Introduction: – Israel was led by judges, appointed by God. Their defeats were the result of their own sins, not any failure on the part of the judges. Some judges included Gideon, Deborah and Samson – great heroes of Israel. Now they will request a king.

1 – The sons of Samuel (vs. 1-3)

Samuel was a godly man, but a poor father, so his sons were unworthy to rule after him. Samuel took no bribes, but his sons did, and they perverted judgement. The judges were all people who God raised up – there was no succession.

• Remember the sons of Aaron (Leviticus 10) and the sons of Eli (1 Samuel 2:12). We need to train our children up in the Lord but salvation is not passed on by genes!
• We may have a godly life but are we neglecting our responsibilities as a father? To teach our children God’s laws so that they have a good moral conduct is a great responsibility?

2 – The people request a king (vs. 4-8)

The Israelites wanted a king for three reasons:-

• Samuel’s sons were evil and corrupt men, unfit to follow in the godly footsteps of their father. This is not surprising as God always raised up judges, not from succession!
• Nearly every nation around Israel had a king as the country’s ruler, and the Israelites wanted to be like them. The people were spiritually bankrupt. They did not want to be totally dependent on God for rising up a leader.

1. People reject God’s leadership in their lives, but God is still in control. See Psalm 2.
2. Like Israel, people today want to be like the world. (See 1 John 2:15-17).

• They wanted a military commander to make them stronger in the eyes of their enemies. (1 Samuel 8:5,20) They were terrified of the Philistines. The fear of man brings a snare.

3 – The downside of having a king (vs. 9-22)

In addition to Joab, the commanders of the army also tried to help David see that the numbers didn’t matter (2 Sam. 24:4). Their efforts were futile. The king was determined to do it his way.

• He will take much of their food, animals and money in the form of taxes.
• He will take the peoples’ sons to fight in his army and their daughters to work in the palace to support him, his servants and his army.
• He will take their horses to pull chariots and demand more of their crops to feed his soldiers.
• Loss of individual freedom.
• Loss of equality – there would be injustices. If they would have a king to rule them, as the eastern kings ruled their subjects, they would find the yoke exceedingly heavy.

1. Those that submit to the government of the world and the flesh are told plainly, what hard masters they are, and what tyranny the dominion of sin is.
2. The church has done exactly what Israel did in their rejection of God as their king. Some churches have appointed clergymen – E.g. Pope/Cardinal/Archbishop/Priest. The Bible mentions Elders and deacons with Christ the Head of the Church. What happens? The former Archbishop of Canterbury; Dr Runcie; knowingly ordained homosexual priests. Other “clergy” have denied the virgin birth, deity of Christ, resurrection of Christ, declared themselves “gay”, lived in large mansions provided by the church and generally “lorded” it over the people. This is certainly not true of all – but it certainly true of many and it is still wrong to have “clergy” and “laity”.
3. Today the warnings of God are rejected by many people, even though the warnings were clear. Those people who refuse to obey God are responsible for their actions.

Categories: 1 Samuel