[0:00] 1 Samuel chapter 8 is where we will be at this evening. 1 Samuel chapter 8. For those of you that were with us on Sunday night, I have scheduled for tomorrow afternoon to speak with Scott Nichols, who is the North American Mission Board Send City Missionary for Chicago.
[0:25] So I will be talking with Scott Nichols tomorrow at 3, 3 o'clock tomorrow afternoon. I'll be talking to him regarding some of the things we spoke about Sunday night.
[0:36] So just kind of keep you guys updated and I'll let you know as we move forward into that. This evening we'll be continuing to make our way through the book of 1 Samuel.
[0:46] And we are in the 8th chapter. The 8th and 9th chapter really is kind of the closing of Samuel's public ministry. He doesn't pass off the scene to a few more chapters, but here we're going to see the close of it.
[1:03] And that's why I say that more than likely, Samuel did not write the books that bear his name because here he is about to pass off the scene. His job, his role had been fulfilled.
[1:16] So after the 9th chapter, the shift goes to our third man. Remember the three men the book of 1 Samuel focus on. Samuel, Saul, and David.
[1:28] So we will see that shift as we get into the 9th chapter and following. But let's go to the Lord in prayer and then we'll begin. Lord, we thank you so much just for allowing us to gather together.
[1:41] Lord, we thank you for just the grand opportunity of being with brothers and sisters in Christ. We thank you for times of fellowship. We thank you for times of study.
[1:52] And God, we pray you'd be with us as we open the word. Lord, that we would come to a greater understanding of it. That that understanding of scripture would be what motivates us and moves us to walk faithfully with you, to walk whole before you, and Lord, to be used by you.
[2:12] We pray that you'd be with the teachers and the kids in the back. We pray that you'd be with those as they learn their Bible verses and as they do activities that, Lord Jesus, you would be lifted up.
[2:26] You would be exalted. We just ask that in all ways your name be magnified through our time together, and we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. 1 Samuel chapter 8.
[2:38] Before I forget, one more announcement I have. Tomorrow evening, let's see if I get my time right on this. I believe it's 6.30. 6.30 at Edgemont, in Edgemont Baptist Church in Shelbyville, there's a thing called Ignite Tennessee.
[2:55] It's through Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. Rock Collins will be preaching. It's open for whoever would like to come. So it's at Edgemont Baptist Church. It's just through Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, and Rock Collins, who works with the Tennessee Baptist, will be there if anybody wants to go to that.
[3:12] I had to get my time right because the pastor's thing starts a little prior to that, but I believe it's 6.30. Okay. 1 Samuel chapter 8. We'll read the text, and then we'll just get into it with one another.
[3:25] It says, And it came about when Samuel was old. They appointed his sons judges over Israel. Now the name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abishah.
[3:37] They were judging in Beersheba. His sons, however, did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain and took bribes and perverted justice.
[3:51] Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and they said to him, Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.
[4:04] But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed to the Lord. And the Lord said to Samuel, Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.
[4:23] Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt, even to this day, and that they have forsaken me and serve other gods, so they are doing to you also.
[4:36] Now then listen to their voice, however. You shall solemnly warn them and tell them of the procedure of the king who will reign over them. So Samuel spoke all the words of the Lord to the people who had asked of him a king.
[4:52] He said, This will be the procedure of the king who will reign over you. He will take your sons and place them for himself in his chariots and among his horsemen and they will run before his chariots.
[5:04] He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and of fifties and some to do his plowing and to reap his harvest and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.
[5:14] He will also take your daughters for perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards and give to his officers and to his servants.
[5:30] He will also take your male servants and your female servants and your best young men and your donkeys and use them for his work. He will take a tenth of your flocks and you yourselves will become his servants.
[5:44] Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourself but the Lord will not answer you in that day. Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel and they said, No, but there shall be a king over us that we also may be like all the nations that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.
[6:07] Now after Samuel had heard all the words of the people he repeated them in the Lord's hearing and the Lord said to Samuel listen to their voice and appoint them a king. So Samuel said to the men of Israel go every man to his city.
[6:22] 1 Samuel chapter 8. We see this evening a cry for a king. A cry for a king. This is one of the reasons that Samuel has come on the scene.
[6:35] He has come as the last judge and he is the first in the class of prophets. He is not the first to prophesy but he is first in the class of prophets. There are the school of prophets which follow him.
[6:47] Samuel has come as the last judge and the first to hold the office of prophet and one of the critical roles he will play will be to anoint the king. He is going to anoint the king.
