Where is your Security?

When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as Israel’s leaders.^a]2 The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. ³ But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.

⁴ So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. ⁵ They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead^b] us, such as all the other nations have.”

⁶ But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. ⁷ And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. ⁸ 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. ⁹ Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights.”

¹⁰ Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. ¹¹ He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. ¹² Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. ¹³ He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. ¹⁴ He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. ¹⁵ He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. ¹⁶ Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle^c] and donkeys he will take for his own use. ¹⁷ He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. ¹⁸ When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

¹⁹ But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. ²⁰ Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”

²¹ When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the Lord. ²² The Lord answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.”

Then Samuel said to the Israelites, “Everyone go back to your own town.”

1 Samuel 8:1-22

SINS OF THE FATHER

The Israelites knew who Samuel was. They knew he was an upright man and that God spoke to Samuel from which they often benefited from. Interestingly enough, they were also all to aware that his son’s did not follow in the same way. Not only did his son’s not pursue God, but they went the opposite direction by accepting bribes and perverting justice. The people knew a bad leader when they saw one. Previously in the book of 1st Samuel, we saw that Eli’s sons were evil just as was Samuel’s sons and it is apparent that the sins of leadership rubbed off on the people.

In Chapter 7 verse 4, Israel put away their Baal and Ashtoreths which were idols of worship that opposed God and that they had trouble letting go of. These were idols that carried over from their life under Eli’s sons. But, here lies a contradiction in the people of Israel in that they at times turned away from sin and followed God yet did not recognize true righteousness.

And in fact, in this chapter, God judges the people that they have always rejected him ever since they left Egypt. They recognized Samuel as righteous and Samuel’s sons as evil and yet did not recognize the same contradiction in their own life. Their love for the world over God was apparent because, even with the dire warning, they still wanted a king.

Had they not learned that the heart is always inclined towards evil? Samuel warned them that a King would rule over them not for good but for evil. The king would take the best of everything and force them to serve him. Yet, this did not deter them, their minds were made up. They demanded a king. What would a king provide for them? In one word, security. They cried out to God when things went awry, but when times were comfortable went back to their old ways.

SECURITY IN THIS LIFE

The verdict was out, their security was in this life. They felt secure when they were safe to follow fleshly desires and bend to the peer pressure of other nations. When the people of God seek security in this world, they become complacent and eventually fall back to sin. The Israelites were secure in life before the Philistines attacked. Yet after, cried to God and served him when life was not secure.

Now that life was secure again in Chapter 8, they bite the hand that feeds them by repudiating their priesthood and asking for a king. I think the truth is they wanted a barrier between them and God which was rooted in a complacency that first appeared at Mt. Sinai when they created the golden calf. A shield that separated them from God’s holiness. Something that allowed them to have the benefit of following God without the sacrifices that denied them worldly pleasure.

Doesn’t this sound familiar? Don’t we often want the same thing? To reap the award of Christianity without the pain that comes from laying ourselves bare before him and rejecting the world? The flesh is willing to sin when life feels secure and there seems to be no consequences for our action. When we are complacent, sin looks good from the other side of the fence when we do not feel the pain it brings.

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR

They follow Samuel’s advice in Chapter 7 for a short-term help, but they would not listen for the long term. They meditated on their desire for a king for so long they eventually got it. We should be careful what we wish for and meditate on. God will not always keep you from what you want even if it is harmful to you.

Why did he tell Samuel to listen to them? Because God wanted their heart free from pressure. He wanted them to freely accept and desire Him. Sometimes God uses the hard path to teach us. Which, is what we need to take before we realize that our desire is not in line with God’s plan for us. We can be assured God’s plan is always better for us.

DIGGING DOWN DEEP

How many times have I done the same thing only seeking God when it is convenient or pressing? Do I go to God because I need a quick fix or because he is my only security? The two are not the same. One is out of fear of losing security in life and the other is from the throne of your heart. Is my security relationships, money, work, government? Or, is it God? Do I look to these things to be kings in my life so I can be like everyone else around me? To see the truth we must break below the line of our comfort level and step out in faith which can be much harder than pulling ourselves out of sin time and time again. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

As humans we desire a relationship with God deep within us. Yet, we fear truly exposing ourselves before a perfect creator. We don’t want to truly dig down deep within our heart to find the dark places and face them with God and do the dirty work it takes to clean up the mess sin has left. Sanctification hurts. But, If you put your security in God you are less likely to sin. True, you could remain mediocre in your walk with Christ and still do great things. But, how much closer could you be with your creator if you truly exposed everything? It is not always about the result as much as it is about the relationship with God.