Samuel was a great leader. He listened to the Lord and did as the Lord bid. But his sons did not follow his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice (3). So the people begged Samuel to anoint a king. Samuel went to the Lord and the Lord told Samuel it was not Samuel they rejected but the Lord as Israel begged for an earthly king (7).
God did not seem phased that Samuel’s sons weren’t following Him. I wonder if the Lord had a plan for future leadership about which we will never know.
Whatever God would have done, the people wanted a king to be like all the other nations (see 5 and 20). This truly was a rejection of the Lord and a desire to be like everyone else.
Isn’t that what we still want to this day… to be like everyone else?
I want a house like everyone else and a car like everyone else and a computer like everyone else and a… fill in the blank.
It is not that these things are bad, but is it wants the Lord wants for me, that is the question.
Maybe I should probe our (my) desires from the opposite direction. Does the Lord want me to have a house, car, computer, etc.?
God’s desires for us and not what others will think, should be my (your) motivation.
This thought bites… I suspect that I am motivated by what others think more than I want to admit!
Oh, Lord, I don’t even know how to speak right now. I feel conviction settling upon me.
Forgive me where I have erred and show me the correct way. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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