[6:58] Now you need to understand according to the Old Testament and the Pentateuch according to the first five books of the Bible the book of Deuteronomy seems to imply that God anticipates and expects that there will be a day when his people will have a king.
[7:12] God seems to anticipate that there will be a day when the people of God are ruled by man of God. That there will be a day of a king. So it is not necessarily the fact of the king that is wrong.
[7:27] It is how the people ask for a king and we will get into that in just a moment. Some Bible scholars I believe rightfully so say that God already had his man picked out and that is David but the people got ahead of God and asked for a king before David was ready because Samuel also anoints David and if you remember when Samuel anoints David he is still a young man.
[7:47] So God already had the king picked out but the people were ahead. One reason we can tell that this is contrary to the plan and the will of God is that Saul is from what tribe?
[8:02] Anybody remember? Saul is a Benjamite. He is from the tribe of Benjamin. Now if you go all the way back in your memory and I know it is there and you go back to when you are reading in the end of the book of Genesis and you have Jacob and all his descendants are there and Israel is about to pass off the scene.
[8:24] He is in Egypt now and he has gathered he has been reconciled with Joseph and Joseph's sons. Remember he blesses Joseph's sons. He stretches out his hands and it says there that Israel worshipped and leaned on his staff at the end of his bed.
[8:37] But the last thing Israel did is he uttered a prophetic word over each of his children. He ordered he spoke the word of God. He declared what was going to be.
[8:50] And before Israel passed off the scene Israel spoke of the reality that a king would arise from one of his sons. But it's not Benjamin. You should already know who it is.
[9:03] It's Judah. From the tribe of Judah the scepter would never depart. Judah plays prominent role when they go through the Exodus because Judah is the biggest tribe.
[9:16] Judah goes first. Judah is always the one leading the way. Judah has the most soldiers. It has the most people. It has the greatest amount of possession. Judah gets the largest territory. Judah is not the firstborn but because he is given firstborn rights because the two that were ahead of him sinned if you remember because they had made this agreement.
[9:38] They would give their sister to be married if these men would circumcise themselves and on the third day when they were sore they went out and killed all of them. You remember the account, right? And so Israel told them their father said that they weren't going to get the rights.
[9:51] They wouldn't get that birthright of being firstborn. So the third in line is Judah. Judah gets the birthright. Judah takes the place of prominence. We know a line from the tribe of Judah. We know the true king of kings and lord of lords from the tribe of Judah who is Jesus.
[10:05] But when we get to this point Saul is not from Judah. He's from Benjamin. David is from Judah. The king is waiting but he's not ready.
[10:17] The sin is that the people get ahead of God. I'll just go ahead and tell you that on the beginning. The people get ahead of God. That they think they know what is better than how God has determined things should go.
[10:32] They're running ahead of him because they're impatient with him. The reason they're impatient we will kind of flesh out as we look at the text together. And they ask at the wrong time with the wrong motives and we will see that.
[10:46] The first motivating factor behind a cry for a king is corruption. There is corruption in leadership. A number of years pass between chapters 7 and chapter 8.
[11:02] When we read the Old Testament it's hard to tell how many number of years passed but some will tell you 20, 25, maybe 30 years have transpired since we've read anything that goes on in the nation of Israel.
[11:15] But what we do know is that by this time Samuel is old. We were introduced to Samuel before he was born when his mother was crying out for him. Then we saw Samuel as a very young child being dedicated to the Lord.
[11:29] Then we saw him as a young lad hearing a word from God and being confirmed as a prophet. And then we see him after Eli and his two sons die judging the nation after a number of years.
[11:42] And now we go further. We move forward a number of years and Samuel is old. Samuel has been judging and if you remember in the 7th chapter it says that he did this circuit riding.
[11:53] His home was in Ramah but he would go around from place to place and he would judge. And he would go around and around and he had been doing this for a number of years and evidently the nation of Israel had experienced a little bit of peace during the judgeship of Samuel because we don't have anything recorded for us.
[12:11] We know that Samuel has done a good job but as Samuel got older it became harder and he began. We know that no man is perfect and up to this point we haven't read of anything that is kind of wrong with Samuel but here is one wrong thing he did.
[12:26] Samuel appointed his sons to judge. We pay attention to that now the corruption is not with Samuel don't misunderstand me. Samuel appointed his sons to judge.
[12:36] That appointment is reserved for the Lord God alone. But to lighten his load Samuel asked his two sons and appointed his two sons to be judge.
