began his journey with God at age 75, (Gen. 12) or Moses who was about 80 when he and God had their burning bush encounter, (Ex. 3) and his Exodus adventure began!
In America as we all know, this is an election year, and unless someone comes forth who is not currently in the running, we will be electing a president who is at least in his mid 70’s! Oh those of you reading this who are in Samuel’s category of “old”, please understand you have great value in our world, and God wants you to share the wisdom you’ve gained in your life journey, with us! Please don’t allow death to take you from us, until we have learned from you, all we need to know as we carry on after you are gone!
Samuel’s problem was not his age, it was this: “…your sons do not walk in your ways.” That statement calls us to deep, personal reflection doesn’t it? What are ‘my ways’? Are they God honoring enough that my descendants should ‘walk in my ways’? What do I see when I evaluate the ‘ways’ my descendants are walking through life? What does that tell me about my influence in their life? And what about you and your ways my friends?
When Joshua was nearing the end of his life, he sent home the warriors from the 2 and 1/2 tribes who remained on the east side of the Jordan with these words “…you have carried out the mission the LORD God gave you. Now return to your homes in the land that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan. But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to obey His commands, to hold fast to Him and to serve His with all your heart and all your soul.” (Joshua 22:3-5) Did you hear the little phrase “walk in all God’s ways”?
Did your ancestors teach you God’s ways and how to walk faithfully in them, my friends, or are you the first generation in your family seeking to do that well? Are we teaching the generations which follows us to walk faithfully in God’s ways?
In Samuel’s case the condemning evidence was specific. His sons Joel and Abijah “…turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.” (1 Samuel 8:3) As you and I look at our families and the succession of generations, can we identify those areas where “God’s ways” are not being honored and followed? With what time you and I have left in our lives, what should we do about this problem?
Samuel did a very wise thing when confronted by the elders… he turned to God and prayed, asking God what he should do in response. God’s answer is shocking: “And the LORD told Samuel, ‘Listen to all the people are saying to you: it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking Me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do.” (1 Samuel 8:7-9)
Does God sometimes allow us to have what we desperately desire, maybe even insist on pursuing, even if it is contrary to what God desires for us, even if God knows it will be harmful to us? YES, sadly Yes, and here is one very clear example.
Since the days of Abraham, God was King for His covenant people. God had said “Now if you obey Me fully and keep My covenant, then out of all the nations you will be My treasured possession. Although the whole earth is Mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation… and the people responded “We will do everything the LORD has said.” (Ex. 19:5-8) God had promised He would protect and provide for His people, He would lead and guide them… if they remained faithful to Him. But they didn’t and yet God remained faithful to His covenant with them.
But here with Samuel, the leaders of Israel were making a vital,critical decision. A decision which would shape the rest of Israel’s history to this day! “…now appoint a king to lead us such as all the other nations have.” God had declared them to be unique among all the nations, as His people. But they rejected God’s blessing and demanded to be like all the other nations! Oh what a dreadful ‘defining moment’!
Have you ever done that in your life my friends… demanded your own way, chosen a path that you knew was not the good path that God had for you? What happened when you said “NO” to God? That’s a very painful place in life isn’t it my friends?
As you continue reading in 1 Samuel 8, Samuel did outline, very clearly for the people what the price would be of having a human king, rather than God as their king. It is truthful and it’s the story of every society of people in the world. Yet despite Samuel’s dark prediction, listen to their response: “But the people refused to listen to Samuel. ‘No’, they said, ‘we want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations…” (1 Samuel 8:19,20) Oh my friends, what a very dark moment in history. God’s people rejecting God’s leadership and demanding a human leader to help them become like everyone else!
Do you see this is exactly the opposite of what Jesus offers us when we trust in Him for our salvation? Yet, do you know anyone, any families, any communities, any nations who are making this same demand, insisting that they do NOT want God’s authority over them, instead they want to be free from any obligation to God? And as you look closely my friends, what do you see happens in a life, a marriage, a family, a community, a nation when they insist on total independence from any God influence?
What happens next in Samuel’s story is a very sad result: “When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. The LORD answered ‘Listen to them and give them a king.’ Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, ‘Everyone go back to his town.” (1 Samuel 8:21,22) The decision was made, the dye had been cast.
Israel would no longer be a ‘theocracy’ with God as King. The people demanded their independence from God. Israel would have a human king like all other nations… and the rest is history, sadly a pain filled history which even in our day is so pain filled. That’s what happens when you say NO to God. Oh my friends I urge us to ponder this as it applies to our lives, our families, our communities and nations.
We’re going to leave the story of Samuel right here. At some point in the future, we’ll come back and continue it, but beginning tomorrow, I’d like to lead us on a journey to Easter. We’ll genuinely ‘walk with Jesus’ and His disciples, through the Gospel accounts, to the glorious Easter weekend. You might want to call a friend and invite them to join us.
As you may have discovered, both the “Walking with Jesus” web site and our APP’s are designed to be interactive. We are a global community of people “walking with Jesus” and just as it was for the Disciples and others who walked the dusty roads of Palestine with Jesus, your comments, questions, observations are very welcome. Let’s make this a conversation my friends. What has the Holy Spirit been saying to you in our study of Ruth and Samuel and especially in these next days leading to Easter… let us hear your voices!
Oh Lord Jesus, we thank you for the powerful story of Samuel, and thank you for giving it to us in such detail. We grieve as we consider the fateful decision Israel’s leaders made in demanding a human king, yet we see that too often we have done the same, demanding our own way and insisting on that which we think will make our lives better. We acknowledge YOU, O God, are the only One who is all knowing and we repent of our selfishness and once again today re-affirm our allegiance to You Jesus.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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