Read: 1 Samuel 8
Up to this point in Israel’s history, no earthly king had been appointed their leader. Judges had ruled for years over them – the death of one leading to the appointing of another; always governing the people to walk in the ways of the Lord, the one true King. But things were different now. Israel was different now. They looked at the nations around them and longed to be like them. “Give us a king!” they cried out to an aging Samuel. “We want to be like all the other nations.”
Looking to the heavens, Samuel sought the wisdom of the Lord. “Give them their king,” He responded. “For they are not rejecting you, they are rejecting me (vs 7).” The God who had saved them in famine, sustained them through slavery, carried them through the Red Sea, fed them in the desert, and led them victoriously into their promise – wasn’t enough anymore. After all He had done, after all the faithfulness He had shown to an unfaithful Israel – they rejected Him. Why? To be like everybody else.
“He will take your sons to war,” Samuel warns as the Lord commands, “and the best of your crops. A tenth of your flocks, your vineyards, and your servants will belong to Him.” Still they did not listen.
“And in that day,” he continued, “you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you…(Verse 18)”
God knew they would regret their choice and yet He let them go. He watched them walk away, casting Him to the side like yesterday’s trash - forgetting their vows, forgetting His goodness - just so they could be like everybody else. And how it must have broke His heart.
“…the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, “No! But there shall be a king over us, 20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles (Verses 19-20).”
But…hadn’t their King been fighting their battles?!?
Hadn’t the banner of Yeshua covered them?!?
Hadn’t Jehovah Nissi gone before them again and again?
Hadn’t He provided for their every need?
Hadn’t He provided judges who would judge them and lead them in His ways – just like they now asked for?
Did they not have ALL that they need already in Him?
“We want to be like all the other nations,” they begged. “Give us a king.” And I wonder – how could they not see that they already had One? And how could they not see that what they asked for was so much less than what they already had? I want to grab Israel by the shoulders and shake them as I read this story. I want to tell them, “Don’t do it! It’s not worth it. Can’t you see? God is enough! He is everything you need!” I shake my head at them, point fingers at their lack of wisdom, at the foolishness of their choices, and yet…how often I have been like them! How often I have forgotten that my King is El Shaddai – More than Enough – and everything I am looking for can be found in Him.
In Psalm 87 verse 7 the Psalmist writes, “All my fountains are in You,” andI have often read those words and asked, “Do I believe that?” Or…am I like Israel – completely blind to what is right before my eyes? Searching for something that I have already found? Drinking from “broken cisterns” when the Living Water is right in front of me (Jeremiah 2:13)? Everything Israel wanted, they already had. The world has nothing that will ever come close to our God! Israel rejected the King of Kings for a human king full of insecurity, frailty, and flaws. They gave up an ever-flowing, never-drying-up, always-enough well of everything they needed just to “be like everyone else.” And guess what? God was right. They would cry out for Him to fix it…sooner than they could have imagined.
· Do you often put people in the place of God – looking to them to satisfy your need for acceptance, love, protection, security, and validation? Do you often find yourself seeking out “earthly” ways to fill up where you feel you are lacking instead of going to God?
· Do you see God as the source of everything you need? Why or why not?
· Have you ever struggled to see that everything you are looking for is available in Him? Why do you think we do that?