[12:51] They were judges in Beersheba. Now, Ramah and Beersheba are on polar ends of the nation of Israel. There's quite a bit of distance between the two.
[13:03] So they're separated from him. We don't know what happened. Some people will kind of look into it a little bit more and say well Samuel must have been so busy with his circuit riding judging and he must have been so busy that he didn't do a good job as a father.
[13:19] But don't ever go too far in that because the Bible is very clear that the father doesn't pay for the sins of the sons and the sons don't pay for the sins of the father. Each man pays for his own sins.
[13:31] But what we do know is there's corruption with Samuel's two sons. We know that they did not walk in the way of Samuel. That they did not judge righteously. It says that they began to take bribes and they were judging for personal motives.
[13:47] Samuel is judging because the Lord has called him to that position and appointed him to that position and he is serving the nation. But here we read in verse 3 his sons however did not walk in his ways but turned aside after dishonest gain and took bribes and perverted justice.
[14:05] Rather than bringing justice they perverted justice. After a number of days and at least a little bit of peace and comfort that we can ascertain has happened because of the silence of any rebellion this new generation of elders in the land of Israel has come up and they've decided that well if Samuel is too old to do the job and evidently he is and his sons are not doing it properly and they're not if the corruption is there then we need something better.
[14:39] So rather than waiting on God to anoint and appoint they began to ask. So the first motivating factor behind this cry for a king was corruption.
[14:52] Corruption among the people of God often pushed the people of God to get ahead of God and we see that here happening in the nation of Israel. Because the two sons of Samuel were not judging righteously the people of God began to get ahead of God and ask for a king ahead of schedule.
[15:13] So there is the corruption. The second motivating factor we see behind this cry for a king is a comparison. Now this is probably the most detrimental to this request.
[15:28] The corruption is bad because leaders ought to lead well and they ought to lead right. They ought not pervert justice they ought to lead to justice. But what is even worse is when the people of God begin to compare themselves to everyone else.
[15:43] Two times in the text we read that the request is give us a king that we may be like all the other nations. Give us a king that we may be like all the other nations.
[15:57] That should be a flag waving because God had called his people to be unlike every other nation. He had called his people to be set apart from every other nation.
[16:09] He had called his people to a theocracy not a monarchy not even a democracy a theocracy in which God was their king. He had called his people to live out according to his command in a holy relationship with him so that the people around them could look at them and see how they're different that the people could look at the people of God and say they're not like us but yet the people of God are looking out and saying we want to be like them.
[16:37] See that's the problem. People of God get ahead of God when they start comparing themselves with the people of the world. We want what they want.
[16:48] We want to have what they have. We want to do it the way they do it. Things should operate the way it operates for them and that is dangerous ground because they began to compare themselves rather than looking at the benefit they had of a relationship with a holy God they compared themselves with the other people around them and said why aren't we like them?
[17:12] When you go back and you read the book of Genesis Genesis is divided in genealogies a lot if you remember it's been a number of years since we went there but Genesis follows genealogies because it is God's history with his people and it starts right after the death of Abel by Cain.
[17:34] Cain kills Abel and then we know that Eve bears another son named Seth. The very next chapter follows the genealogy of Cain.
[17:47] Remember that? The next chapter after that follows Cain's genealogy and there's these statements in the genealogy of Cain is this one begot this one and he died this one begot this one and he died this one begot this one and he died and one of the truths we see there is that those who are far from God are just on their way to death and after that then we begin to go and we follow the genealogy of Seth and there's this comparison the further we read and we move on a little bit longer we begin to see the comparison of the genealogy of the wicked and the genealogy of the righteous again we see it after they come out of the ark and there's genealogies that flow from that but one thing that we notice is that kings appear on the scene very very quickly we begin to read of the first mentionings of kings and princes people who would rule certain areas but pay attention to it because where the kings show up is in the genealogies of the wicked it's the way of the world that men would rise to power and rule over others the first to have a king is not who will become the descendants of Abraham but rather it's the descendants of Lot and it's the descendants of others who are not walking with God and they're kind of going away it's the descendants of the wicked who begin to show kings and yet the people of God here are looking around and comparing themselves with everyone else forgetting the grand benefit they have of God being their king and wanting more the greatest tragedies that happens even in the church today is when the people of God begin to compare themselves with the world in the book of Proverbs no it's in the book of Psalms and I wish I could remember which
[19:49] Psalm it was but my mind is failing me at the moment the psalmist cries out and says when I considered the way of the wicked and I saw his prosperity I saw his belly being fat and I saw his bone marrow being moist bone marrow being the thing which drowns health you know he said when I considered the path of the wicked everything seemed to be going good with him he died full his needs were met I'm paraphrasing a little bit and the psalmist says it made no sense to me and then the psalmist stops he says but then I considered the end then I considered the end that he too will die and his death leads to eternal destruction mine to eternal life see we always get in trouble when we begin to compare comparison leads us to places which pushes us ahead of what God has intended to do God would rise up a king but by comparing themselves to those around them and saying we want a king like everybody else has a king we want what everybody else has they get way ahead of God instead of saying
[21:05] God we want the king you have called us to have their cry is we want a king like everybody else and guess what God gives them God gives them a king like everybody else so there's the corruption of the leaders there's a comparison the third thing that we see in the passage of this cry for a king is the cost what it will cost the people Samuel goes before the Lord and tells them they've asked for a king and it upsets Samuel he gets mad about it because Samuel knows he knows the reality that God is to be their king it is God who is dictating what happens it is God who dictates the precepts and the Lord God looks at Samuel and says they're not rejecting you they're rejecting me like they've always done they're rejecting me since I brought them out of Egypt they're rejecting me they're rejecting me from being their king this is how we know that they did have a king even though the book of Judges tells us in those days there was no king in Israel God says there's a king here you're just rejecting him and God says to Samuel they're not rejecting you they're rejecting me so listen to them he says but don't fail to tell them what it's going to cost so the majority of the chapter really is
[22:15] Samuel just declaring the cost of being like everybody else he says you want a king like everybody else he's going to take your sons he's going to take your best men he's going to put them in his chariots he's going to put them before his horses he's going to put them in battle he's going to bring your servants into his house he's going to take the maidens the young ladies and they're going to be his cooks his perfumers he's going to take your land he's going to take a tenth of your increase and give it to his soldiers he's going to take a tenth of your flock and put it on his table what he says a king doesn't come for free a king is going to cost a lot right you already have what you have to give to god which is a tenth you've got to give a tenth of your increase to the lord god and now the king is going to come in and take another tenth that's 20% right going to take another tenth for himself and if you want to be like everybody else this is what sin costs god has not hidden the consequences from us god declares it openly he says you want to be like everybody else well let me show you what it cost you to be like everybody else you want to live like the people around you well let me show you what it cost you and so he tells
[23:32] Samuel listen to them but do not withhold the facts from them god deals in truth he is truth and he deals in truth and he is true to us and with us about what it cost to walk in rebellion against him and Samuel comes and he tells them all of this and even after hearing the cost they say okay we want a king like everybody else we want a king like everybody else who will lead us into battle who will go before us and fight our battles for us and win they had one they had a king who went before them who was the Lord God Yahweh who did not take anything from them but rather gave increase to them who did not declare that they would give their sons and daughters to him but actually made a way for them to redeem their sons and daughters through sacrifice who gave them land rather than taking land and who promised that he would go before them in battle and win the battle for them they had a king like that but their king didn't look like everybody else's so they're willing to pay the cost to have a king that looks like everybody else unfortunately much hasn't changed among the people of God because people of God today are still willing to pay the cost to look like everybody else because man doesn't like to stand out we like to blend in as much as we like to say we want to stand out as much as we like to say we want to be different being different is hard being different is isolating and the people of God even though they know the cost at times say well
[25:28] I just would rather be like everybody else it's a lot more comfortable to be like everybody else no matter what it cost me the nation of Israel they say okay if God says that's what it cost we'll pay it so we come to the fourth and final thing and that is a concession it's not a concession of the people it's a concession of the Lord God because look at what he says Samuel hears this he goes back to God and God says give them a king wonderful thing we realize and this is where we start getting into questions it was the active will of God that they would have a king but not yet God had declared all the way back in Genesis through Israel's blessing upon Judah that a king would come someday so the active will of
[26:29] God would bring a king but they're going against the will of God because the question is if God is God couldn't he have stopped it yes so that brings us to what you call the permissive will of God God permitted it okay it's not the active will of God does something the permissive will of God allows them we see this in the book of Romans where Paul writes in the book of Romans that men lust after other men women lust after other women things that are strange according to the flesh and then it says and God gave them over to a debased mind God gave them to that God God God God God believe the lie could God God stop it yes but he permits it because he didn't create robots we're not robots he knows exactly what we're going to do he knows what we're going to do on those things he created us to live in relationship with him and all of a sudden his people are rebelling against him and crying out for something contrary to his desire for them so
[27:48] God concedes and says okay I'll give you a king but as we said in the introduction he does not give them a king from the tribe of Judah he gives them a king that looks good he has head and shoulders above everybody else he seems to have everything under control he will say again in one of the minor prophets the Lord will declare you asked for a king and I gave you one and then you asked that I would take him from you but I did not the punishment is in God letting them have their way the punishment is when God gave them what they wanted often the way God chastises and disciplines his people the greatest is by giving them what they always thought they wanted he says okay that's what you want have it have it in its fullness have it completely you're not going to mix a little bit of me with a little bit of that you're going to have it all the way so he gives them a king who starts good ends bad goes miserable ends up being moved with a wicked spirit and evil spirit rather than the spirit of
[29:15] God he's trying to kill the anointed of God who is David he gives them a king that does everything but the right thing because they had a cry for a king and they wanted to be like everybody else and they wanted to do it this way so they got ahead of God in his purpose they got ahead of God in his plan they weren't seeking!
[29:36] the face of God they wanted! the work of God to do what they wanted to do and God says okay go ahead I mean think about it bring it down to our level right those things we wrestle with in the flesh we call them temptations the reality of sin those things we wrestle with in the flesh that we wage when we go back and forth and we in this spiritual battle ground I mean each and every one of us are there whatever it may put all these vices up there and we could try to put one vice above another vice and say that one is worse than the others the reality is that each one of them are equal I was reminded of that even here lately they're the same battle whatever that is right whatever that is and so those things we wrestle with those things we are tempted with those things we are tried with and I'll confess it I made light one time one night when I was preaching talking about overeating being a vice but the reality is that's the conviction
[30:42] I got and it came because your pastor's wife is a good pastor's wife and she looked at her husband and she said you know what overeating is no different than any other sin and I said oh my goodness you know the word and that hurt because it's true gluttony is just as equal as every other sin and I can't make light of that that's the truth it is so whatever that vice whatever that wrestling whatever that struggle whatever it is that is in us internally what if God let us have it all the way you know where it would lead us to a!
[31:18] miserable death what if God conceded and said that's what you want okay there you go what if in all of our wrestling we said God it's okay if I do it a little bit it's okay if I do this it'll be okay and we argue with God everybody else is doing it everybody else has a king everybody else is doing it and they seem!
[31:40] to be okay I just kind of want to fit in in this moment and what if God just conceded what if he let up and said there you go it's not going to end too well it's just not because the reality is God has what is best for his people in mind and in store but we too often get ahead of him and we too often try to work a deal with him the scariest thing that I have found in scripture the scariest thing is when God gives people what they want and it's not him when he says okay when he concedes because each and every morning the book of
[32:41] Lamentations tells us that his loving kindness is new every day his mercies are new every morning each and every morning we must praise him that in Christ his loving kindness his chesed that is all that is for our good that's what loving kindness chesed means it's so much more than just giving you a big warm hug and making you feel good it's not that it's it's the word chesed which means all that is for my good everything that is for my good my supreme good all that is for my supreme good good God is new every morning!
[33:18] and everything that is for my supreme good and I must shout hallelujah every morning that what he has for me that day is for my supreme good too often I get ahead of him but God I would really like to do this I'd really like to have that cry for a king I cry for a king the whole time God said but I'm your king I've got it all that is for your good is in my hand and we see that happening with his people and he concedes lets them have their way so Samuel sends them home in the ninth chapter they'll get their king they'll get their king things don't go too well with Saul it delays I believe the purpose of God for a number of years but in the end God will not be mocked God's purposes will not be thwarted they will come about
[34:18] David from the tribe of Judah will sit on the throne the Davidic promise will be uttered in anticipation of the line that would come from the tribe of Judah who is Jesus Christ but what if they had just waited what if they had just waited irony here and we'll stop I believe it was Warren Wearsby who said their request was for a king who would lead them into battle and win the battle for them right we want a king like everybody else who will go before us and go into the battle and lead us victoriously isn't it ironic that when the great Philistine champion stood up Saul was standing still like everybody else the only one that led them to victory was the anointed David God had the man who would go before them and lead them victoriously but it is not the one they asked for little ruddy handsome
[35:20] David shepherd boy is going to be the one who leads them into battle they're just ahead of him should have waited and anticipated what God was going to do 1 Samuel chapter 8 thank you brother so Thank you.
[36:55] Thank you.